Quick Review Camcorders: Sony DCR-HC32

The DCR-HC32 (like the HC21) features a 1/6” CCD with 340K effective pixels. A step up to the DCR-HC42 (for around $80 more) buys you a slightly larger CCD (1/5.5”) and over double the effective pixels (690K). This may seem like a great buy, and in bright light performance, the differences were notable. The DCR-HC32 did well with certain colors, especially the reds, but the HC42 was sharper overall.

The main difference between the HC32 and its supposed superior sister occurred in low light. The HC32 was certainly no shining star. Low light environments occur more often than the new user might think, and a camcorder’s performance here must be considered before making an investment. The HC32 showed a fair amount of noise (graininess in the picture) and lost a lot of color. The HC42, however, showed excessive amounts of blue splotching, which forces us to recommend the cheaper HC32.

Ease of use is Sony’s forte. A big, fat button on the left marked EASY tells you everything you need to know about Sony’s lower-end camcorders. They rely on great automatic controls and the hope that their customers have no desire to advance into the untold regions of videography like “focusing.” For the more adventurous crowd, the DCR-HC32 may prove frustrating. Manual control is buried in the touch screen menu, making on-the-fly adjustments exceedingly difficult. Manual focusing is a chore, and independent shutter speed and exposure adjustments are not possible. For much better options in this price range, we recommend investigating the Panasonic PV-GS19 and PV-GS35.

Stills can be captured to a MemoryStick Duo in one size (640 x 480) and two qualities (Fine and Standard). The quality of the stills was on par with the price. Colors were bright, but a tad over-saturated. There was also some noise, even in bright light.

The entire HC series is highly portable, but accessories are a necessary consideration. The DCR-HC32 ships with the Handycam docking station, which contains ports for A/V, USB, DV, and DC power. If exporting files on the go is a necessity, you’ll have to factor in the weight of the dock. On the camcorder itself are inputs for LANC remote control, DC power, and A/V. There is no microphone input, a sorry loss dropped from last year’s model.

The DCR-HC32 is strictly for beginners and budget shoppers. Those seeking any degree of manual control should look towards Panasonic. 

Sony DCR-HC32 Compared to the...

Sony DCR-HC21 Rating: 167.90	Sony DCR-HC42 Rating: 170.4	JVC GR-D270 Rating: 181.58	Panasonic PV-GS31 Rating:	Canon ZR200 Rating: 190.66
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-Portability -Affordability	-Imager Specs -Digital Still Capability -LCD/Viewfinder -Accessory Shoe -Ports -Optional Microphone Port	-Manual Controls -Navigational Functions -Optical Zoom -Still Capability -Built-in Light	-Optical Zoom -Still Performance -Low Light -Handling -Manual Control -Ports	-Navigational Function (Touch Screen Menu) Portability -Manual Control -Still Capability
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-Imager Specs -Audio -Zoom Specs -Image Stabilizer -Digital Effects -Portability -LCD/Viewfinder Manual Control	-Image Stabilizer -Bottom-Loading -Manual Controls -Automatic Controls	-Imager Specs -Bottom-Loading	-Imager Specs	-Imaging Control -Zoom Specs
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Digital Still Capability -Ports -Media -Low Light	-Low Light Performance -Optical Zoom -Portability	-A/V Dubbing -LCD -Digital Effects -No LANC Jack -No Accessory Shoe	-No Accessory Shoe -LCD	-Widescreen -LCD -No Accessory Shoe