->Comparison

i bought this camera in april and am very pleased with it. i had researched digital camcorders for over a year, and actually returned one panasonic because it would not work with imovie. this camera is easy to learn to use, takes great pictures and has good sound, and interfaces easily with mac's imovie. you need to buy a firewire to download to a mac computer. don't know about other computers. i bought a longer life battery and a charger, but the one that comes with it is fine also. pictures taken in low light seem to show up fine also. all in all i would highly recommend this camcorder to a non professional movie maker. also amazon makes it really easy to buy everything you need.


->Buy

The camera may be fine, it seems to be. But I interact with the camera through the software, and that's pathetic. All I want to do is transfer video to the computer for editing and creating DVDs. I've done this simply and elegantly for a few years with Hi8 tape and a digital converter (see my review of the ADS converter...I don't have many reviews up). But the software with this thing won't allow more than 10-minute segments of AVI's. Sony Customer Support finally sent me to the software manufacturer, who said "that's normal". I honestly don't understand who would want, say, a 45-minute school play chopped up into 10-minute segments.

I guess I'll use Movie Maker. But this is more trouble than using my 10-year-old analog camera was to make DVDs. For the price, I did expect full functionality, not Mickey-Mouse software that even the company can't support. I was warned about Sonys, now I know why.

Oh yeah...they also said it supports "firewire" connection, but failed to say it was only a 4-pin, not 6-pin. Seems that the Sony computers have 4-pin, many of the standard motherboards use 6-pin. I learned a computer lesson.


->Prices

This is a great little camera so far, I've got tiny hands and yet it fits like custom tailored :p, the low light performance is outstanding, it's really easy to use but also has got some tricks for the aspiring artist, youtuber, movie-maker and journalist (me); fair price too! It's a Sony, so I know it's gonna last a good while. About the MiniDV Vs DVD Vs HDD, I spent months trying to make up my mind and all experts (including a major real movie editor) told me to go with MiniDV, some said it was a bad time to buy a cam because of the current format debate, but if you want it, MiniDV ensures easy safe storage, hundreds of both beginner and advanced editing features and strenght. It's up to you anyway!


->Comparison

Perfect product as per specifications. Easy functions and well explained instructions. Great performance for home video use. Good product.

Does not come with standard carry belt/shoulder strap. It some time becomes difficult to carry in one hand all the time as you can not hang it around. Must buy a shoulder strap separately.

Also, the software is not to updated. Slow and takes a long time to save on computer. Must go for alternative software to save video shot in computer. I also need to figure how how to transfer content from camera to computer.

Standard battery has too short life. Must go for additionl battery with longer life.


->Compare

I like this camcorder very much; especially the excellent video quality.

A reviewer remarked: "if you want to put camcorder onto a tripod, you can only do so after you charged your battery, since a handycam station won't fit."

If you look at the back of the camcorder, then you'll see at the right hand bottom corner a tiny flap with the text DC. If you open that, you'll find a DC connection!




->

This camera has a lot going for it, the quality is great as is the low light sensitivity which is important for me for indoor shooting. I can get used to the cradle thing as I don't normally stream live to a PC so that is not a big concern for me. The camera IS compatible with XP SP2, just because the driver doesn't have Microsoft's "blessing" it still works perfectly. The still imaging capability is a little less than I was expecting, the flash is very close to the lens which forces you to remove any kind of additional lenses when using the flash. I didn't find the small zoom range to be very limiting but as with all my camcorders, a wide angle lens is a must if you don't want to force yourself up against a wall trying to get everyone in the video when shooting indoors. The time lapse feature is great! Also very good is the speed contol of the zoom lever, it's very smooth. I wouldn't mind having a "couple" quick access buttons on the unit itself rather than having to use the touchscreen menu each time, but being able to customize the quick menu helps make the most commonly used features more accessible. The battery supplied gives me a little more than an hour of constant use, will certainly need another one! No memory card supplied with the unit either, that's consistant though with other Sony products. Overall I'm very happy with this camera, it is replacing a previous model from Sony which quit working just over the 1 year warranty so I didn't think twice before buying the 4 year extended warranty.


