Sony DCR-HC30E I recently purhcased this MiniDv sony handycam for Rs.42, 000 from Sony World in Bangalore.
With a 10x optical zoom and a sturdy build, the DCR-HC30E despite its feathery 380g is no lightweight in the features department. Its variety of shooting functions, a dependable auto mode and an intuitive onscreen menu make for easy learning, though manipulating it is quite a different experience.
Design
Oddly enough, despite the oblong form factor, the DCR-HC30E turned out to be one of the most comfortable camcorders I have held. Weighty without too much heft, it fitted very snugly in the palm and the intelligent layout of the button controls afforded us easy access to vital functions like the zoom bar and record button.
On opening the LCD lid, I noticed the absence of the usual array of menu buttons, like play and fast-forward. The missing buttons were instead accessed through the onscreen menu that definitely lends a semblance of cool to the newly initiated. However, unless the users enjoy poking around with icons on the 2.5-inch touch-screen LCD, the buttons, or lack of it could make or break the deal, especially for the big-fingered user.
If missing lens caps had often been the bane of your previous relationship with camcorders, you would be glad to know that Sony has forgone the standalone covers for a clever switching mechanism that protects your Carl Zeiss lens with the flip of a switch. For tripod enthusiasts, do note that the tape opening for the DCR-HC30E is located at the bottom, so you would have to remove the camera from the tripod during tape switching WHICH IS A PAIN.
Colors-wise, Sony has detracted from the usual ’I am a tourist!’ silver-and-grey tones and done a kaleidoscopic number. Shades from passion orange to a very zesty mint green are available for those who like their glass-eyed gnomes to stand out from the crowd.
Features
Returning to the onscreen menu, it is a good thing that it is fully customizable down to whether you would prefer the white balance button to be on the left of the exposure button, though selection is not as speedy as would have been the case with a conventional jog dial. If fiddling with stuff like manual focusing is your thing, then you’re going to be disappointed. Focusing with the two onscreen buttons during try-outs was a real pain though the spot focusing feature (focusing via the touch screen) made life a little easier. The same applied for probably everything else like exposure control, spot metering and the self-timer, though the saving grace was that the onscreen buttons were well spaced out and the menu was intuitive to navigate.
Should the user disdain grabbling with the onscreen menu, all is not lost-there is a convenient Easy Handycam feature that automates everything save basic functions like zoom and night mode. Big-thumb Tom will also be pleased to know that the font size and buttons are sized up for this mode.
The DCR-HC30E drops in with an adequate 10x optical zoom and 120x digital zoom that hardly anyone uses unless they have a preference for pixelated home videos. The DCR-HC30E also packs an 800, 000-pixels CCD as well as the usual montage of digital and picture effects like old movie, sepia and pastel. Your Still pictures are recorded on the Memory Stick.The maximum resolution of the stills picture is 0.8 Megapixes and if you are looking for good stills then you will be disappointed.My advise is not to buy any camcorder with a still picture of less than 1 Megapixel.
As is customary for Sony camcorders, nighttime filming at 0 lux is where it shines best with the proprietary Nightshot Plus mode. The new Super Nightshot Plus also pushes infra filming to new heights, though it is only as good as the range of the infrared beam, with the tradeoff being the shutter speed turned down a couple of notches. Otherwise a minimum illumination of 5 lux is required for viable shooting. In my opinion, the Color Slow Shutter mode failed to impress in 0 lux conditions, with only a slight increase in brightness.
The anti-fingerprint treatment on the LCD screen is a thoughtful addition, considering the usage mileage that the touch screen would be subjected to.
Lastly, the included software package lacks any punch for movie-editing options like cutting and pasting so video buffs will have to turn to third-party software to fulfill their video graphics aspirations. The picture Package software is garbage.
YOU CANNOT COPY THE MINIDV TAPE TO THE COMPUTERS HARD DRIVE WITH THIS SOFTWARE.YOU WILL NEED ADOBE PREMIERE 6 TO DO THAT JOB.OR USE WINOOWS XP MOVIEMAKER.
Performance
We especially like the Easy Handycam mode which performed remarkably well under a variety of test-shooting conditions. With its responsive autofocusing and white balance, the DCR-HC30E manages laudable merit in the point-and-shoot department. However as earlier mentioned, the fact that most of the manual controls have been ported to the touch screen renders it a touch unwieldy.
Setting up the DCR-HC30E as a Webcam via USB streaming was a breeze and the frame rate went at a steady clip on MSN Messenger 4.7 without any noticeable lag. For the zoom function, we were able to garner very smooth image transition whether it was in fast or slow zoom, though a problem we noticed was a sudden jerking on the zoom bar will result in a resounding click that would be faithfully recorded by the microphone.
Image stabilization was quite adequate, managing to smooth over our overnight hangover jitters without any distortion in the picture quality.
Image Quality
Auto white balancing was not exactly perfect, though we had no trouble at all with the very convenient one push mode. Our day shoots were pretty good with decent vibrant colors recorded accurately.
In Super Nightshot Plus, we noticed a bit of blue noise during our revelry outside the local pub. If you have a preference for a ghoulish veneer, the Nightshot modes throw a distinct green haze over everything, though details were clear.
Switching back to Color Slow Shutter mode, colors were a little better but the slow shutter speed apparently did not pair very well with dudes who have downed more than their fair share of Coronas: everything turned out to be a perpetual blur on playback.