Good quality, Easy to Use, Though Not for Budget-Minded
Written: Aug 20 '04 (Updated Aug 22 '04)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
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Movie Quality:
Pros: Easy to use, compact, touch-screen LCD
Cons: Expensive, weak on manual controls, rival manufacturers offer very competitive products at better prices
The Bottom Line: If Sony decides to price their camcorders better, then it would be a much better value. Else for an entry-level camcorder it's pretty pricey.
wsmunch's Full Review: Sony Handycam® DCR-HC40 Mini DV Camcorder
"I need to replace an old camcorder that I have from years ago with something new."
"What are you looking for in a camcorder? Any particular features or specifications?"
"I'm looking for something that's good quality and easy to use. I don't want something that's really big either. And I don't want it to be difficult to use."
"Are you going to use it outdoors where you might need a high zoom?"
"No, not really."
"Are you going to want to do a lot of video editing and burning with the video you take?"
"Mmmmmmm... maybe later on, but for now I just want to take the video and be able to play it on the TV."
"Let me introduce you to some of these Sony MiniDV camcorders then."
That's a typical conversation start for customers coming into my work with money, and walking out shortly thereafter with a Sony camcorder. Not all the camcorders I sell are Sony, so it's definitely not the best around (since there are better alternatives in JVC, Canon, and Panasonic for either less, or around the same cost), but those who are focused on the before-mentioned features usually end up with something Sony. Sony's familiar name helps explain the inflated cost (even though it's packed with features), and the amazingly compact size helps clinch the sale. I pick the DCR-HC40 to demonstrate since it's the most commonly purchased Sony camcorder, and depending on the customers' budget and needs they can either move up to the DCR-HC65 or down to the DCR-HC30 models for changes in both features and price.
Ease of Use
For those worried about a multitude of buttons decorating the camcorder, Sony camcorders eliminate those with it's touch-screen LCD. All of the advanced settings and controls are at your fingertips and easy enough to navigate (at least in comparison to staring at buttons with bewilderment). On the LCD side of the camcorder there is a button labeled Easy which changes how many options you can affect in the menu. Easy-on has the common features. Easy-off gives you the full-fledged menus with all the options that you can change. You can tell which mode you're in easily due to the blue glow of the button when the easy mode is on. From the (limited) manual controls to the basic camera settings, it's all there. There are a number of screens available and the camcorder itself is not very self-explanatory so browsing through the manual while experimenting with the camcorder is recommended. Once you get the hang of the menu system and know where the common controls are located, you'll be enjoying taking video with confidance.
The other two buttons on the LCD side of the camcorder are Back Light, which makes the LCD screen brighter/darker, and Batt Info which shows how much battery power you have remaining. The LCD screen itself has the backlight button and a record button on the left-hand side for easy operation while using the LCD while recording. Other than that, the other buttons are self-explanatory: record (right thumb button), Super Nightshot Plus, Photo (for taking stills), and the on-switch which toggles between tape-memory-playback modes. And that's it! It doesn't take long to demonstrate those features and customers are impressed with how easy it is to navigate.
Quality Image: The HC40 sports a 1/5" HAD CCD which was designed to give better image quality with less fuzziness. It has less CCD since the unit is about 1/3 smaller than the previous version, but it's advanced as to retain the quality. Combined with the Carl Zeiss Lens, the colors in recorded video are vibrant and full. The HC40 sports twice the video and picture resolution over the HC30 (690k video/1000k still versus 340k video/340k still), though it's noticeable moreso when the video is transfered to a computer than it is when viewing directly through a TV. The new nightshot mode of the Sony camcorders has been changed from a green-hue to something less-green-that-has-more-color for the video. Sony makes great use of low-light conditions with it's Super Nightshot Plus Infared technology, though less light available will increase the video noise and make it a bit grainier. Under normal light conditions, a 3CCD camcorder (such as Panasonic) will outperform the Sony, though I have heard that 3CCD recordings can create muddy edges on the video from too much information. Even in some cases a 3CCD camcorder can perform just as well as the Sony camcorders with the Nightshot. Otherwise most people reviewing the video recording demonstrated in-store on the HC40 are pretty satisfied with the results.
The quality of the stills are okay.. if you're using it to email or to post to the web. Otherwise the stills are not near any type of photo-quality that is achieved by a 3-megapixel digital camera or better. It's a neat feature for those who want to take a snapshot of something, and it puts the memory-card slot to better use than trying to record video on a memory stick. A 512mb memory card can get you an hour of video (at half the resolution), but only a 16mb card is included. You can spend $8 on a MiniDV tape for an hour of video or ~$150 on a 512mb memory stick for an hour of video.
Zoom: Big miss here. While other manufacturers (Canon, JVC) are upping the optical and digital zoom on their camcorders, Sony has stuck with the 10x optical 120x digital for theirs. While this is okay for small events (parties, in-home stuff, recording the protestors across the street) it's definitely not going to work for those who need to zoom in close up (like soccer-moms in the stands taping their kid playing in the game). If the zoom factor isn't an issue, then you'll appreciate Sony's accurate zoom control. One advantage with less zoom is better image stability, especially coupled with Sony's good image stabilization. But either way, it would have been nice to have much more zoom than what is provided.