->Compare

They have made several changes - some good, most bad - since I bought my last Sony handicam in 8/2003. First of all, there is no carrying strap. This is very inconvenient if you plan to use your hand for anything else except for holding your camera. I managed to jury rig one but it is a royal pain. The docking station is just one more thing to have to carry and when you want to upload your mini cassettes to your computer, you have to take the camera off the docking station to change cassettes. This messes up my editing program. Fortunately I still have my old camera. The ability to take still shots is better - more megapixels - but not good enough to zoom in or enlarge.

While I was told most people prefer to use the LED screen (I don't knoiw why as it eats up more power and you can't see clearly in bright sun) I like to use the viewfinder. It no longer has a tilt up feature so I end up mashing the battery into my cheek.

This last complaint is about the batteries. Sony LIED about the amount of time that a battery will hold. The 5 hour battery only charges to 194 minutes on my camera. That's slightly more than 3 hours; It is nowhere near 5 hours. The 7 hour battery does not get anywhere near 7 hours either. Their packages should be accurate. All in all, It is not as good as the older product. There also should be a setting to stop it from running if the rec. button is not being pushed. THIS WILL BE MY LAST SONY UNLESS THEY MAKE MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS.


->Buy

I had to decide between this camera and a Panasonic. we trust the Sony brand a little more, so we went with the Sony. We were looking for an easy-to-use camera that we could just pick up and record our daughter...nothing professional but good enough quality to enjoy years later. I also wanted a camera that could take still photos so we wouldn't need both a digital camera and a camcorder when we take vacations.

Here's what I think so far:

Great camcorder to do exactly what we want -- picture looks great inside and out, VERY easy to use, and small enough to carry along almost anywhere.

Still photos are not fantastic (only 3MP), but good enough for me. Color and resolution are acceptable.

Not easy to understand the LCD touch menus, but you can configure the buttons once you figure out which buttons you will use the most.

I got the bare minimums for accessories...bought a 1GB memory card (memory stick duo pro)...glad I did this since I will be taking stills and short video clips to email to the grandparents. Also got a carrying case, DV tapes, and an extra NP-FP71 battery. I'll be purchasing a firewire cable soon (I'm sure you've heard, the USB cable is inadequate for downloading video).

Handycam station doesn't really bother me that much, but I can see what the fuss is about.

All things considered, I'm extremely happy with my purchase. I think this is a perfect camera for a first-time camcorder buyer who needs an EASY button (there's one on the side of the camera). A little more expensive than some of the others, but the price is dropping.

Best of luck!


->

Perfect video camcorder for outside recording. Crisp picture and excellent sound. Wide screen mode looks great. Extra battery is a must on long vacations or shoots. Do not forget about shoulder strap because you do not want to drop this baby. Also excellent still photos with memory stick option. Easy button is just that EASY. Indoor shooting a little rough without proper lighting so be careful. Overall, great piece of electronics


->Purchase

I just bought this camcorder before Christmas, after many hours of researching, I had been deciding whether to buy the DVD505 and HC96. The miniDV format can recorder longer (1hour vs. 30mins), hence I bought HC96.

The bright light video quality is very good. The low light quality is so so. The super nightshot gives distorted color, as you would see in the DVD505. I do not know if the 3CCD cameras would do better.

This camcorder is pretty easy to use. The touch screen is big enough to operate on.

There is good and bad for the handycam station. The good thing: you do not have to plug the wires, cables into the camcorder. The bad thing: if you want to put camcorder onto a tripod, you can only do so after you charged your battery, since a handycam station won't fit.

The software provided by Sony is almost useless. It only can import 320x240 video, and does not provide compressed output format. A 10 min video requires 3 GB storage. I could not find where I can change this setting. If some one knows, please let me know. So I end up using Microsoft Movie Maker, which is more convenient and flexible. The Movie Maker can only export a maximum of 720x480 resolution, which is probably enough.

Another thing, I could not find a way to print the shooting date and time on to the video frames transfered to the computer. Is that the problem of the Movie Maker? You can see shooting date and time when you play back on the tape. Anyone knows how to do it?

I thought I would have time editing movies, but I do not. If you do not need editing, I would recommend buying HardDrive camcorders, it directly saves as MPEG2 format, and requires almost no effort to transfer the video to a PC.



