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Home > Consumer Camcorders > Camcorder Reviews > Sony Camcorders > Sony MiniDV Camcorders > Quick Camcorder Reviews: Sony DCR-HC46
Published on February 09, 2007
The DCR-HC46 may be a hot seller, but is it the best value in its price range? This middle-of-the road model gives you a pretty good picture and is easy to use. However, performance plummets in low light, and the poor manual control feature set make this a point-and-shoot-only camcorder. The Canon Elura 100 offers a better picture, more options, a mic input, and it’s cheaper. Before you settle on this modest Sony, be sure to check out the almighty Elura, Camcorderinfo.com’s 2006 Camcorder of the Year.
Quick Camcorder Reviews: Sony DCR-HC46
by Michael PerlmanPublished on February 09, 2007
Within Sony’s family of consumer camcorders, the mid-range DCR-HC46 ($599.99 MSRP) is quite an improvement over its step-down siblings, the HC26 and HC36. It features better image quality in bright light, a similarly easy to use design, and refined automatic controls. For buyers looking for image quality and simplicity at a reasonable price, this should be an alluring camcorder. However, the HC46 is far from the best in its class due to mediocre low light performance and few manual controls. And with camcorders like Canon’s Elura 100 vying for entry-level supremacy, can the HC46 survive a match in the dreaded camcorder coliseum? Read on to find out.
The Sony DCR-HC46 is equipped with a 1/5.5” CCD and 1.07 gross MP. In bright light, the HC46 produces a very good image, but the biggest problem is noise. This does not doom the overall quality of the image, but it does not produce an all-star picture either. The HC46 trumps the Panasonic PV-GS39 and the JVC GR-DF550 with its sharper image and broader color balance, but the Canon Elura 100 reigns supreme with awesome overall video quality.
In low light, the color balance of the HC46 looked uneven and noise increased greatly. At 15 lux, the lowest light level we test, most of the HC46’s color information was lost, though a fair amount of detail remained. This beat the GS39’s excessive noise, but does not contend with the Elura’s low light color performance. Overall, the HC46 does not fare well in dim lighting.
As with most Sonys, the HC46 is easy to use, especially in full auto or “Easy” mode. The HC46’s touchscreen is as simple as an ATM to navigate through. However, you’ll face the daunting task of keeping fingerprints from obscuring the image. Panasonic’s joystick interface eliminates this problem, but requires a little more time to master.
The HC46 does have a comfortable design and good ergonomics for hand-held shooting. The Record/Start/Stop button is conveniently located near the thumb for easy access, with the highly efficient zoom toggle just ahead. Although the HC46 is a nice looking camcorder, it feels cheaply made thanks to its plastic design and, on our model, a weak LCD hinge.
The Sony DCR-HC46 offers a slew of automatic controls, accessible via Easy Mode, which places the HC46 in autopilot. Easy Mode welcomes filmmakers from all experience levels to concentrate on the subject without getting exceedingly bogged down by tweaking the image manually. Auto focus, white balance, and exposure work instantly and effectively, with a shorter auto-adjustment lag then most other consumer camcorders.
On the flip side, the HC46, like most consumer Sony camcorders, is lacking in the manual controls department. It does not come equipped with a manual shutter speed, aperture control, or gain. The HC46 does have a manual zoom, focus, exposure in EV steps, and white balance, all accessed by the “P-Menu” button in the lower right hand corner on the LCD.
| Sony DCR-HC46 - THE BOTTOM LINE Rating: 183.67 |
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| Likes |
| - Decent video performance, and very easy to use - Great automatic controls - Ergonomic palm-friendly design |
| Dislikes |
| - Value does not compare favorably with competitors - No mic input and poor manual control interface and fearture set - In the line-up below, only the DCR-HC36 scores lower |
Sony DCR-HC46 Compared to the...
