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| Date Reviewed: 11/14/2004 |
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Strengths: Good noise free video with great picgture detail, great image stabilization, fast auto focus, and good low light performance.
Weaknesses: Would be nice to have more manual controls
Summary: 2004-11-15 18:09:44 I was looking for a camcorder in the $500-$700 price range and focused on the Sony DCR-HC40, Panasonic PV-GS120 and the Canon Optura 30. None of these camcorders are perfect. Each have their trade-offs.
For example the GS120 looked great and it's 3CCD solution should give great color accuracy but because of the size of it's CCDs the picture resolution and image stabilization is not as good as the HC40 which has larger CCDs with more pixels. Also the GS120 produces a picture which is biased to red which is why the colors look warmer while the HC40 is biased to blue producing a cooler picture. Which method is correct is very subjective. It's interresting to note that both camcorders display most purple shades as blue. I'm not sure why but I took a purple pen to the local Circuit City and ALL the camcorders produced a blue image of the purple pen.
The HC40 gives a little less color accuracy since it's a single CCD solution but it produces about 500 lines of true non-interpolated resolution and produces true 16:9 video where the GS120 does not.
As mentioned, the image stabilization and the speed of the auto focus on the Sony are superior. There is nothing more damaging to your video than a shaking picture or the focus moving in and out, especially in low light conditions. I compared the HC-40 and the GS120 in the store and the Sony is the clear winner in these two areas.
There are a lot of other feature functionality that is important in the selection but for me I wanted more picture detail so videos would display better on my 42 inch plasma TV and in 16:9 format.
So the trade-off for me was better picture detail and stability vs perfect color accuracy and slightly more low light sensivity. In informal testing with a calibrated TV, the Sony displayed colors very accurately and progressively washed out as the light level was reduced as all camcorders do. Even in low light conditions although the colors started to wash, there was almost no noise noticeable in the picture on the HC40.
As for the touch screen, I thought it was very easy to use and as advertised, works in direct sun light. But if you have large fingers, it could be difficult to use. Once the camera is set up, it's automatic functions work so well that you won't need to access the settings via the screen very much.
The bottom line, I recommend the Sony HC40 if you want great image stabilization, very fast auto focus that doesn't hunt around in low light conditions and plan to view your videos on a large screen TV with 16:9 format or on your computer.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/17/2004 |
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Strengths: Ease of use. Small compact. Takes great videos. Burned them to DVD's and looked wonderful. Very practicle for my use.
Weaknesses: It took me awhile to get use to using the menu on LCD. I needed my reading glasses for that. Would have done a little better with manual controls. Had some sound issues when touring with crowds.
Summary: Had my first HC-40 burglarized with all accessories. But after I received my insurance $$ I looked at what was available at the price. This is still the best one. The ease of use overall, compactness, clarity of picture, good color rendition. I will use a tripod when scanning. I have a tendency to go too fast,and some of my scans recorded to jumpy. I look forward to starting to use it again. As one reviewer indicated, the manual was not clear in some parts.
94% of People (15/16) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 08/30/2004 |
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Strengths: Size, video quality, lots of functions
Weaknesses: Expensive (maybe), a longer zoom lense would be better, the memory card is not a common one
Summary: Bought two from B&H within the past two months. Made some DVDs from the video files and shared with friends. They all say the video quality is better than their digital camcorders (Panasonic, JVC, etc.). I didn't bother to use the software in the box. Instead I used Pinnacle Studio to transfer files and make movies.
I paid $580 and $540 for the HC40's I bought. Seems more expensive than other camcorders. I like the camcorder a lot though. It is so small that I just carry it in my pocket and shoot video whenever I like.
92% of People (94/102) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 09/22/2004 |
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Strengths: Size, weight, complete function, easy to learn and operate
Weaknesses: Don't have built-in light, quality of still pictures is not as good as expected, optical zoom is not large enough
Summary: I bought this camcorder because it contains every function that present camcorders can have, including taking still pictures, night shot, high quality lens, zoom, etc. Furthermore, it has compact size and light weight, so it is easy to carry.