->Purchase

I bought HC96 to replace my five year old trv11 which was Sony's top line consumer model at the time. After using HC96 for one week, I have the following observations.
1) The camacorder and the charger are much smaller than trv11. The build quality seems to be decent. I don't like the docking station design, but it is not a show stopper.
2) The video quality for in door/out door shooting is only slightly better than trv11 despite of great reviews I read on the internet. Widescreen is a nice new feature to have compared to the trv11.
3) Focusing under low night is a bit slow, I really wish to have the manual focus ring when taking my daughter's Christmas stage performance.
Potential shopper should also check out the GS500 which is a close competition.


->Prices

I've had this camera now for a few months and love it. The picture quality is great, the 16:9 view works great. I haven't taken too much low light movies yet so I'll have to wait and see how the picture quality is for that scenario. The only difficulty I've had is getting the still images off the card. I have a firewire cable that I've used to capture the video but the image software that came with the camera doesn't seem to recognize the camera when it's attached to the firewire cable. I'll have to get a USB cable and see if that resolves the issue.


->Purchase

Just like Francisco wrote above. Excellent low-light (without nightshot infrared), with a color-enhancement low-light feature.

Of note: ECM-HW1 bluetooth mic works great, but can't use it as the center channel in a 5.1 audio setup -- this camera doesn't support it.


->Deals

Yes, this is a great Camera,as many of these in depth reviews show, however the bundled software is incompatible with Windows XP service pack 2, which makes editing impossible as the operating sytem will not recognize the hardware because sony's drivers haven't passed Logos tests. After spending hours on the phone troubleshooting it turns out that Sony's drivers are not service pack 2 approved and they've done nothing to release updated compatible downloads on their website which would solve the problem. So I lodged a complaint and am considering getting rid of the handycam as it is not very handy when you can't edit anything. Basically it's a great camera but the software is plagued with compatibility issues and is not user friendly. I am really upset that I spent this much on a camcorder that claims to be compatible with my system and it turns out that it is not, and it would seem that it would not be very hard for Sony to release an updated driver that would fix this problem. Shame on you Sony.


->Best Price

This is a nice camcorder but the Handycam Station makes it less appealing. I have to remember to take the docking station everywhere I travel. What makes it worse is that the Handycam Station is very loosely snapped onto the camcorder. It can easily fall off and disconnect when you try to transfer video/picture through it. The camcorder itself does not have USB or IEEE1394 built-in. All these vital ports are in the Handycam Station. If it were not for this awkward docking station, I would have bought this camcorder.


->Discount

If you are considering either of the two cameras (both of which happen to be the top of the line SD consumer camcorders in their respective brands), the first place you would want to check for an accurate and detailed review is [...]. The review accurately declares Panasonic PV-GS500 as the winner. Nevertheless, I chose to perform some amateur testing on the two camcorders and here is a summary of the results of my tests:

1. Video performance: GS500 has a three 1/4.7" CCDs, while HC-96 has one 1/3" CCD. The three CCD configuration produces excellent and faithful reproduction of colors in bright light condition. I tested both the cameras outdoors in auto mode. HC96, in an attempt, to produce richer colors, would sometimes produce inaccurate colors, while GS500 consistently produced accurate colors. If you are not a professional and cannot keep your hand steady for a long time, you will notice that HC96 will introduce quite a bit of noise. This is primarily due to two reasons: One is that HC96 uses Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) which is quite inferior as compared to the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) used by GS500. The other reason is that HC96 sometimes struggles to find the right focus. This occurs quite randomly (and more prominently indoors). I viewed the results by hooking the two cameras directly to my 32" LCD TV. The Panasonic produced superior results than the Sony, though the Sony video was good too.
2. Low light (indoor) performance: Here HC96 (in `easy' mode) performs better than GS500 (in `auto' mode), though HC96 again was not accurate in reproducing colors. But wait, don't jump to conclusion so quickly. Simply select the `low light' scene mode for the GS500 and it outshines the HC96. (Surprisingly, HC96 produces a worse image when white balance was set to `indoor' mode than `easy' mode). During day time too, if you are shooting indoors without light, you will find that the `low light' mode of GS500 does wonders. The more advanced users might be inclined to tweak the gain (IRIS) and white balance. But my elementary tests found that simply selecting `low light' mode and letting the camera handle the rest gave excellent performance. Both the cameras have modes for shooting in extremely poor light - HC96 provides `nightshot' while GS500 provides `magicpix' mode. In a nutshell, although 1/3" CCD of HC96 is technically supposed to give it an advantage, but here too, GS500 with its easy to set, `low light' scene mode beats HC96.
3. Ease of use: I found both the cameras quite easy to use (Disclaimer: I am generally comfortable with electronic items). Panasonic has a convenient joystick while Sony has touch screen LCD. Professionals generally despise the touch screen LCD, but it is not as bad as it may be made to sound. Ergonomically, I found the GS500 more comfortable to hold (though it is heavier) - it has a solid feel and a steady zoom button. The zoom button and the overall construction of HC96 seemed a bit flimsy - not what you would expect in top of the line camera. The most annoying thing about HC96 was its docking station (or as Sony calls it the `handycam' station). This is made of cheap plastic - easy to break and lose. Also, if you hook up the camera to the handycam station, you cannot use the tripod. The handycam station is the biggest downgrade introduced in HC96 over its predecessor HC90.
4. External mic: GS500 has an input for an external mic while HC96 does not. This alone is a big enough reason for most buyers to not consider HC96 (infact none of the consumer camcorders of Sony have an external mic input). Your only option would be to buy an expensive Sony hot shoe mic if you need better sound. Now you may say that for most of your recording, you would be fine with the built-in mic of the camcorder - true - but picture this scenario... you are sight seeing London in the hop-on, hop-off bus and are listening to the audio narration of the places of interests using the headphones provided. Now, instead of the headphones, if you simply provide the audio input to your camcorder and take a video, you get an awesome video with professional and accurate narration!

