Reviews |
Quick Review Camcorders : Sony DCR-HC65
by Emily RaymondPublished on December 31, 2004
Like every camcorder, the Sony DCR-HC65 has its pros and
cons. This model sports one of the best LCD monitors on the market -- a 3.5-inch
color LCD with 123,000 pixels. It totes a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and also
has decent manual and automatic controls. However, the Sony DCR-HC65 succumbs to
competitors in other areas: its small 1/5-inch CCD with 690,000 pixels, its 10x
optical and 120x digital zoom, and its $799.99 retail price tag.
Sony reduced the size of the CCD by 11.6 percent from last year?s TRV-38. The smaller CCD maintains its performance in optimal light. Colors are rich and the image is crisp. With smaller CCDs, it is common for colors to look washed out at 3000 lux, which is the equivalent of a sunny day. However, the Sony DCR-HC65 maintains steady color in bright light.
But, once in low light, the Sony DCR-HC65 cannot perform. At a darker 60 lux, the HC-65?s image was less crisp. Colors were still well represented, but the saturation levels increased and the image is darker, of course. At this level, and at a darker 15 lux, the resolution tends to blur. At 15 lux, blacks look like blues and some noise is present. The image is darker (obviously) and noise increases.
The Sony DCR-HC65 has a manual mode and two automatic modes; one is called the Easy mode. The Easy mode has its own button on the housing of the camcorder, while the other two modes are accessed within the enormous LCD monitor. The manual mode controls white balance, focus, exposure, and shutter speed when capturing still pictures. To access these options, the user has to dig through menus on the LCD touch screen. This can be cumbersome at times, but it?s good to have the options nonetheless. White balance can be set to Automatic, Indoors, Outdoors, and the manual One-Touch. The focus can be controlled within the LCD or using a real focus ring. (The presence of which on the Sony DCR-HC65 is acutely appreciated.) The exposure has 24 possible settings, and the shutter speeds range from ?-1/4000th of a second.
The Sony DCR-HC65 captures still images at 1152 x 864 or 640 x 480 resolution and records them to Memory Stick Duo media. Still photos were rich in color and crisp. While the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens is of high quality, its 10x optical and 120x digital zoom are disappointing. Most camcorders in this price range offer 20x optical and 600x digital. The HC-65 does have a few perks: it can convert analog video to digital and has ports for a microphone, headphone, S-Video, USB, FireWire, DC, AV-in/out and LANC. The camcorder also has its own microphone below the lens on the front; the mic leaves the fingers plenty of room so they won?t muffle the sound. For those who prefer a larger microphone, there is a hot accessory shoe on top of the camcorder. It has a 3.5-inch LCD screen... and a focus ring. Who could ask for more? Especially considering that the video and low light performance aren?t too bad.
At just over a pound, the HC-65 is one of the larger MiniDV camcorders this year. It still feels good in the hand, but it's difficult to record while adjusting, because of the manual controls kept within the LCD. It's much easier to record in automatic mode. Overall video quality is maintained in optimal light; however, this is not the camcorder for shooting in low light. The $799.99 retail price tag is steep, but the HC-65 can now be found around $550. This camcorder would be great for an entry-level user who is not on a budget, but there are lots of camcorders for those types. Once the pros and cons are weighed, the Sony DCR-HC65 doesn?t quite measure up to the competition, even with its 3.5-inch LCD monitor.
| Sony DCR-HC65 - THE
BOTTOM LINE
Rating: 101.22 |
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| Likes |
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- 3.5 inch LCD - Focus Ring - Ease of use |
| Dislikes |
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- Manual control options |
Sony DCR-HC65 Compared to the...
| Canon
Optura 400 Rating: 101.72 |
Sony
DCR-PC109 Rating: 94.10 |
Sony
DCR-HC40 Rating: 95.85 |
Panasonic
PV-GS120 Rating: 108.35 |
Hitachi
DZ-MV580 Rating: 94.25 |
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| Better | Better | Better | Better | Better |
| - CCD specs
- Video performance - 200x digital zoom - Manual controls |
None | Price | - 3 x 1/6" CCDs
- Low light and Video performance - Manual control - Still performance |
- Low light performance
- 18x optical zoom - Still capabilities |
| Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal |
| - 10x optical zoom
- Ports - Low light performance |
- Video and Low Light performance
- Ports - 10x optical zoom - CCD specs |
- Video and Low Light performance
- Ports - 10x optical zoom CCD specs - Still specs |
- Ports
- LCD size - Still capability - 10x optical zoom |
- 10x optical
- Hot shoe |
| Worse | Worse | Worse | Worse | Worse |
| - 2.5 inch LCD
- No LANC jack - No focus ring |
- 2.5 inch LCD
- No focus ring |
- No 3.5 inch LCD
- No focus ring - Bigger filter diameter |
- Mediocre Ease of Use
- No focus ring - Only 2.5 inch LCD |
- DVD format
- Ports - Manual Control - Video performance |