| Sony DCR-HC96 Rating: 225.67 |
Canon Elura 100 Rating: 218.30 |
Panasonic PV-GS39 Rating: 206.78 |
JVC GR-D395 Rating: 193.12 |
Sony DCR-HC36 Rating: 175.17 |
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| Better | Better | Better | Better | Better |
| -Video Performance -Video Resolution -Automatic Control -Ease Of Use -Still Features -Still Resolution -Still Perfomance -VCR Mode -Low Light Performance -Wide Angle -LCD / Viewfinder -Audio -Other Features -Value |
-Video Performance -Video Resolution -Overall Manual Control -Focus -Exposure -Shutter Speed -Still Features -Still Resolution -Low Light Performance -Zoom Ratio -Wide Angle -Audio -Battery -Widescreen -Jacks / Ports / Plugs -Other Features -Value |
-Overall Manual Control -Focus -Exposure -Shutter Speed -Gain -VCR Mode -Low Light Performance -Zoom Ratio -Wide Angle -Audio -Handling -Battery -Widescreen -Other Features -Value |
-Overall Manual Control -Exposure -Shutter Speed -Gain -VCR Mode -Low Light Performance -Zoom Ratio -Wide Angle -Audio -Portability -Battery -Widescreen -Other Features -Value |
-Low Light Performance -Zoom Ratio -Wide Angle -Battery |
| Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal |
| -Overall Manual Control -Zoom -Focus -Exposure -Shutter Speed -White Balance -Gain -Other Manual Control -Compression -Media -Editing -24P/Scan Rates |
-Gain -Other Manual Control -Still Perfomance -VCR Mode -Handling -Portability -Compression -Media -Editing -24P/Scan Rates |
-Other Manual Control -Compression -Media -Editing -24P/Scan Rates -Jacks / Ports / Plugs |
-Focus -Other Manual Control -Compression -Media -Editing -24P/Scan Rates -Jacks / Ports / Plugs |
-Overall Manual Control -Zoom -Focus -Exposure -Shutter Speed -White Balance -Gain -Other Manual Control -Ease Of Use -VCR Mode -LCD / Viewfinder -Audio -Handling -Portability -Compression -Media -Editing -24P/Scan Rates -Jacks / Ports / Plugs -Other Features |
| Equal | Equal | Equal | Worse | Worse |
| -Zoom Ratio -Handling -Portability -Battery -Widescreen -Jacks / Ports / Plugs |
-Automatic Control -Zoom -White Balance -Ease Of Use -LCD / Viewfinder |
-Video Performance -Video Resolution -Automatic Control -Zoom -White Balance -Ease Of Use -Still Features -Still Resolution -Still Perfomance -LCD / Viewfinder -Portability |
-Video Performance -Video Resolution -Automatic Control -Zoom -White Balance -Ease Of Use -Still Features -Still Resolution -Still Perfomance -LCD / Viewfinder -Handling |
-Video Performance -Video Resolution -Automatic Control -Still Features -Still Resolution -Still Perfomance -Widescreen -Value |
| Area | Weight | Raw | Adj. | Poss. |
| Video Performance | 4.00 | 6.00 | 24.00 | 20.00 |
| Front | 0.20 | 7.50 | 1.50 | 2.00 |
| Right | 0.30 | 8.75 | 2.63 | 3.00 |
| Back | 0.25 | 7.00 | 1.75 | 2.50 |
| Left | 0.20 | 6.00 | 1.20 | 2.00 |
| Top | 0.15 | 6.00 | 0.90 | 1.50 |
| Automatic Control | 0.50 | 9.50 | 4.75 | 5.00 |
| Overall Manual Control | 0.60 | 3.00 | 1.80 | 6.00 |
| Zoom | 0.75 | 8.00 | 6.00 | 7.50 |
| Focus | 0.70 | 4.00 | 2.80 | 7.00 |
| Exposure | 0.65 | 4.00 | 2.60 | 6.50 |
| Shutter Speed | 0.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| White Balance | 0.55 | 7.50 | 4.13 | 5.50 |
| Gain | 0.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| Still Perfomance | 1.20 | 2.90 | 3.48 | 12.00 |
| VCR Mode | 0.30 | 6.00 | 1.80 | 3.00 |
| Low Light Performance | 4.00 | 2.75 | 11.00 | 20.00 |
| LCD / Viewfinder | 0.60 | 9.30 | 5.58 | 6.00 |
| Audio | 1.00 | 2.50 | 2.50 | 10.00 |
| Handling | 1.25 | 7.00 | 8.75 | 12.50 |
| Jacks / Ports / Plugs | 0.80 | 4.50 | 3.60 | 8.00 |
| Other Features | 0.70 | 4.00 | 2.80 | 7.00 |
| Value | 1.25 | 3.00 | 3.75 | 12.50 |
| Total (weighted) | 97.31 | 170.50 |