Sony DCR-HC42 1MP MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/12x Optical
by Sony
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Our Price: $169.00 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 DCR-HC42 1MP MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/12x Optical
Customer Review: Widescreen
Summary: 4 Stars
By many measures Sony DCR-HC42 isn't the best camcorder in its class, but it strikes a good balance for many intended buyers. For instance, similarly priced Panasonic camcorder records more vibrant images. Canon's similarly priced camcorder performs better under lower lighting situation. But it has few nice features that separate DCR-HC42 from these camcorders, particularly if you like widescreen composition.
Let's examine its pros and cons.
Pros:
- Excellent form factor, among the smallest and lightest camcorders in its price range.
- Excellent DV Widescreen support, including great widescreen LCD.
- Long battery life (nearly 2 hours in continuous shooting with LCD backlight turned off, about an hour in demanding situations). Optional batteries offer longer battery life.
- Included docking station makes it easier to connect to computer or TV.
- Very good outdoor performance.
- Automatic settings work well.
- Built-in lens cover.
Cons:
- Optical zoom is only 12X, which is inexcusable considering lower-end DCR-HC32 goes up to 20X.
- Proprietary accessory shoes for attaching accessories such as microphones and light. These accessories aren't cheap.
- No headphones jack for monitoring audio recording.
- Sensitive microphone may pick up button clicks (best to turn off the button click "beep" sound).
- Not so good low light performance.
- Most functions require you to access touch screen LCD.
- Touch screen menu system can be complicated to use.
- So-so digital camera image stills quality.
Compared to lower-end DCR-HC32, DCR-HC42 adds many features in an attempt to justify higher cost, including DV Widescreen, widescreen LCD (LCD backlight can be turned off to conserve power), color viewfinder, noticeably superior CCD for better image quality, accessory shoe that powers external microphone and lighting attachments, and higher resolution megapixel still camera. If widescreen does not interest you, DCR-HC32 may be a better buy.
DCR-HC42's most obvious gimmick is widescreen. If you have HDTV set, this is the low-end camcorder for you. As of now, Sony is the only big name manufacturer that includes widescreen LCD, which while not necessary to capture DV Widescreen, helps the experience immensely. Many camcorders with conventional 4x3 LCD do in fact record DV Widescreen as well as standard DV but LCD will have either black bars on top and bottom or worse, squeezed to accommodate wider images onto narrower frame. It is worth noting that while DV Widescreen increases horizontal resolution, it does so at the expense of vertical resolution. DCR-HC42 has real-life DV resolution of about 400x300 and DV Widescreen resolution of about 450x250. But this is still better than "fake" widescreen DV camcorders such as DCR-HC32, which records widescreen composition onto 4x3 frames, which decreases vertical resolution without increasing horizontal resolution.
Taking DCR-HC42 out of the box, I was surprised how small and light the camcorder was. My previous camcorder was bulky Hi8 model, and while I have played with many MiniDV camcorders at the store, its size still surprised me a bit. Recording a long footage without the use of tripod, I appreciated every ounce that DCR-HC42 sheds from heavier models.
Recording indoor in lazy afternoon, I was disappointed by recorded footage at first. But tinkering with the camcorder taught me a trick that cleans up noisy low-light images immensely - the back light feature. This feature is designed to brighten up the subject set against brightly lit background (e.g., a person standing before sunrise) but significantly cleans up noise under indoor situation as well. Some footage takes on much smoother appearance with this feature turned on (helped further by using other features).
One of my biggest pet peeves is touch screen menu system. While personalized menu feature helps immensely (in which you can assign up to 28 frequently accessed features available within few clicks), I much prefer using physical buttons. Features such as tweaking exposure, adjusting focus, selecting automatic exposure, and adjusting white balance require using touch screen menu system. Thankfully, very frequently used features, such as enabling fully automatic mode (called "EASY" mode), previously discussed back light feature, and zoom are physical controls.
The main reason to choose MiniDV over other formats (e.g., DVD, MicroMV), is because the format is computer friendly. Using light weight compression algorithm (similar to MJPEG), DV format offers minimal digital artifacts and is highly suitable for linear editing. Before connecting the camcorder to computer, invest in FireWire (also known as i.Link or IEEE 1394) cable. This cable, along with FireWire connector on your computer, is necessary to edit DV footage on your computer with zero loss in quality. Windows XP includes Windows Movie Maker 2 which is good video editing software and works well with DCR-HC42. Sony includes video editing software, too, but it is pretty limited with many usability issues. If you are using Windows XP, stick with Windows Movie Maker. Macintosh users have even better tool at their disposal, iMovie HD, part of iLife `05. iMovie HD supports DV Widescreen, which lets you work with widescreen footage directly. Using this software, I was able to cut fairly well edited home movie.