In conclusion - Panasonic PV-GS500 wins hands down over Sony DCR-HC96. If you shop around, you will notice that the lowest price tag on the two differ by only $[...] or so (Sony being cheaper). But over time, your Sony may need much expensive accessories (including extra battery and charger) than the Panasonic and the total tag may run higher. As far as I am concerned, I am keeping the GS500 and returning the HC96. The GS500 produces excellent video for my 32" HD ready LCD TV and is a good solution until HD technology matures in camcorders.




->Buy

I've used this camcorder for about three months now. Most of the shooting has been indoors - parties, babyshowers etc. The camcorder output when played on a TV screen is very sharp and shows lot of detail.

I am impressed with the low light performance. Color is good, with pleasing skin tones. The sound quality captured by the onboard mic is not great, but adequate.

I have uploaded a picure showing the camcorder on my palm. I was surprised that it is so small (and light).

Choosing this camcorder involved two compromises for me -
1. 1-CCD over 3-CCD
I wanted a 3-CCD camera for more vivid colors, but a 3-CCD will have worse low-light performance. Since most of my shooting was going to be indoors, I decided to go the 1-CCD route. This camera has superb low light performance and I am happy with the colors as well.

2. MiniDV over DVD
Most of the newer camcorders write directly to DVDs. Some even write to built in hard disks. However, the technology is fairly new and involves early adopter problems. The hard disk camcorder is susceptible to shaking / movement, and it will likely be the first component to fail. The problem with DVD recording is that the format uses lossy compression (meaning your raw camera output is compressed using an algorithm to DVD format).

The MiniDV format, though old fashioned, is raw digital 1s and 0s - original uncompressed video data. So you can use the MiniDV takes as your high quality backup source to transfer the video to your computer. Then you can edit the video on your computer and transfer it to DVD.

Of course, this assumes that you have the time and the patience to do video editing, but leave the door open on that possibility.

Being a minimalist, I am against buying all kinds of bells and whistle accessories. However, it would be a good idea to get these two -

1. LCD screen protector. You will be using the LCD touch screen everytime you use the camcorder, so it makes sense to protect against smudges, scratches and dirt. Get the 2.7" LCD screen protector on Ebay. It's about $5 shipped.

2. The provided NPFP50 battery is woefully inadequate. You will be constantly looking at the battery life indicator instead of concentrating on the subject. You need a backup battery anyway when you are shooting a special occasion. Get the NPFP90 battery. This is a fat battery that looks akward on the camcorder; my wife remarked that it makes the camcorder look pregnant (see my uploaded pic in the user images). However, it lasts for about 5 hours or so, so you can just plug it shoot as long as you want.