Sound: It's almost as good/bad as the zoom, mostly for stuff close up. People who are trying to record something further away and want to capture the sound well will have to get a mic (either plugged into the microphone port or inserted into the accessory shoe on top) instead of using what's built into the camcorder itself. The Sony camcorder itself runs quite smooth so even if you're recording something while there is not much sound present you're not going to get any motor noise in the background of the video itself. This is sometimes overlooked until it comes to the point when it actually happens, and a few models from other manufacturers aren't as good as Sony when it comes to internal motor noise. Based on the trend of customers coming in to my work and making purchases, most of these people aren't worried too much about the distance of the sound nor zoom since they're doing close-up recording anyway. At least for now.
Manual Controls
Sony makes starter camcorders, so you're working with mostly automatic controls. Those wanting a more professional feel or quality should pick a Canon or Panasonic, which offer more manual controls. But the controls that Sony offers are important ones and are easy to use too. The Spot Metering and Spot Focus allow the user to manually adjust the exposure and focus with the touch of a finger. The adjustment is made by tapping the area of the LCD screen where the desired exposure or focus is, and the camcorder will automatically adjust the exposure/focus to that area. The other manual control is White Balance with an indoor, outdoor, and manual setting (adjusts just like spot metering and focus). Unfortunately, the manual controls are in the submenus and require a little navigation. Hopefully Sony will make the menu system a little more intuitive to use. But once you're familiar with the location it's easy enough to access with a few finger taps.
Hardware Screen: The 2.5" touch-screen LCD has a quality build that lasts all the constant touching, poking, and accessing of menus and features. The images in the LCD screen are consistently sharp, even when being used outdoors. The screen neatly folds out and can rotate 180 degrees so you can effectively record yourself. One interesting thing I noticed with the Sony camcorders is that the LCD screen can rotate about 60 degrees before the image flips. Explanation: The camera is pointing at you and you are viewing yourself in the LCD screen. As you rotate the screen backward, you can still see your image right-side up until the screen is about 30 degrees from the horizontal, when it will flip the image upside-down. Turn the camera around so it is pointing away from you and the image will be right-side up from that perspective. The other manufacturers don't have as wide a rotation before flipping the image! I tried with Panasonic, Hitachi, JVC, and (I think) Canon. With those manufacturers I can rotate the screen only about 20-25 degrees before the image flips. This can be very important if you're trying to record something at an odd angle and need to rotate the screen appropriately (like if you're short and trying to get over someone else's head). It's something that people don't really think about until comes the time when they try and find out that early image-flipping creates a nuisance. Sony gets a plus for their screen.
Viewfinder: It's color. It extends out about half an inch. That's it. I don't know why Sony decided against keeping the vertical rotation since not all of us like to hold a camcorder up to our face for the duration of recording without the LCD screen. You can get hours of recording time without the screen, and only a couple max with it. It's not very comfortable using the viewfinder so maybe Sony is encouraging using the LCD as to generate sales from additional batteries as an accessory attachment?
Overall
The unit itself is small and while not quite pocket-size, it's definitely purse or pouch-sized. It's something that you can easily take with you anywhere and whip it out on a moment's notice for recording purposes. The camcorder itself has a nice feel with well-placed buttons. No longer needed is the lens cap since there is a switch on the side, near the front, to open and close the shutter to protect the lens. It's a nice change from having dangly lens caps swaying around. Other notable features of the DCR-HC40 are: Analog-to-Digital Passthrough, USB streaming, One-Touch DVD-Recording (when hooked to a Sony Vaio PC), and digitally enhanced 16:9 aspect ratio. The ports that the HC40 has available are: A/V, USB, Firewire, S-Video, Microphone, and LANC. They're neatly tucked away from sight, but easily accessible. Sony includes a pretty full software bundle for transferring video to your computer for editing and burning purposes.
The Sony DCR-HC40 is great for people new to camcorders or new to camcorders of the digital age. Otherwise for the cost, it's hard to seriously justify the Sony brand to those who want more, better, or professional out of a camcorder. Exceptions would be people stuck on the Sony brand or the compact size (I've qualified customers to a Panasonic or Canon based on their needs, yet once in awhile they'll go with a Sony for either it's size or just the Sony name). Stepping up to the HC65 gets you a larger LCD screen, better 16:9 aspect ratio, and a larger unit for the most part of the cost difference. Stepping down to the HC30 halves the video and still resolution, though it's not really noticeable unless you're dealing with the files on a computer. If you're itching to get one of your own right now right away, see if you can hold out for a great deal. Those who are patient and shop smart will pay a price better suited for the quality of the camera (meaning Sony is overpriced).
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 599.99 Recommended for: Trendsetters - Hip and Stylish Gadgets
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