All in all, DCR-HC42 is a good camcorder for point and shoot crowd, and particularly appealing to those with widescreen TV set. Its touch screen menu system may detract some buyers, but the Easy mode works pretty well for "set and forget it" crowd. More advanced users will have to put up with touch screen menu, but it wasn't so bad once I got use to it. If you record lots of footage under low light situation, this isn't the best camcorder for you. DCR-HC42 shines under bright outdoor.
Customer Review: Excellent audio-video quality and ease of use
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best camcorders in the market today and I would definitely recommend it to anyone planning to buy a Mini-DV camcorder
Positive factors:
- Very small and easy to hold with one hand. Can be easily attached even to a mini-tripod with ease.
- Excellent widescreen video and hi-fi audio. Your videos finally get that "Hollywood" feel when you shoot movies in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format). Even if you don't have a widescreen TV currently, you will very soon have one as more and more people are buying them. So its better to buy this camcorder and shoot in 16:9 format to enjoy your movies later in widescreen format.
- Includes widescreen rotatable LCD so what you see is what you get when you shoot in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format)
- Good battery life. One extra battery is enough. You can easily manage a day's worth of shooting with two batteries before recharging them again
- Includes docking station making it easier to connect to computer or TV. If you have a good computer with a firewire port, please buy a firewire cable to connect the camcorder to your computer. You can download your movie in excellent clarity in .avi format and edit it as required
- Make sure to change the audio setting to 16 bit (instead of the default 12 bit) for very good hi-fi audio
- Touchscreen menu system is great. You don't have to search for any buttons as they are all available in the touchscreen menu itself.
- 12X optical zoom is more than sufficient for ordinary home videos. Anything more produces more "shaking" and would necessiate the use of a tripod. When you shoot without a tripod, 12X is the best zoom you can achieve without worrying about shaky videos
- 1 MP widescreen still photo. You can use this feature if you forgot to bring your digital camera. The photo clarity is not good so please don't expect great shots. Since the photo is in 16:9 format, you can take panoramic photos and cover more people in group shots
- Nightshot: Cool feature that records using infrared light. Useful for shooting at night as you can record a video even in 100% darkness
- Color widescreen viewfinder - Very useful when you are running down on batteries and need to use the viewfinder. The color widescreen viewfinder gives an excellent picture and is as good as the LCD in clarity
Negative factors:
- Outdoor videos especially in bright sunlight are overexposed. So please adjust the white balance when shooting outdoors. Add the white-balance menu to your shortcuts so that you can easily access it and return to default once you start shooting indoors
- Sensitive microphone may pick up button clicks (best to turn off the button click "beep" sound).
Notes:
- Use a fresh cassette after recording 2 or 3 times on the same cassette. The head tends to get dirty if you re-record on the same cassette more than 3 times
- You can edit movies in Windowx XP using Windows Movie Maker, but beware it does not support 16:9 ratio video. Hence your videos look ugly as you shot them in 16:9 but Movie Maker converted it to 4:3. Invest in Pinnacle Software version 9 or 10 for better movie editing capabilities. Pinnacle is the only software, I am aware of, that preserves teh 16:9 ratio. Even Roxio could not allow 16:9 format.
- You can also invest in wide-angle lens as it gives excellent coverage
Customer Review: An utter disappointment!
Summary: 2 Stars
Before purchasing this product I did plenty of research hoping that it would help me make a wise decision as to what camcorder to buy. Since there are innumerable digital camcorders to choose from, this fact no doubt makes it extremely difficult to know which one to acquire. Since Sony HC-42 is a rather inexpensive camcorder I had been careful not to expect too much. Upon delivery I immediately charged the battery and started recording. The video quality for indoor shooting was extremely poor in spite of the fact that the room in which I was shooting was well-lit. The picture was grainy and significant noise could easily be seen. In fact, the entire LCD screen was filled with white dots. Thinking that there was something wrong with the settings I referred to the manual which said that the camcorder always comes with the optimal settings. So I went outdoors, the video quality was slightly better but the white dots were still there and I am not talking about small and barely visible dots, even in this case the distortion was highly evident. Keep in mind that this shooting took place outdoors on a sunny day!