When I got the camcorder, I found it was the exact one I want to buy. The quality of movie taken by this camcorder outdoor is excellent. The shortage of the camcorder is that the effect in low light is not so good as expected. And still pictures are not so good.
Nevertheless, this camcorder is worth buying.
90% of People (63/70) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/16/2004 |
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Strengths: NA
Weaknesses: NA
Summary: Overall this is a very good camcorder. I don't want to repeat the topics that have been dicussed enough. I am going to share with you my experience of one feature of this camcorder: VCD burner.
VCD has been very popular in Asia. Its quality is comparible to analog video on the tapes. Video is burned on regular CD and can be viewed from VCD or DVD player. Consider today's DVD burners and discs are still expensive, the feature of VCD burning on HC-40 becomes attractive. I tried the feature and I have to tell you that the result is very dissapointing.
It took me hours to transfer 20 minutes video from HC-40 to VCD (maybe my computer is too slow? PIII 750 MH). When I put the newly burned VCD to my DVD player. I was horified by the quality. The picture is too dark. The motion is like 1920's movie. The video quality is like low resolution video clip from a digital camera, if you know what I am talking about.
I still want to say that HC-40 is a great camcorder but don't waste your time to try the VCD BURNING ! It's a shame that Sony put such a junk feature in such a good camcorder.
90% of People (18/20) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/13/2005 |
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Strengths: Picture Quality, low light condition, very slim.
Weaknesses: LCD touch panel makes little hard to operate, but most camcorders comes with the same technology can't help.
Summary: Good buy for the price of $500.
Very good picture quality, very slim to handle and operate.
LCD touch panel makes little hard to operate, but most camcorders comes with the same technology can't help.
90% of People (9/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 10/06/2004 |
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Strengths: Size/Weight
Weaknesses: Motor Noise, battery life
Summary: It fit in my pocket perfectly, Video is excllent in a not too dark environment. Hybrid LCD Touch screen is great. optical zoom could be 20X, still camera is useless, power/mode switch take a while to get use to.
89% of People (40/45) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 04/04/2004 |
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Strengths: compact, easy to use, quality of picture is good
Weaknesses: haven't found any
Summary: 2004-04-04 19:01:11 I did a whole lot of research before decided on Sony TRV 33 but right before I bought it it was discontinued! The store told me the replacement was HC40, so I did some other study about the new model; since this one is so new and there actually isn't much comments around so I bought it kind of like an experiment, but I have to say I am so happy that I got it. I am a Mom with a 1.5 year old baby, and please imagine why I wanted to buy a camcorder; I want one that's small, fast, easy to operate, good picture quality (both daylight and night shot), good sound quality, easy to download, and especially one that I can transfer my anolog tape to digital; this one's got all the functions that I wanted.
The only thing I want to mention is that many camcorders carry still shot functions, but if you want your photos come out good it'd never be a good choice. I never used HC40 to take still pictures because I have a good digital camera.
Also I think if you are taking HC40 to travel, a wide-angle lance is highly recommended for capturing the landscape. I don't think this is HC40's problem but camcorders are mostly like that.
88% of People (138/157) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 09/08/2004 |
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Strengths: Size, ease of use
Weaknesses: No built-in light, confusing user manual
Summary: After considering both Panasonic and Canon MiniDVD Camcorders, I decided to purchase this one and I'm very happy that I did. It offers most of the features that I wanted in a small camcorder. The one thing that is missing is a light. But I purchased one seperately that can be conveniently mounted on the accessory shoe. My wife will be the primary user because she will be caring for our new grandaughter so I wanted something very small that she wouldn't hesitate picking up on a moments' notice. The "easy" button makes pointing and shooting a simple. Overall, I am very pleased with this camcorder.