The only negative so far that I have on this camcorder, is the vertical smearing that shows when you shoot against a bright light source (a person standing against a window on a sunny day, or a bright light within a room). The image shows a vertical stripe that washes out the background. I searched the net and this seems to be a characteristic of the Sony HAD CCD. Nothing can be done about that, but it is a minor quibble.

Good luck with your choice.

P.S. I appreciate the film making process now after seeing the horrible quality of my home movies. The constant shake because of handheld movement makes the viewers sea sick (inspite of optical stabilization). The best way to avoid it is to use a small tripod whenever possible.

Also, in movies or TV newscasts, how many times does the camera zoom in and out? The answer is never or very rarely, but with a camcorder everybody itches to zoom in and out constantly. This makes the video look very amateurish.

I am now trying to edit the videos to make a slick and interesting presentation. This seems to be a whole new world. Very interesting though.


->Price

Bought this camcorder so the kids could compete in a movie making competition. Easy to use and produces a fine product.


->

Francesco has done a great take on maximizing use of the DCR-HC96 and on its good features. I am a first-time camcorder buyer and want to provide a non-geeky take on this purchase. (I'm a geek in other parts of my life, but I'm missing the camera gene--I just don't care: I want the pictures. Please.)

First: I nearly had a stomachache over this purchase (DVD or DV? Sony or Panasonic? Etc.), but now that I've had the camcorder for a couple of weeks, I love it. It feels nice, it's fine for small hands, and the buttons are all different enough so they're hard to confuse. The menu on the LCD is very easy to toggle through, and the lightest of touches will work. The manual was clear, though I understood what to do almost without reading it.

Even more to the point, in Easy mode, this camcorder does great, at least for my needs. Yes, you can get more out of the camera if you venture into the menu. But I took some short clips around the house, at night and during the day, and then Ifilmed a church service, with great results--all on Easy mode. The colors were pop-out bright and clear, the pictures had lots of definition, and there were no odd tones. Yes, it's true: this camera performs well in low light, and by "low light" camcorder manufacturers mean anywhere indoors under normal indoor lighting conditions. It even performs ok when the conditions are worse than that, and I have the "cute cat moment" tapes to prove it.

You may wonder why I didn't go for the DVD camcorder. First, I wanted more editorial control over the files than the current generation of DVD camcorders allows. I've been very satisfied with editing files with the OEM version of Nero that came with my Memorex DVD burner (again, very easy to use). Second, I bought this camcorder primarily for indoor taping of church services. DV lasts an hour or so; DVD, 20 minutes, plus you have to finalize the DVD in the camera before changing it out. There's nothing difficult about popping in a DV tape, and the transfer proved (almost) easy, though see my discussion of Firewire, below. Nevertheless, I can see where the DVD counterpart to the DCR-HC96 would have its appeal. In three years we'll be using something different, anyway!

As for the case, after contemplating several cases that have STEAL ME I'M A CAMCORDER written all over them, and also seem huge, I'm going to do what I did for my laptop, and sew a custom case made from quilted fabric lined with foam, and then it's going into a backpack or a purse, depending on the trip. This thing is SMALL; I took it to church in a large ziplock bag tucked in my purse--not recommended for general transport, but that gives you the idea! You might not want to buy a case until you've seen the camcorder, in any event.

I have not purchased an external microphone, and probably won't for a while. Indoors, with the camera a few feet from a family member, it wasn't needed. The voices were remarkably clear, and I did not hear the camcorder's own sound. At church, the voices were clear (I was taping three pews back; note that everyone in the pulpit was miked). Is it professional-quality sound? Of course not, but it's decent enough for most of us (the Easy button crowd). I may move up to a microphone, but I don't feel I have to, anyway.

The docking station is a dumb idea, because if you're using an external tripod you've just lost the benefit of a quick-release shoe, which you have to remove to dock the camera. Sony, what were you thinking? The camcorder gains almost nothing from putting those ports on a second dock. Other than that, the dock doesn't bother me. You don't need the dock to charge the camcorder (but thank you, Francesco, for anticipating the "which battery" question I was just researching).

On the other hand, the automatic lens cap is wonderful. Sony, you understand me!

The Sony software, included, does a fine job transferring the files to my computer. It couldn't be easier.

