Sony Handycam DCR-PC8 Mini DV Camcorder
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- Recording System: PAL
- Camcorder Type: Digital
- Recording Media: Mini DV
- Optical Zoom: 10x
- Weight: 1.08 lb.
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Sony PC8
Pros
Manual Focus Ring, Carl Ziess Lens, Comprehensive Connections, Compact Size
Cons
Touch Screen, Mic Position, not communicative, bottom loading, poor stills
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
A decent enough camera, geared towards point and shoot 'auto' users. Well made, couple of quirks, there are better models available from other manufacturers.
A hang-over from last seasons (& actually better) range, this is a compact, upright camera with all the functions you would expect from a mid-range consumer camcorder.
It lacks a 'memory stick' memory card function, but I never regards these as an essential when looking for a camcorder.
Besides at 800k pixels photo quality images be beyond all but the most basic print sizes.
That said the video quality is fine.
Sound quality from the camera is ok in that is is stereo, and as with most built im mics, omni-directional.
I think that the position of the mic is pretty bad in that it should really be on the front of the camera for best sound pick up (it's on the top) and kept well away from any control buttons and zoom mechanisms (it rests right next to the zoom button and above the lens), I know this is a concession to size, but it is an unfortunate compromise none the less.
The camera does feature an external mic connection and a hot-shoe to mount a better quality microphone, so it's not a total loss.
The camera has the usual AV-In and DV-In as well as the usual analogue and digital outputs (including S-Video) so it is well suited to editing.
The camera has a nice manual focus ring around the lens barrel, another feature I don't think any camcorder should be without, and a manual exposure mode (along with various presets), unfortunately the adjustments are generally expressed in terms of ' ' or '-' rather than giving you any useful info like shutter speed or aperture setting.
Sony Cameras don't warn you when the gain has kicked in, which is a major bug bear.
Another quirk is that the camera only tells you when the (electronic) image stabiliser is switched off, not when it is switched on (which they assume everybody must use by making it a default setting). The trouble with this is if you use the camera with a tripod and you inadvertantly leave the stabiliser on, your picture tends to 'drift' within the frame.
Also tripod users will not like the bottom loading mech, again another concession to space, but when you add the time of removing the camera from the tripod as well as removing the quick release plate onto the time taken to change a tape and then put the whole lot back together, it becomes a problem.
I don't like the new touch screen system these cameras use, the screen marks very easily and the combination of touch screen and control dial is less than straight-forward.
Sony seem to have taken the approach that domestic camcorder users don't want manual controls and have all but obliterated them on this seasons range (they are there, but cumbersome to use)
One good thing with this (and all other single chip sony DV/D8 camcorders) is the infra red night shot mode.
Of all the systems available sony have stole the march with this one, nice crisp, gain free, full motion (albeit black & green) pictures make it the best.
Other stuff:
The main operational controls sit under the fingers, the screen is big enough and bright enough, the fixed viewfinder isn't so good (again sony seem to have assumed that any user would only ever want to use the lcd screen), it is solidly put together and delivers good enough results for the domestic realm.
An easy to use, well made compact camcorder. Not the best out there, but ok value.
It lacks a 'memory stick' memory card function, but I never regards these as an essential when looking for a camcorder.
Besides at 800k pixels photo quality images be beyond all but the most basic print sizes.
That said the video quality is fine.
Sound quality from the camera is ok in that is is stereo, and as with most built im mics, omni-directional.
I think that the position of the mic is pretty bad in that it should really be on the front of the camera for best sound pick up (it's on the top) and kept well away from any control buttons and zoom mechanisms (it rests right next to the zoom button and above the lens), I know this is a concession to size, but it is an unfortunate compromise none the less.
The camera does feature an external mic connection and a hot-shoe to mount a better quality microphone, so it's not a total loss.
The camera has the usual AV-In and DV-In as well as the usual analogue and digital outputs (including S-Video) so it is well suited to editing.
The camera has a nice manual focus ring around the lens barrel, another feature I don't think any camcorder should be without, and a manual exposure mode (along with various presets), unfortunately the adjustments are generally expressed in terms of ' ' or '-' rather than giving you any useful info like shutter speed or aperture setting.
Sony Cameras don't warn you when the gain has kicked in, which is a major bug bear.
Another quirk is that the camera only tells you when the (electronic) image stabiliser is switched off, not when it is switched on (which they assume everybody must use by making it a default setting). The trouble with this is if you use the camera with a tripod and you inadvertantly leave the stabiliser on, your picture tends to 'drift' within the frame.
Also tripod users will not like the bottom loading mech, again another concession to space, but when you add the time of removing the camera from the tripod as well as removing the quick release plate onto the time taken to change a tape and then put the whole lot back together, it becomes a problem.
I don't like the new touch screen system these cameras use, the screen marks very easily and the combination of touch screen and control dial is less than straight-forward.
Sony seem to have taken the approach that domestic camcorder users don't want manual controls and have all but obliterated them on this seasons range (they are there, but cumbersome to use)
One good thing with this (and all other single chip sony DV/D8 camcorders) is the infra red night shot mode.
Of all the systems available sony have stole the march with this one, nice crisp, gain free, full motion (albeit black & green) pictures make it the best.
Other stuff:
The main operational controls sit under the fingers, the screen is big enough and bright enough, the fixed viewfinder isn't so good (again sony seem to have assumed that any user would only ever want to use the lcd screen), it is solidly put together and delivers good enough results for the domestic realm.
An easy to use, well made compact camcorder. Not the best out there, but ok value.
