- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 26 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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43 out of 43 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Finally a HDV camcorder"
Pros: True HD camcorder offering 2-3 times the resolution of other camcorders at a great price.
Cons: 1st generation HD consumer-grade camcorder ahead of its time.
Summary: The CNet review appears to be less impressed with the Sony HDR-HC1 than the one at http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-HCR-HC1-Review.htm. The difference appears to be the merits of the camera versus pragmatism.
It's hard to fault the Sony. One reviewer reacting to CNet's review sniffs over the HDV format. They completely miss the point. The camcorder appears to meet most consumer HD camcorder needs. It's not for producing your next independent film at Sundance. HDV offers practical HD for consumers. It records on cheap, standard media and offers an image quality nobody but a pro will complain about. Who can quibble it's not vastly superior to anything else offered to the consumer market? Even when HD DVD/Blueray/some HD hybrid comes to the US market, HDV will be the consumer camcorder standard for years to come.
The Sony offers features generally as good as any other consumer camcorder, plus excellent color balance, and far - we're talking 2-3 times better - resolution. CNet's review seems to favor the Panasonic AG-DVC30. But why? To save money? The Sony is listed on the 'net at prices ranging from about $1700-2000. The Panasonic is listed from about $1500-1900. Who is going to save $200 or so for yesterday's technology?
The real problem with the Sony isn't the camcorder at all. It's the fact that HD isn't widely supported outside of some HD broadcasts over cable/satelite. Outside the US DVD players supporting HD (e.g., HD DVD, Blueray, HDV) have been available since about 2004. In the US, the industry is dragging its feet. A DVD player supporting HVD is planned in the US for a September release but it'll list at $399 and won't support HD DVD or Blueray making it a premature play for most consumers to bite on, if it doesn't end up to be yet more 'vaporware'. It'll be a while before you'll be showing off your HD videos our your DVD player at 1040i. And, as the CNet review points out, software editors supporting HDV (e.g. Sony's Vegas 6) are expensive. Expect to pay $400-1000. Then you have to play it through your camcorder until the US gets decent DVD support of HD formats.
But that's not the HDR-HC1's fault. The choice comes down to buy a Sony HDR-HC1 for the future or buy a 'disposable' yesterday's technology DV (even the 3-CDD models) that'll be completely outdated in a year to 18 months. Unless you plan to wait, the Sony HDR-HC1 is the only choice for anyone wanting a high-end consumer model. Even someone with deep pockets is better off with the HDR-HC1 for vacation footage, baby pictures, etc. because more expensive HD camcorders are several times the weight making them impractical for most consumer applications even for those willing to pay over 3 grand.
- 3 replies to this review
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Earlfargis,
Sure, other posters (such as the one that hates the HDV format) miss the point that this is a CONSUMER camcorder. And you are right that to buy an SD 3-CCD would be dumb at this phase within the SD/HD transition. However, isn?t 1080i (only) just as 18 month useless as SD? I mean there are already 1080p LCD monitors hitting the market ? cheap. And, shouldn?t I be able to shoot my little girl as she grows up maybe playing soccer? 1080i is crappy for that (720p would be better), but 1080i is great for that wide-angle shot of the Grand Canyon. Why is it only a PRO issue, that 24fps and some decent color depth and latitude is not available; that I want footage of my daughter growing up to look like a movie, instead of a harsh news broadcast or a cheap soap opera. And while these are all things that may fall into the category of ?wish list; okay you can pay more if you want that?.
These aren?t:
Terrible and unpredictable auto focus.
Auto exposure that flares from time to time.
Really bad chromatic noise in only moderate lighting conditions
(looks like a $99 web-cam in medium light.)
My real issue with you post, and the reason I say you missed the point too, is that neither you nor those you flame discuss the actual performance of the camera! It?s all philosophy. My review focuses on ?How did this camera do? Does it do what I expect??
And by the way, HDV does have its faults - I can see compression artifacts easily on my (relatively small 36?, but very high quality) HDTV, and when that means blocky edges around my baby's nose, obvious compression induced banding in the blue sky of horizon shots, and interlace artifacts galore (interlaced video is ?harder? to encode into MPEG2 than progressive while maintaining sharp edges and smooth gradients), that makes it a regular old consumer and not just a PRO issue). And I am not some jaded PRO/SUMER, this is my first camcorder, and I didn?t know anything about HDV or MPEG2 before I stared researching this past summer. -
I did a little bit of research when I found out that Sony was releasing a smaller camcorder for high definition. I am really intersted in the product. I had the same question as far as "How can I replay high definition content recorded from the camcorder and replay it at high definition other than direct from the camcorder?".
Being that there are no DVD players in the U.S. market that will support playback of true high definition video how would I share the high definition content with family and friends?
I found out that you don't have to buy Vegas Video 6 (very pricey). I use both Mac and Windows machines. If your friends or family have a PC (with a good graphics card and monitor) and quicktime player you may be able to transfer the high definition video from the DV tape onto the hard drive then make a high definition Quicktime movie, copy the file to DVD (2 minutes/1gb is what I heard). A dual layer DVD -/+R could hold approx. 20 minutes max of a high definition Quicktime movie. Not everyone does, but I have a Mac Mini hooked up to my HDTV and if I open a quicktime movie that was recorded and transfered to HD then it's all good. But that's the down sound, for now you're limited to watching high definition video content directly from the camcorder or computer, which is fine with me. -
Not to be a Mac zealot, but iMovie 5 (aka iMovie HD) supports HD video editing, is highly useable for the consumer crowd, and is FREE with every Mac. Several levels up is Final Cut Express for $300. Your $400-$1000 estimate may be true for Windows but not on the Macintosh.
Where to buy
Sony Handycam HDR-HC1:
$1,499.95
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$1,499.95 | Yes |
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