I bought a tripod, and yes, that's a good purchase. Amazon has a number of tripods under $20. You don't need the most expensive as long as you aren't going to wander away from the tripod with the camera on it. I compared filming I did with and without the tripod, and even with the camcorder braced against my face (using the viewfinder), there's a tiny bit of a "Blair Witch Project" wiggly feel to the non-tripod films. Still, if Baby gets up and starts taking her first steps, don't feel you need to set up tripod, reflector, external mike, etc.--just pick up this camcorder and let 'er roll! You are almost certain to be very pleased with the results (and again, I found closing the LCD and using the viewfinder resulted in much less wiggle).

The first purchases you should make (aside from several DV tapes) are a Firewire card and cable. Save yourself frustration: do not believe the Sony manual that you can successfully burn DVDs from film transferred to your computer with USB. I spent many weepy hours learning this the hard way. See camcorderinfo.com for many instances of people learning this the hard way. This isn't unique to Sony, incidentally. I am using a high-powered laptop for this work (connected to an external hard drive), and I bought an external Firewire card for $30 and a Firewire cable for $15.

In any event, for the price (which on Amazon keeps dropping--and I bought from Amazon because I've been shopping here a long time and felt nervous about using a new e-tailer for what is for us a big purchase), this is a great camcorder, particularly if you just want to point and shoot in indoor settings.


