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stars
"Excellent camera" on by bwhaler
Pros: Great image quality
Cons: Burns battery life
Summary: First, CNET fix the errors in your review. Your PC/Microsoft bias shines through.
HDV is editable using the FREE and amazing tools available on the Mac (iMovie HD) and for prosumers you can also use Final Cut Express. ($99 upgrade.) Yes, if you use a PC you are stuck buying very expensive apps.
Anyway, this is an amazing camera and a great break-through price.
It has the typical Sony problems. Proprietary hot shoes. Proprietary memory sticks. Small design quirks such as the eye piece does not extend outwards past the battery. Plus, typical Sony with the battery which lasts on 45 minutes, so plan on buying a $100 battery with real capacity.
But again, it is a break through product. Sure, not true HD, but still pretty amazing shots are captured. Better than anything else at the market at this price point.
- 2 replies to this review
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To correct the reviewers correction of CNET:<br>When you plug the Sony into your Mac, and run import from within the iMovie HD, the Mac is expanding the MPEG2 stream up to an AVI format (frame independant compression). This is why you can edit it. And that takes a LOT of HD space. For example when I plugged i-Linked the data to my PC (with a Freeware application) in the raw MPEG2 stream, I got a 1.5GB file for about 8 minutes of footage.<br>When that same footage was imported on my iMac G5, the resulting .avi file (after iMovie was done converting) was 4.8GB!<br>If I converted the MPEG2 stream to an AVI on my PC the same thing would happen (also with a freeware utility).<br>...<br>It always amuses me how defensive Apple bigots are; so quick to assume someone is PC-biased. I prefer to use the best machine for the job, sometimes that's a Mac, sometimes a PC (windows), and sometime Linux.<br><br>Enjoy the camera.
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bwhaler,<br><br>Now that you mention the Memory Stick...<br><br>For consumers (like me) that have Sony Memory Stick media (not 'DUO'): Is it possible to insert a non-DUO Memory Stick in the HC1 (even if it protrudes)?
