Sony HDR-HC1 2.8MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
by Sony
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Our Price: $249.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony HDR-HC1 2.8MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: I never thought it could be this good
Summary: 5 Stars
I went shopping for a higher resolution 3CCD camera, and instead found this Sony HDR-HC1. Upon my first test viewing I couldn't believe how good this camera was with color, and the 1080 resolution was jaw dropping. If you buy this camera, be ready, this is broadcast quality. Once again, Sony brings technology and the art of the moving image, to a new affordable level. Now filmakers, young and old can fulfill their wish, to create with a powerfull camera.
Thank You Sony
Customer Review: Great camera for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, let me say that I am a 16 year old aspiring filmmaker. I used to use a little cheapo 1CCD camcorder that I got way back in 2002. The picture quality sucked, and last July it finally went caput and died on me. So, I went camera shopping for about 3 or 4 months.
Finally, late last November, I settled on the HDR-HC1. Considering my price range, and the fact that it shot in HD (and TRUE widescreen, for that matter), it seemed like the perfect camera for me at this stage in my career. So far, it has delivered for me even better than I expected.
Pros:
1. Finally! A camera with true widescreen!
2. Excellent picture quality. Sometimes I have to convert the HD video so it will fit on a DVD, but even then it looks absolutely stunning. It almost looks like film. I was extremely impressed.
3. It's small and lightweight. Easy transportation.
4. Manual focus ring works great. This is another thing that I was somewhat peeved on with my old camera. I like to make a lot of short films. Because of the zoom ring, I am able to put focus on certain aspects of the frame (an old movie technique that still works great). The only way that the ring could be better is if they labeled it with some markings.
Cons:
1. The battery life is pretty bad. 40 minutes doesn't do justice for a camera like this. For compensation, I bought the Sony NP-QM91D. It delivers me about 4 hours of battery life. Granted, it takes a while to charge, but it's worth 4 hours. The only drawback is that this battery will cost you an extra $100 dollars.
2. Yes, the camera is a little front heavy, but the extra extended battery will fix this.
3. The viewfinder. This is something that really ticks me off about this camera. I was really disappointed with Sony over this. With the big battery that you will need to purchase, your viewfinder will basically be rendered useless. The battery sticks out so much that, if you want to use the viewfinder, your nose and the battery will be spending a lot of time together. The least Sony could have done would have been to allow the viewfinder to extend out, but, sadly, this is not the case.
4. This camera doesn't perform the best in low light conditions. When you shoot in low light, the image becomes very grainy. This kind of disappoints me as I shoot a lot in very unpredictable lighting conditions.
5. The tape deck is located at the bottom of the camera which means that you have to turn the camera upside down to load and unload the tapes. In other words, you can't change tapes if the camera is on a tripod or connected to anything else while filming. This normally isn't a problem, but if you're shooting live on a tripod and your tape starts to run out, the only way to change it is to disconnect the camera from the tripod, change the tapes, and then reconnect it. This is a fairly time consuming process that will make you lose a substantial amount of footage, so be careful on how much tape your camera has left while filming.
Overall, I would definitely give this camera some consideration. For the price range, it works great.
Customer Review: Amazing Camcorder
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this camera and here is my assessment so far:
PROS:
1. Small. I would very happy with the size when I opened the box as I was worried that a HDV camera and quality lens would make for a large camera. No, it's no a tiny camera, but comparable to most mid-priced bodies in the market. But unlike the mid-market cameras, the HC1 is a HDV power house.
2. Image quality is breath taking. If you are a new parent or just want your images to stand the test of time, this is a great camera to invest in now since the future is HD
3. Feels great in your hand. Solid build and feel.
CONS:
1. Camera is slightly front-heavy. This is not a big deal since you will need a bigger batter which balances the weight perfectly (see next comment.)
2. Standard battery is simply not acceptable. Gets about 40 minutes of recording time, if you are lucky. Get the xxx71 Sony battery at a minimum or the xxx91 for extended recording (although this batter is very long and heavy. I went with the 71 and am pleased with it.)
3. Memory stick. When is Sony going to understand this is terrible for customers and they should simply use standard memory not this proprietary crap?
4. Only 'OK' in low light situations. Not bad, mind you, and better than 95% of the cameras on the market which all struggle with this, but for a 2K camera, I was hoping for a little better. But again, the low light is acceptable.
5. No firewire cable. This is a must for putting movies on your computer, and the fact that you have to spend another 40 bucks for it after dropping 2 grand on the camcorder is simply insulting. Sony, needs to get its act together and not cheat its prosumer customers.
On balance, I think this is a great camcorder and a great investment in capturing your memories in the format of the future.
Finally, as another poster mentioned, working in HD (and video in general) is definitely easier on a Mac.
My wife who hates technology loves doing video and pictures on her Mac, and easily shares them on her .Mac account. If you are consider this camcorder--or any other for that matter--definitely consider investing in a Mac too. It makes the post production a ton of fun and a highly creative process vs. "trying to figure basic things out for hours on end like her PC experience."
Customer Review: Bought when it first came out in 2005
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the HC1 new back in 2005, I upgraded from the JVC HD1 which was a 720P 30fps HD camcorder. The HC1 was in a whole different league from the HD1 (sold it on ebay immediately after getting the HC1). The image quality of the HC1 is spectacular. I've made about 5 tapes since I bought the HC1 and it's only shortcoming to me is the low light performance. Taping inside during the day looks spectacular, and under good indoor lighting the results are spectacular as well, but once the lighting is reduced to 15-20 lux lighting the image starts to get noisy. I've heard that the Canon HV20 and HV30 are very good at 24P or 30P in low light, I'm contemplating updrading to one of those cams, but I'd hate to really dislike some other aspect of the Canon.
Pros
-HD performance is incredible when the lighting is good
-photo image capture is adequate for 4X6 photos
-sound quality is good
-zebra pattern and histogram very useful
-great organomics for my hands
-build quality is superb (it's been skiing on the slops twice and mountain biking as well)
Cons
-Low Light performance
-wish the lens was wider (a wideangle adaptor helps)
displays:
1080P Mitsubishi projector on a 106" screen
60" Pioneer Elite
hookup
PS3 streaming from PC running Tversity.
Customer Review: Almost perfect camera.
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading that this was the "best of it's class" camcorder at camcorderinfo.com, as well as reading all the reviews I could find, I bought it. Now that I've had it for many months, some comments: It's a great camera, HD is awesome, and it has alot of features. Nothing to complain about other than 1) auto focus is problematic, especially in low-light, and 2) low-light quality isn't even as good as my 1999 Digital8 Sony was. Taping in Night Vision is almost useless as it goes out of focus so easily.
I'm still blown away by how great the day video looks when imported into my iMac. HDV is a pain on older computers (my 1.8 Ghz iMac G5 took 2-4x to import, but my Core 2 Duo imports realtime). Note, importing in iMovie involves reading in the HDV and converting it to an intermediate format -- higher end apps can import real-time and edit that (converting on the fly).
I do like the camera -- few complaints -- but I'm still irked that Sony uses a non-standard hotshoe. All my old Sony add-ons (IR lights, etc.) could not be used on this. But, the active hot show has great benefits (like the bluetooth mic that plugs up and gets power and audio from the hotshoe -- nice).