Sony Handycam DCR-HC26E Mini DV Camcorder
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- Recording System: PAL
- Camcorder Type: Digital
- Recording Media: Mini DV
- Optical Zoom: 20x
- Weight: 0.79 lb.
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The search for digital video quality continues
Pros
Small, good composite video quality, touchscreen interface, easy mode
Cons
MPEG quality very poor (bad transcoding?), awkward zoom, software
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
This camera is fine if you don't care to digitize your video to you PC to share online.
I purchased this camera based on the positive reviews I had read about the DCR-HC21. BestBuy had the DCR-HC21 and the followup DCR-HC26 for the same price so I decided to try the newer model (even though the new model has no remote).
Upon opening the camera I noticed that it does not come with a mini-USB cable to connect the camera to your PC (even though it comes with the software to do so). Not a big deal since my phone requires one, but still a bit annoying.
One really nice feature of the camera was the clearly labeled "easy" button on the left side. This button set everything on automatic to provide the simplest operation possible for the majority of situations (obviously you need to jump out of this mode for low-light, high-speed action, and bright backlight situations).
I also particularly like the touchscreen interface which makes it much easier to navigate all of the possible menu options available to the user (versus scrolling through items with buttons or a rolling jog).
The quality of the video was pretty impressive for an entry-level camcorder. Unfortunately, this good quality is ONLY available through the analog composite video output (red, yellow, white RC cable).
This is due primarily to the software provided. Unfortunately, the software is tightly coupled with the camera itself. You actually launch the software from a menu option on the camera itself.
Particularly bizarre is the fact that you MUST transfer the recording directly to a CD-R (even though I can SEE the MPEG file in the temp directory when this is being done). I simply cannot imagine why they would mandate this. UPDATE: You actually CAN transfer to the hard-drive without requiring a CD-R, it just wasn't as obvious... my mistake (thanks to FuzzyNavel1993 for this correction).
Also the button placement is less than intuitive. When I position my fingers so that they can reach the zoom and mode controls, my thumb cannot reach the record button (and vice-versa). I cannot imagine who's hand was used to place the controls.
I could look past all of these flaws if the quality of the video resulting from the included software weren't so poor. The video literally looks like the footage from the opening scenes of "The Wonder Years" (this is a sitcom set in the 1950s and 60s for those of you who are too young to remember). It is very shakey and grainy. I was extremely disappointed since my primary purpose was to place newborn videos online to share with family.
However, if you ONLY wish to play the video through the analog composite outputs this is NOT an issue. I did not have the opportunity to test the DV output (3rd option) as no cable was included and I had none.
Upon opening the camera I noticed that it does not come with a mini-USB cable to connect the camera to your PC (even though it comes with the software to do so). Not a big deal since my phone requires one, but still a bit annoying.
One really nice feature of the camera was the clearly labeled "easy" button on the left side. This button set everything on automatic to provide the simplest operation possible for the majority of situations (obviously you need to jump out of this mode for low-light, high-speed action, and bright backlight situations).
I also particularly like the touchscreen interface which makes it much easier to navigate all of the possible menu options available to the user (versus scrolling through items with buttons or a rolling jog).
The quality of the video was pretty impressive for an entry-level camcorder. Unfortunately, this good quality is ONLY available through the analog composite video output (red, yellow, white RC cable).
This is due primarily to the software provided. Unfortunately, the software is tightly coupled with the camera itself. You actually launch the software from a menu option on the camera itself.
Particularly bizarre is the fact that you MUST transfer the recording directly to a CD-R (even though I can SEE the MPEG file in the temp directory when this is being done). I simply cannot imagine why they would mandate this. UPDATE: You actually CAN transfer to the hard-drive without requiring a CD-R, it just wasn't as obvious... my mistake (thanks to FuzzyNavel1993 for this correction).
Also the button placement is less than intuitive. When I position my fingers so that they can reach the zoom and mode controls, my thumb cannot reach the record button (and vice-versa). I cannot imagine who's hand was used to place the controls.
I could look past all of these flaws if the quality of the video resulting from the included software weren't so poor. The video literally looks like the footage from the opening scenes of "The Wonder Years" (this is a sitcom set in the 1950s and 60s for those of you who are too young to remember). It is very shakey and grainy. I was extremely disappointed since my primary purpose was to place newborn videos online to share with family.
However, if you ONLY wish to play the video through the analog composite outputs this is NOT an issue. I did not have the opportunity to test the DV output (3rd option) as no cable was included and I had none.