I went to a local store to see if they had a Sony HC-42 in order to determine if mine was defective in some way. Admittedly, the video quality was a bit better in the local store but the white dots were still there. So, what I did was to compare the Sony HC-42 with the other camcorders present in the store at that time (Hitachi DZ MV750, Panasonic PV-GS35 and a JVC GR-D270). My verdict was that these three camcorders completely outperformed Sony HC-42 in video quality. Note also that only the Hitachi's camcorder is more expensive than the Sony HC-42. I was shocked by this fact since I am a big fan of Sony's products; I have their DVD player which works exceptionally. One thing I like though about the Sony HC-42 is the touch screen that works flawlessly and very smoothly. Many camcorders in this price range usually lack this feature. Furthermore, the ergonomics of this camcorder are superb, it is small and fits easily in your hand and the battery time is good as well. None the less, the video quality is not better than on a VHS camera and that is completely unacceptable, one cannot compromise with the video quality. I would have accepted a slightly lower video quality for indoor shooting, that I can live with. However, when shooting outdoors I want it to be perfect, with as little aberration, noise and distortion as possible. Sony has failed to deliver in this case. I am not implying that there are no good Sony camcorders on the market but this one is not something I would recommend my parents to buy, if you know what I mean. Before you purchase this product make sure to go down to your local store and test it first.
By the way, I have returned mine.
Customer Review: Easy to use but Video Capture is a problem and Sony is no help.
Summary: 2 Stars
This camera is a decent enough camera, compact, easy to use and takes good quality video and still pictures and the battery life is excellent. The battery that comes with it is good for a couple of hours continuous recording and the tapes only last for one hour. I acquired a second battery that is good for 240+ minutes so I never worry about running out of juice. I have only two complaints really, one minor and one major.
The minor complaint is the fiddly little controls on the touch screen LCD viewfinder. I find I need to use my reading glasses to see what I'm doing.
The major complaint is transfering video to my computer via the iLink cable (not supplied). I have never persuaded it to work. By browsing various camera fora on the web I am finding a complaint identical to mine with this model in particular as well as other Sony models. The computer will recognize the camera in USB mode (for capturing still pictures from the memory stick) but does not see it at all when plugged in via iLink (firewire/IEEE 1394). All indications are that my firewire port and cable are perfectly OK. Sony tech support, both web chat based and phone, have no clue and because I am out of warranty it will cost a flat $210 to send it in and have them take a look at it.
If all you want to do is connect the camera to your TV to playback the video you take, it's a good camera. If video capture an editing is what you have in mind, buyer beware. Because of this, I can only give the product 2 stars, other wise it would be a 5.
Update: I installed a new Firewire PCI card on my computer and using a new cable tried the video capture again. I also tried the camera on my neighbor's Mac (on the theory that if a Mac won't recognize it you really know you have a problem). The computer still won't recognize the camera. This camera has been used very little and definitely not abused. It was probably defective right out of the box and it appears to be a common problem. If you buy this, make sure you test all of its capabilities as soon as you get it. Don't wait like I did because I'm out of warranty and it will cost me to get the problem fixed.
Customer Review: great camcorder, but bit over priced
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this camcorder about a month ago and have used it for recording nearly 4 hours of video so far.
Things that I like most about this camcoreder are
1) Image stability
2) Image Quality (Both Video and Still)
3) widescreen mode (40' angle for widescreen capture)
you loose tiny bit of resolution in wide screen still images
4) handling and portability
all the manual conttols are well arranged
smaller size allows easy portability
5) Battery life (I got almost 1hr 30 mins each time)
6) Touch Screen Menu (I wonder why some found it difficult)
7) Ease of use
8) Docking station
9) Still Image modes
exposure bracketing (three photos taken at various exposure)
normal burst mode (three photos taken consecutively)
10) LCD/viewfinder (2.7" Widescreen LCD screen)
it doesn't solarize like others when viewed from an angle
both LCD screen and viewfinder in color and 123K resolution
Areas where this camcorder lags behind
1) Low light performance
2) Scan rate (it should be 24P)
3) Optical zoom (It offers only 12x optical zoom)
while DCR HC32/21 offers 20X optical zoom
Overall
This camcorder is good for
1) Point and shoot users
2) Techno freaks
3) Outdoor video
4) Indoor video with decent lights
5) If you own a SONY laptop (ease of capturing movies and image)
Recommended Accessories
1) Tripod (set it up and operate camera from far using remote)
2) External flash (Very useful, can be attached on top)
3) Additional battery
If you want to capture more than 1 hr video w/o recharging
If using external flash