A Barely Upgraded HDR-HC7...But Still A Great Camera
After looking at the specs to this new HDR-HC9, I noticed that Sony's HDR-HC7 (last year's model) was almost identical to Sony`s latest in MiniDV technology. I began digging in the specs department for awhile on both Sony's website and here on Amazon. I was able to determine the following differences between the two:
- The Sony HDR-HD9 boasts on it's Amazon specs that it has upgraded to a 2.0 USB connector leaving the old 1.1 design behind, however the specs sheet on Sony's homepage seem to dispute this, claiming the HDR-HC9 is still plagued with the old technology. I rarely use any sort of camcorder for still pictures, I do have a 512MB Memory Stick installed in my unit for that "just-in-case" moment we've all been in. Even in the rare occasion I do snap a couple experimental stills while on vacation, I always use a card reader to transfer the pictures to my PC, not the USB interface.
- The supplied software is obviously upgraded. The Sony HDR-HC9 comes with Picture Motion Browser version 2.0.17
- If you really care about stills (and take a lot of them...I mean a lot of them) the Sony HDR-HC9 can now handle an 8GB Memory Stick compared to the HDR-HC7's 4GB.
- The general color of the new HC9 is black (which I prefer over the cheap space-age looking silver of the HC7) but this is just a consumer's preference, no reason to upgrade.
- It has been posted on other websites that the HDR-HC9's manual focus has been improved over the HC7's.
I've been trying my best to come up with something more but honestly, this is all I could find. This camcorder is basically the HDR-HC7 with a new paint job and a few minor modifications. Not to say this is a bad camera...far from it. I shoot exclusively with Sony camcorders and this one is by far the best I've ever owned.
If you happen to own the HDR-HC7 don't be swindled into upgrading. As the few minor spec differences above point out, you already own the new HDR-HC9 minus the 8GB Memory Stick storage capacity and the onyx color scheme. Compare the specs for yourself, if you find anything that differs between these two models feel free to list them in the comments section under this review. I searched for 30 minutes and this is the best I could do.
As far as the camera performance itself...what can I say? It's a Sony, top of the line. If you want to shoot quality HD movies but don't want to break your bank account, the Sony HDR-HC9 or HDR-HC7 is probably the right fit for most people's budgets.
I also prefer shooting with this camcorder because of the MiniDV tapes it uses as opposed to all the other media platforms such as DVDs, Hard Drives, Flash Memory...etc.. This format (MiniDV) is an industry standard and if you are planning on editing your videos with computer software (Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas Studio) this is the ONLY way to go.
DVDs and Hard Drive camcorders require a lot of MPEG-2 video compression and when the video itself is transferred to your PC and edited into files the quality of the video is compressed again. Finally, when burning your finished film to DVD the files are degraded once more, leaving the footage pixilated and grotesque...like someone ran it through a garbage disposal. Something to think about.
Product Highlights:
- MiniDV (my format of choice)
- HDMI hook-up (for a quick plug-n-view of your footage in beautiful high def)
- Switchable HDV/DV formats (just in case you don't need to shoot in HD)
- Professional quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens
- Widescreen display
- Compact size (for an HD camera this is VERY convenient )
Product Down-points:
- I really wish Sony would have given us a 25x optical zoom...it would have put this little guy over the top as far as camcorders in this price range
- The touch screen interface is a bit cumbersome (sometimes feels like a rat maze when just trying to find a single button) plus it leaves annoying fingerprints
- The supplied battery is a joke, definitely need an upgrade
Recommended Accessories:
- Sony NPFH100 H Battery (This thing goes through juice quick)
- Sony VF37CPKS Filter Kit (Protect that lens)
- Sony LCSVA31 Soft Carrying Case
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Smaller is better...sometimes
The Sony HDR-HC9 is a great camera in a small package. The HDV footage is stunning in clarity. The Super SteadyShot really works well as long as fast zooms and pans aren't in the plan. The NightShot is super fun to use at dimly lit parties and events. Smooth Slow Record is a blast! Tape something with lots of motion (volleyball serve, trampoline flip) and dissect it. Coonectivity is great with component video, AV, and HDMI outputs. All this functionality in a camera that fits in your pocket (almost) is awesome! most of the time...
Some of the buttons are too small and hard to reach if the LCD screen is out. Also, the manual focus control is difficult to use. It is a scroll wheel which is hard to control. A focus ring would have made this camera much better.
Overall, I would recommend this camera for anyone who wants to shoot HD footage of family events or even use professionally as a 2nd or 3rd camera as a stand alone on a shoot of an event.
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Lots of features, very complicated
I've been playing with my HDR-HC9 for only about one month now, so I am still not familiar with all the bells and whistles. The big positive feature - I think this camcorder has just about everything one could ask for in a small package. The positives outweigh the negatives, but there are significant negatives, too. Some of the negatives I've found are:
1. Extremely complicated owner's manual with many conflicting statements. Many of the camcorder features are only minimally covered, and I think conflicting statements made may be due to poor translation into English.
2. If you record in HDV and then transfer to DVD, you'll never play your video on an old TV where you can't pick a 9:16 aspect ratio. Camcorder is supposed to automatically sense TV aspect ratio, but that doesn't translate to DVD recording.
3. On-screen menu. That means your hands have to be clean to use it - no fish slime or axle grease allowed!
4. Compact camcorder, but everything is too compact. Designed for someone with spider fingers, not cigar sized fingers like mine. I have difficulty opening up the output covering because my fingers are too big to get under the opening flap. Etc...
5. To activate fader you have to go through several menu items and it reverts to the default "no-fade" after you use it only once. Can't fade-in and fade-out with an external button like my DCR-TRV9 this replaces.
I haven't used it enough to say more. I'm sure I'll like it more when I become more familiar with it.
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Good camera, bad support
This is our first HD camera, so we didn't really know what to expect. (Note that for video review, we played the output via HDMI to our Sony Bravia 46" HD TV.) In full light, the picture is fantastic; you get some blur and artifacts during movement or in shadows, but I don't know if that is normal or not for an HD camera, so I'll take that at face value. Night shooting without the IR light (Nightshot) is pretty grainy, even with an add-on light. The Nightshot IR functionality works great and is a lot of fun to play with. The built-in IR light seems to work well up to 7 or 8 feet and then drops off.
Still shots are pretty poor; even in picture mode, they look like video captures; the contrast and color balance are bad compared to a dedicated still camera, but that seems to be common with most if not all dual use cameras so, again, take it at face value. Note that it does have a built-in flash (I couldn't find that documented anywhere).
It is small and light; you can almost stick it in your pocket, even with an extended life battery. Contrary to the CNET review, I didn't have any issues with the touch screen functionality.
Video and still import work fine; I had to buy a different firewire cable (the one included has the small end on each side, my PC has a large firewire connection). The Picture Motion Browser did not work; it crashed with an error when trying to open on Vista. Sony were absolutely no help; they just kept sending me to knowledge base articles that were of no use, and refused to make any effort to help (given that I just dropped $1500 on camera and accessories, you'd think there would be more love there).
On the whole, I'm pretty happy with the camera, although I'm disappointed that I have to carry two devices to get quality stills, and I'm very frustrated with Sony's support for their worthless software. But, at the end of the day, I paid for an HD video camera, not a still camera or software...so, four stars for the video functionality.
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