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Sony HDR-HC3 HDV camcorder

By Nicole Manktelow, CNET.com.au on 04 July 2006

A good choice for families wanting to match a camera to their HD TV set. Automatic operation means not needing to know much to get pleasing images. More advanced videographers may be a little frustrated by the manual controls.

Editor's rating:8.0 User rating:7.1

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  Anonymous gave 7/10 on 14/10/2006 08:22 Report abuse

  Beware of hidden Costs

  Great camera but if you wish to transfer that high definition footage to DVD you may be in for a rude shock. Sony does not supply software to transfer or edit with the unit. You must part with another $AU250 or so for that. There is no iLink (Firewire) cable so you may spend another $AU20 to $AU50. If you wish to keep it all on tapes you may be surprised that recommended Sony HD tapes are the most expensive on the market. Shop prices are about $AU35 each! So your expensive toy is now a very expensive, but very nice, toy.
  
  My advice is to wait for other brands of cameras and software to catch up. It won’t be long. It is a bit late for me. I had to pay because I had to use the camera for professional reasons and could not wait.
  
  Many sales people don’t know this and are genuinely staggered when it is pointed out to them and others are aware but keep very quiet until they sell the unit. As for me? Well… I was so used to obtaining a CD with electronic things that I took it for granted and this time got burned.
  
  Yes, I asked Sony about this. They are polite and pre-programmed, with a cyborg like response of “buyer beware”. They say that it is my responsibility to inform my self and not theirs to provide the information. I love to take it to the CEO or someone senior in the organisation but the “customer service” automats are a great “firewall”.
  
  Their solution, you ask? Well… they say get a IEEE cable and then use Microsoft Movie Maker after you convert from HD to standard definition (SD). Wait a minute.. did I just spend $500 over the odds to get a HD camera? As for falling back to Microsoft to provide a solution this, is just appalling.
  

  • Good: Nice camera, lite, small and high quality. High resolution video and still images.
  • Bad: Price is high, customer service is polite and probably autometed... don't bother.
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  Yurk San gave 10/10 on 06/09/2006 01:46 Report abuse

  Amazing for its size!

  na

  • Good: Everything
  • Bad: nothing in this size
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  ricoma gave 4/10 on 31/08/2006 19:13 Report abuse

  SMART CHOICE

  A video camera for families and who more low wants the high definition to the price and weight

  • Good: Image quality, flexible logons, use facility
  • Bad: Small objective and diameter filter, it's necessary additional, insufficient ergonomics grip
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  joey gave 9/10 on 08/08/2006 02:21 Report abuse

  go buy it!

  • Good: Excellent video quality, especially in sunlight! Just unbeatable....looks as good as PBS & Discovery channel!
  • Bad: $$$$$