->Buy

I have been doing research for months and really wanted to buy a Panasonic PV-GS400. Its video quality, four-way ring, 3.5" LCD, 16:9 cinema mode, and overall prosumer features made it a camcorder legend (read review on www.camcorderinfo.com). I missed the boat, though, since it has been replaced by the PV-GS500, which is not the same camcorder. So I opted for this Sony. This camcorder takes excellent video, make no mistake; just check the reviews on CNET and especially Camcorderinfo for more technical information on this. After all my research, I feel that this is the best overall family camcorder because it is very user-friendly for all the technophobes out there, but it also allows some manual control for the user that wants to explore more advanced (read: manual) features. Word of caution: these more advanced features are accessed via LCD menu, and do not have one-push buttons or rings like the PV-GS400 or other higher end prosumer cameras, but rearranging the LCD menu and putting controls like spot focus, spot meter, focus, exposure, and white balance in the first screen of the p-menu makes this little (literally) camera far more usable. The review on camcorderinfo made it sound like rearranging the LCD menu was a job for the gods of technology. It is not. I read the manual in a half hour, and after another half hour all the menu items had been sorted based on my preferences: it's just a matter of pressing p-menu on the LCD, scrolling all the way down, selecting the p-menu options, pressing the Sort button, and then moving the buttons around according to your preference. Now, it is really important to move all the buttons I mentioned above (spot focus and meter, focus, exposure, and especially white balance) to the first screen if you want to keep your sanity. The reason is simple: you will be using some of these features a lot. White balance, for example, offers four options: auto, outdoor, indoor, and one-push. If you want faithful reproduction of color, take my advice: use one-push. I noticed that the indoor option takes an orangey video, but if you get a white/grey card (you should, it's about $18 for a Kodak one here on Amazon) or use any white surface (the back of a notebook for example) under the same light as your subject, frame it with your LCD and press one-push under the white balance menu option, your video will have a perfect color reproduction. Do you see why you want to have white balance in the first p-menu screen?
Other things you should do: enable 16:9 and also 30p (if you have an HD TV or watch your movies on a computer screen) so that you do not have the flickering of 60i interlaced mode; enable the zebra pattern feature (at 100) to see what parts of your frame are over-exposed; enable 16bit audio (default is 12bit) for higher audio quality; enable guideframe (the criss-cross-like option to help you shot video according to the rule of thirds. If you do not know what the rule of thirds is, google it. It is a very important composition guideline unless you are Steven Spielberg. Then again, if you were Steven Spielberg, you would not be reading reviews on this kind of camera, would you?). Once all this is done, there are a few other things you need to do if you want to convince your friends to watch your home videos and actually enjoy them:
- Get a microphone; the on-camera mic is bad. Get the HCM-HST1 with its funny windscreen (you will see and laugh) or the new $199 bluetooth lavalier ECM-HW1 if you have the dough; with the former you have to be close to your subject to get good sound; with the latter, your subject can be up to 30 meters (I think, check the specs) away and still get very good sound. An external mic is, along with extra battery and tripod, a must. You will thank me later;
- Get the NP-FP71 battery. It lasts a couple of hours with the LCD open; this way you will not run out of juice while your kid is giving the performance of a lifetime; I was considering the FP90 battery for extra juice, but it is very, very big. Not worth it unless you are planning on shooting the next Sundance indie masterpiece;
- Don't forget the Sony BCTRP battery charger since you are at it;
- Get the Sony ND filter package (and maybe the Polarizing package if shooot at water, metals, windows...) to shoot outside;
- Get a firewire cable to connect your camcorder to your Mac or PC; it is better than the USB cable that comes with the camera;
- Get a tripod. People get sea-sick when watching shaky, hand-held home videos. Disable the camcorder's Steadyshot feature when you use a tripod. It is not necessary and reduces overall resolution. Remember to re-enable it if you are forced to shoot hand-held. The Sony $127 VCT870RM is an excellent choice for this camcorder. It is light, yet sturdy and with a pro look and feel. It offers smooth (very important) panning and tilting, and you can control your camcorder directly from the tripod's handle (record/stop, zoom, photo), which is very, very handy; it means you can control your camera without taking your hands off the tripod handle or your eyes off the LCD screen; you'll feel like a pro, which is priceless, especially for guys :) We are grown-up kids after all;
- Monitor your audio. Unfortunately this camcorder does not have a headphone out connector, but you can use the AV out and some adapters to connect your headphones. Audio is very, very important, arguably more important than video quality, so monitor it for your important videos (weddings etc...);
- Get the Sony DVC premium BLUE (not yellow) tape ($3 each, buy them in bulk) and stick with it until your camcorder dies. It is considered bad to switch tape brands (even though it is subject to hot debates these days), but I have read that Sony uses wet lubricants whereas other manufacturers (JVC, Panasonic, Fuji) use dry lubricants. If you use a Sony camcorder, stick with a Sony tape. Do not get the Sony DVC excellence or HD tapes. They are respectively $10 and $15 each, not worth it; get the premium tape and send me the difference :);
TIPS to shoot great home videos:
- Use a tripod and external mic;
- Keep your panning (horizontal movement of the camcorder) and tilting (vertical movement) to a bare minimum while shooting. If you must pan, do it in one direction and then stop for 30 seconds or so). Do not pan back;
- Keep your zooming to a bare minimum while shooting. Zoom in or out before the shot, then take your shot;
- Consider yourself as a photographer: your camcorder stays still, only your subjects move within the frame; take hints from Hollywood movies; you'll find yourself looking at Hollywood movies with a different (more critical) eye, once you start shooting yourself, which is great;
- Use a reflector (e.g. JTL 36" white/silver round reflector at about $30 on amazon) to reflect light coming from one direction so that your subject is lit evenly;
- Use the 30-second rule: shoot at least 30 seconds of your subject even if your subject goes out of frame. This way you will have lots of room for editing;
- Shoot the first minute of a tape on something non-important; when DV tapes screw up, they usually do so in the beginning;
- Shoot your subject from different angles
- Use wide-angle for introduction of scene and Telephoto for emotions. Here is where you may want to use your manual focus option to blur the background when taking a nice portrait shot of your kids (assuming they are not running all over the house J);
- Turn your video into a story; don't shoot randomly; shoot with purpose and edit brutally so that the final video is fun and interesting;
- Do not use the camera fader and other digital effects; add them in iMovie or whatever editing program you use;
- Google great video techniques online. There is plenty of advice. Check out www.current.tv/studio/survivalguide/ for some great tips

Why this camcorder? Great for the family, light and easy to use, takes great, sharp videos even in automatic mode, relatively cheap at $600 or $700, better low-light performance than a Panasonic PV-GS500 at a cheaper price (even though the GS500 is also a good one. It does not offer zebra pattern or headphone out, though). Where to buy it? You can buy it here on Amazon like I did. You might be able to find online stores like Click for Digital that offer it for less, but Caveat Emptor: you will have to deal with pushy Brooklyn salesmen that want to sell you expensive extras because that is where they make their money, and you might wait and wait before you get your camcorder (even though they say they have it in stock). I wanted to buy this toy to shoot my daughter's D-day :) and almost missed because of those guys. I promptly cancelled my order and ordered it from Amazon. No pushy people, and I got the camera the next day. Besides, if you have an Amazon card, that is a $25 gift certificate right there, which brings the price difference down to $60. In conclusion, we are in a transition from DV to HDV. HDV camcorders are expensive, do not offer 24p film-like mode (unless you spend $6,000 for the new Panasonic HDV camcorder), and HDV is slower to edit and impossible to watch on current DVD players (even though you can keep the tapes and rip HD DVDs once they become the standard). So, I bought this HC96 because I feel it is the best transition camcorder. After all, my daughter is not going to wait another couple of years in mommy's tummy :) She needs a camcorder now! Hope this review will help. I've got to go back to my Birth Book now. Ciao.


