Sony Handycam DCR-HC96
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"Very good video quality, lightweight and compact camcorder" on by Cyborg_
Pros: Video quality, compact size, decent battery life
Cons: Very sensitive zoom button, indecisive auto focusing in low light conditions
Summary: Very good camcorder for amateurs interested in shooting high quality video using the default settings of the camcorder. The audio and video quality of this camcorder stands out, offering balanced colour rendering, vivid colours, very good detail in a wide range of lighting conditions and good capturing of sounds both indoors and outdoors. The video quality remained very good even in cases of abrupt light transitions (e.g. shooting from outdoor to indoor) but showed some "noise" under poorly lit conditions (e.g. shady indoors with indirect light at dawn). The HC96 exports .avi video files that do not require decompression for editing. The results I got after editing a 30-minute footage with Pinnacle Studio, adding transitions and other digital effects were very satisfactory.
On the other hand, the HC96 seemed slow or indecisive in auto focusing under low lighting (i.e. indoors in late afternoon light) and in some cases when panning quickly across objects lying in varying distances from the camcorder.
Also, you may need some practice before managing to control the zoom button well, as it is very sensitive and tends to zoom rather fast. The touch-screen menus are functional once you familiarize yourself with the menu tree or decide to customize the menus to your preference. Battery life with the supplied battery (NP-FP50)is decent and lasts just over an hour (65 min) if shooting using only the viewfinder.
Although this camcorder is less noisy that previous high-end Sony camcorders (PC-350 or PC-1000), the motor noise is still present as a medium-pitch hum. However, I did not notice his noise to be captured by the microphone.
The quality of still pictures is agreeable, but I would think of still pictures as a secondary feature of a camcorder, that should be judged primarily by the quality of its video performance. -
"What's not to like?" on by letitgosouth
Pros: Small, easy to use, great video and great pictures
Cons: Somewhat grainy in low light.
Summary: This camera is amazing for the mom or dad who needs a high quality video camera that can capture the moments of your life in vivid color. The optics are great and the still camera takes very crisp pictures. This camera is so easy to use and has great features for more experienced video folk. With fire wire on your computer the transfer is fantistic. You can convert you old 8mm tapes by connecting to the camera then running the fire wire from the camera to the computer. Top rate product that is simply a blast to use (I love the night vision). The indoor low light shooting leaves a little more to be desired, but with that said it is still better than my old Sony 8mm. The normal light shooting and outdoor is simply amazing. The colors are brilliant and crisp. Make sure you get the filter set (UV,Polorized and Florescent). These are a simple must have. The UV filter screws on the lense of the camera and you just leave it on. If you scratch it just by a new one (rather than have it permanently scratched on the camera). The other filters simply screw on right on top of it, so it is very simple. I love the burst rate of the photo camera function. It bursts about 10 pictures in one second. For the money ($800, included regular battery, FP70 long life battery, 3 lense kit shipping and tax)this camera is simply a fantastic buy.
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"Good Little Camcorder!" on by annhebert
Pros: Size, Alot of Features & Assesories
Cons: The extra Lens I purchased blocks the flash.
Summary: I love Sony Handycams. I bought my 1st 1 when I was 16 and partied hard with it. It has yet to brake down almost 15 years later. I wanted something smaller a few years ago and got a JVC it broke at Disney World after I dropped it. It was not a hard fall at all so it surpised me. So this time I saved my money and got the DCR-HC96 bundled with all the extras from eBay with the sony warranty & shipping for under $900. I'm talking Lens, filters, Memory Stick, car/rapid charger, extra long play battery, bag & alot more. The Lens ring size is 30mm so all the lens and filters also work on my Sony DSC-P93A Cyber-Shot. So I was ready to go and it was Mardi Gras so it gave it a work out. This little Camcorder is awesome I have 3 kids so I want to get everything on film, something well built and not have to lug arround both a camera & camcorder. I'm also a computer geek/shutterbug so I wanted the techie side to be pretty advanced. So this was perfect. Well I love the dock feature. It makes it so easy to upload my video & photos. Plus anytime I need it, it's ready to just grab and go. I love the nightvision. The battery charge checker is awesome you don't even have to power it up to see your results. It's so easy to use my 9yr old was running with in minutes. We really get a kick out of the D. Effect we spent hours just acting goofy watching ourselves on the display.
Here's a few minor problems. My telephoto and wideangle lens block the flash in very low lighting. But with the wide screen option you can get a regular sized photo out of it. The extra battery i got from merkury designed to replace the NP90 isn't compatiable but the power 2000 replacement NP70 one is. The tranfer video quailty from tape to pc through the supplied USB is not as good as I would expect. But they do offer a iLink cable that they say will bring up the quailty. Because of the low tranfer quailty & the fact you only can record low quailty video to the memory stick I only gave it a 9.Updated
Well after 10 months of use, a few family trips & lots of fun, I stand firm in in my first reveiw. I would like to admit I do get size envy when I see those smaller DVD types. I did some traveling since my last review & I had it right by my side the whole time. The only problem I ran into was in Jamaica, I put it in my dive bag and it got really humid & the water built up in it. (I learned my lesson I do need those Anti-Humidity Packs.) Plus it took a really hard hit. I thought it was a dead for sure, I was really mad at myself & it was useless the rest of the trip. But it dried out a week later & works as good as new and that's why I still love Handycams. -
"Best MiniDV camcorder for its price" on by zibistor
Pros: Supreme audio and video quality (seeing its size) , compact , cool features , wireless(irDa) and great customizability with loads of options
Cons: Battery life (can be fixed)
Summary: First of all, if any of you are getting lured by Panasonic's 3CCD camcorders, let me tell you (I've used Panasonic NV-GS180) , it hardly makes a difference. It just makes your colours a bit more vivid , which you can do with the vivid colour setting in the HC96.
As for the clustered menu, let me tell you that it is fully costumizable and spending 15 minutes fixing it will do the trick.
Bottom line : perfect for a camcorder geek -
"Perfection!" on by generalpdw
Pros: (Not enough room to list everything. Awesome camcorder!)
Cons: Can't seem to get it to be a webcam with Yahoo Messenger, Sony support of no help with that issue (and a little slow), don't like having to use docking station for certain functions
Summary: Dispite the comment in the "Cons" section, the camera itself has NO problems. Only Pros!
Great zoom, great touch-screen LCD, nice docking station even though annoying to use at times, nice to have a place to add a better mic or flash/light, light, small, every control is within reach when it's on your hand, attractive styling and great manual.
I wish it had a built-in light and that the flash bulb was positioned differently, but I can change that later with a combo unit on top. (but I'm just a little picky at times)
I looked for 2 months through the Panasonics, JVCs, Canons, and other top brands. This was the best for the money. The stabalization is amazing too. And it has awesome low-light and nightshot options.
There are just so many good things to say about it that I could go on forever. If you buy it and don't like it, then you either don't know how to use it, or you just want something more expensive. It's the best camcorder made for the money!
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