Sony Handycam DCR-HC36

CNET Editors' Rating

3.0 stars
    Overall score: 6.0 (3.0 stars)

Good

Average User Rating

9 reviews

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Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - overview Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - top Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - side Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - back
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  • Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - Video
  • Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - overview
  • Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - top
  • Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - side
  • Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 - back

CNET Editors' Review

CNET Editors' Rating

3.0 stars Good
    Overall score: 6.0 (3.0 stars)
  • Design: 7.0
  • Features: 6.0
  • Performance: 6.0
  • Image quality: 4.0
  • Reviewed by: Philip Ryan
  • Released on:
  • Reviewed on:

The good: Very compact size; lightweight; easy to use; low price.

The bad: Mediocre video quality; short battery life; no accessory shoe; low-quality stills.

The bottom line: Unless this camcorder's low-resolution, low-quality stills are important to you, you might as well go for Sony's less expensive DCR-HC26.

Review: The differences between Sony's entry-level MiniDV camcorders, the Handycam DCR-HC26 and the DCR-HC36, don't add up to much. The biggest is the HC36's Memory Stick Duo Pro slot for still-image recording. But, since the camera's 1/6-inch CCD outputs stills at a resolution of 340,000 pixels, you shouldn't expect to get decent prints from it. So, unless you really enjoy e-mailing drab, low-res images to your friends, that feature won't help you much. The other main difference is the HC36's remote control, which might come in handy when watching your tapes, but ... Expand full review
The differences between Sony's entry-level MiniDV camcorders, the Handycam DCR-HC26 and the DCR-HC36, don't add up to much. The biggest is the HC36's Memory Stick Duo Pro slot for still-image recording. But, since the camera's 1/6-inch CCD outputs stills at a resolution of 340,000 pixels, you shouldn't expect to get decent prints from it. So, unless you really enjoy e-mailing drab, low-res images to your friends, that feature won't help you much. The other main difference is the HC36's remote control, which might come in handy when watching your tapes, but probably isn't worth the difference in price.

On the plus side, the Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 is small and lightweight, making it easy to throw in a bag or shoot with for extended periods of time. Plus, the top-loading tape compartment makes switching tapes easier if you're using a tripod. The basic controls are all in the right place, with the record button exactly where your thumb falls naturally, and the same applies to the side-to-side zoom rocker. Three buttons on the camera's left side control the amount of info that appears on the display and let you enter backlight or Easy mode. Everything else--including menu access--happens through the 2.5-inch touch-screen LCD. While the touch-screen interface is well designed and the menus are intuitive, the LCD felt too small for the task, as is often the case with Sony camcorders. Joystick controls, such as those found on some newer Canon camcorders are more comfortable to use, but Sony's touch screen is still much better than the hidden buttons found on Hitachi's DVD camcorders.

If you venture outside of the fully automatic Easy mode, Sony offers a fair amount of manual control. In addition to a handful of program autoexposure presets, such as Landscape and Portrait, you can also opt for full manual exposure. Of course, both auto and manual focus are also available, though setting critical focus manually via the LCD screen was not easy. Not only was the screen too small to tell if finer details were actually in focus, but we had a hard time getting the focus to land in the right place with the touch-screen controls. We were much more pleased with the camcorder's NightShot plus mode, which uses an infrared assist lamp to create monotone, greenish video, even in total darkness, that's much more pleasing than the extremely grainy and/or blurry footage you get from most camcorders.

Connections include A/V output though a breakout cable, USB, and FireWire. The DCR-HC36 can accept incoming signals through its FireWire connection, but not via USB or A/V. If you want to use your camcorder to digitize your analog video collection, you'll have to step up to Sony's Handycam DCR-HC96 or another camcorder with a built-in analog-to-digital converter.

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Average User Rating

3.5 stars out of 9 user reviews

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star: 3
  • 4 star: 3
  • 3 star: 2
  • 2 star: 1
  • 1 star: 0

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Most Helpful User Review

4.5 stars 6 of 7 users found this review helpful

"Great camcorder for home videos and medium level hobbyists" By agrbalan

Pros 1- Very nice design (top side tape load); Colored viewfinder; Great touch screen; Video quality excelent and vivid colors; Resonable performance with low light

Cons Lacks anolog inputs, specially a microfone jack

Summary I bought this camera one week ago at Best Buy, paid $379 (plus taxes) and I'm very satisfied so far. With a good light environment it produces movies with brilhant color. With poor light its performance is good for home videos. In this case it presents some noise, but ... Expand full review

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Specifications

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Quick Specs

  • Optical sensor type: Advanced HAD CCD
  • Effective sensor resolution: 0.34 megapixels
  • Flash type: Built-in

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