83% of People (24/29) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 07/10/2004 |
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Strengths: Unbelievably small, expensive feel, integrated lens cap, touchscreen controls
Weaknesses: Poor indoor pictures in low light, power button is a bit cumbersome, and software is not worth loading on your computer!
Summary: Great video right out of the box! Very comfortable in the hand, lightweight, and controls are well laid out. The power button is a toggle that is a bit difficult to operate, but it's not a show-stopper. For 1 MP, it takes really good outdoor stills in daylight--good enough to leave your digital camera at home if you're just taking snapshots. Doesn't come with firewire cable, and memory stick duo card is only 8 MB. I was really surprised at the touchscreen's ease of operation, and it feels fairly sturdy. This is my first experience with a handycam, and so far, so good!
80% of People (66/82) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 10/09/2004 |
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Strengths: Very compact, light and handy, very good touch screen controls, integrated lens cap, Good video quality, EASY switch is good for amatures.
Weaknesses: No i-Link/firewire cable provided .Software provided is junk, cann't do much of editing.Still picture is not good. Average low light performance.Power button is bit cumbersome.No built-in light.
Summary: I did a whole lot of research and looked into what Cannon and Panasonic are offering before setteling for Sony TRV 33 but right before I could have bought it, it was discontinued! The store guy told me the TRV33 replacement was HC40, so I did some other study about the new model; since this one was so new at that time and there were actually not much comments around so I bought it based on my research but its performance is stunning in normal/ well lit light conditions and Video quality is awesome !!. Touch screen menu ad controls are really nice.
The camcorder is small enough to fit in your jacket pocket, so it is easy to carry and shoot.
I am not impressed by its still picture quality and also you need external microphone if you want to record clear sound. zoom button is bit extra sensitive.
Super-night-shot is not upto expectations as advertised by SONY but night shoot is good.
Overall this camcoder is simply superb given the price tag and worth to have it.
79% of People (11/14) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 06/07/2004 |
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Strengths: Very compact, light and stylish.
Good video quality in normal lighting condition.
Weaknesses: Still picture is not good.
Average low light performance.
Summary: This is my first digital camcorder. So far, I am very satisfied with it. The camcorder is small enough to fit in your jacket pocket, so it is easy to carry. The image quality is very good, especially in good lighting condition. I am not impressed by its still picture quality. However, as long as you have a digital camera, it is fine. Very good for casual, amature users. Highly recommended.
77% of People (41/53) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 05/25/2004 |
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Strengths: Compact size, Light Weight, Excellent Performance, Aesthetice Appearance is very good, touch sreen menu is a good feature.
Weaknesses: firewire kit need to be purchased though it is not required.
Additional P series battery is required which costly.
Summary: I purchased this camcorder through Butterfly. I was really happy with delivery service. The shipping was 7-10 day ground service. But I got camcorder on the third day after on line order.
The item was new, factory sealed. It is working fine. Happy with purchasing this camcorder.
73% of People (59/81) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 07/08/2004 |
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Strengths: Very compact, light and handy. It has all the features of TRV 38 (except the smaller LCD and a lesser focal length). For the price its a good deal.
Weaknesses: Focal Length of the lens is less
Summary: I wanted to buy TRV 38, but I could not get a good deal for it. Then after taking the suggestion of Jay, an executive at American deals, I did an exhautive research on feature comparision of HC 40 and then decided to buy it. I am very satisified with the camcoder.
73% of People (32/44) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 05/09/2004 |
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Strengths: It has a complete set of functionalities in less than one LB weight. Carl Zeiss lens is another plus.
Weaknesses: The zoom lever is too sensitive to control the zooming. It's better to practice the zoom lever before you can use it correctly.
Summary: 2004-05-10 11:29:42 Overall, it's a good camcorder which has the same heart (Advanced HAD CCD) of Sony DCR-PC105 and much cheaper price. It has worse battery life than HC30. A backup battery is highly recommended if you plan to shoot more than 90 minutes. The capatured digital photos are too granularity even in bright sunshine comparing with those shot by regular digital cameras.
71% of People (34/48) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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