->Lowest Price

My HC96 is about 3 weeks old and I thought others might be able to benefit from more online feedback.

Why you may want to buy it:

Low Light Ability: The ability to take home movies both indoors and out, in all sorts of lighting, was among the most important criteria for me...and this is where the HC96 tremendously outshines others in this price range.

Ease of Use: Not much is easier than pressing the "easy" button, and the results are still great. Simple for the whole family to use without having to read a manual. Again, best in this price range.

Video Quality: Great results, with a picture that seems as good as the 3CCD camcorders out there. Competitive with best in this price range.

Size: I personally like the size, able to be held and operated comfortably with one hand, small but not too small, and buttons are in logical positions (I didn't like the button placement on the last version of this camcorder, the HC90..again personal preference...my suggestion is to go to a store and try them out before buying).

DV Tape: I realize that this is "old camcorder technology", but it takes great quality footage...and can be edited easily on PC or Mac... which is why I stayed away from DVD camcorders.

Why you may not:

Manual Control: It has some, but most is imbedded in touchscreen menus. If you are a manual video control freak, this is not the best option compared to others I tested in this price range.

Size: The camcorder actually got a little bigger from the HC90 I tried (nothing significant). While I consider it small and portable for what it does, others may want a smaller "matchbook style" camcorder that increases portability further. I couldn't hold the matchbook style options with any comfort.

Media type: Some people may not want to tinker with their recorded footage. If this is the case, I'd just go with a DVD camcorder in this price range with a similar 1/3 size CCD (larger is better for low light ability). As for the hard disk options I looked it.. personally, the video quality was not in the same league as Mini DV and DVD footage.

Handycam station: It's an addition to last year's model, and I don't like it. To me, it's another extra component to carry, store, and keep track of. I'd rather have the connections directly on the camcorder. Some, though, may prefer the station approach (hook it up once, then just set the camcorder into it to connect to PC or Mac...P.S. it works seemlessly with Mac OSX 10.3 and IMovie HD)

Conclusion:
This camcorder is for point and shooters who want to computer edit great quality footage. If you are willing to spend the extra for a larger CCD to get the low light and video quality, this is the camcorder of choice. Serious hobby shooters and artists may want to stay away...they should opt for something else for the controls they'll need.

4 1/2 Stars for family movie point and shooters. 3 Stars for Hobby and Film Artists.





->Prices

I got hc96 two weeks ago at the price of 609.99 in Abe's of Maine. It is excellent! And the still photo is good enough to print a 5' photo. However, the only problem for me is hc96 is not compatible with Lenmar battery I purchased from Amazon. And the original sony battery is too expensive.
By the way, the price of hc96 in abe's of maine is even lower. Maybe I should wait and buy it at about 500 bucks?
[...]


->Lowest Price

I've used it for a week, got it to shoot a wedding so indoor light and audio performance are important to me.

- low light color accuracy is really good. Incandescent lights don't make everything really yellow.
- low light sensitivity is good. Much better than my previous sony miniDV, seems to increase gain at the expense of a little more grain.
- audio is sensitive but picks up tape hum. I can record someone speaking from 20 feet away but tape hums quite a bit. The buzzing sound can get annoying. I'm considering getting a mic mounted on top. Sometimes the hum goes away so this may just be a bad model.
- body feels plasticky. Not like the Canon powershot cameras that I have, with sturdy metal bodies.
- touch screen interface can be learned after reading the manual. It was not intuitive but now that I've read the manual and configured it the way I like it, I find it's ok.
- progressive 30p mode is great! My videos are meant primarily for computer display so I don't like interlacing. Shooting at true 30p is just wonderful.