Digital Video Camera & Camcorder Review

Sony introduces the world’s smallest and one of the lightest high definition consumer camcorder with full HD resolution based on HDV 1080i, the Sony Handycam® HDR-HC1. The ultra-compact HDR-HC1 Handycam® camcorder fits comfortably in your hand, while delivering high-definition picture quality and lighting detail on both video and digital still images.

The Luminous Landscape reviews the Sony HDR-HC1 and writes - “…I’m a big fan of this camera and of HD video in general. HD is the future of consumer video as well as of indie film makers and non-broadcast producers, and of course of broadcast television. During the first half of 2005 the Sony FX1 and Z1 high-def cameras swept though the prosumer market, and now the HC1 is destined to do the same to the hobbyist market, and prosumers who need a small, light and yet powerful HD digicam for specialized uses.”

CNET Reviews has a review of the Sony HDR-HC1 and gives it a rating of 7.2 (very good) and it also has an average 8.0 (excellent) user rating. They write - “The Sony Handycam HDR-HC1’s real draw is its ability to record 1080i HD video on standard MiniDV cassettes; it uses the recently implemented HDV format, which employs MPEG-2 compression rather than DV. Not much software currently supports HDV for digitizing, and the packages that do tend to be expensive products such as Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 and Apple Final Cut Pro 5.0. So the HC1 also provides HD-to-DV downconversion for editing or playback on a standard-def (SD) TV. Like its big brother, the HDR-FX1, it incorporates Sony’s Cinematic mode for simulating the appearance of 24fps film. It can also record standard DV. The camcorder supports component-video output and supplies the necessary cables, but if you have a FireWire port on your TV, you’ll get the best playback quality that way.”

CamcorderInfo.com has reviewed the Sony HDR-HC1 HDV and writes a glowing and very thorough review stating - “If the HDR-HC1 is a sign of the future and subsequent Sony HDV consumer camcorders are made this well, Sony will be able to recapture the passion of serious video consumers which they’ve seemed to have lost in recent years. The camcorder performs excellently in normal light and very well in low light. In addition, the image is about 3x sharper, with 3x more pixels than a MiniDV signal. The video produced from the HDR-HC1 is gorgeous. It’s some of the best video we’ve seen out of any camcorder on this market. You just can’t get that much quality for that few dollars anywhere else. Nothing comes close and the HDR-HC1 even challenges Panasonic’s PV-GS400 for the position of best value on the market today.”

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