Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

Product Description

This Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam(R) Camcorder puts you in control of the show. Direct your own personal movies - the on screen Zoom and Record buttons give you flexibility and convenience. The new 3.3 Megapixel Advanced CCD imager enhances digital video and still photographic performance. Video is always crystal clear, and the 10X Optical/120X Digital Zoom brings the action close up from far away. Progressive Shutter System and high-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* Lenses produces vivid image brilliance, true-to-life color saturation and subtle tones. Onboard USB port supports USB Streaming i.LINK DV Interface New accessory shoe Compatible with Memory Stick(R) PRO Duo Touch panel exposure (24 steps) Dimensions and Weight Pending

Customer Reviews:

Regular.......2007-06-28

Tuve este camara por año y medio, la usa bastante. Cualquier dia simplemente dejo de funcionar. Se daño el bus de datos que esta al lado del carro del cassete. Se daño simplemente por "mucho uso" o mas bien falta de calidad. Además la camara tiene problemas cuando enfoca fotografias. Es muy linda pero muy, muy delicada. No volvere a comprar filmadoras Sony me pase a Canon, que son menos lindas pero mas fuertes.

Pricey but excellent. You will be proud to own one.......2006-03-10

This is one of the best camcorders in the market today and I would definitely recommend it to anyone planning to buy a Mini-DV camcorder

Positive factors:
- Very small and easy to hold with one hand. Can be easily attached even to a mini-tripod with ease.
- Excellent widescreen video and hi-fi audio. Your videos finally get that "Hollywood" feel when you shoot movies in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format). Even if you don't have a widescreen TV currently, you will very soon have one as more and more people are buying them. So its better to buy this camcorder and shoot in 16:9 format to enjoy your movies later in widescreen format.
- Includes widescreen rotatable LCD so what you see is what you get when you shoot in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format)
- Good battery life. One extra battery is enough. You can easily manage a day's worth of shooting with two batteries before recharging them again
- Includes docking station making it easier to connect to computer or TV. If you have a good computer with a firewire port, please buy a firewire cable to connect the camcorder to your computer. You can download your movie in excellent clarity in .avi format and edit it as required
- Make sure to change the audio setting to 16 bit (instead of the default 12 bit) for very good hi-fi audio
- Touchscreen menu system is great. You don't have to search for any buttons as they are all available in the touchscreen menu itself.
- 10X optical zoom is more than sufficient for ordinary home videos. Anything more produces more "shaking" and would necessiate the use of a tripod. When you shoot without a tripod, 10X is the best zoom you can achieve without worrying about shaky videos
- Widescreen still photo. The photo clarity is OK not too good. So please don't expect great shots. Since the photo is in 16:9 format, you can take panoramic photos and cover more people in group shots
- Nightshot: Cool feature that records using infrared light. Useful for shooting at night as you can record a video even in 100% darkness
- Color widescreen viewfinder - Very useful when you are running down on batteries and need to use the viewfinder. The color widescreen viewfinder gives an excellent picture and is as good as the LCD in clarity

Negative factors:
- Outdoor videos especially in bright sunlight are overexposed. So please adjust the white balance when shooting outdoors. Add the white-balance menu to your shortcuts so that you can easily access it and return to default once you start shooting indoors
- Sensitive microphone may pick up button clicks (best to turn off the button click "beep" sound).

Notes:
- Use a fresh cassette after recording 2 or 3 times on the same cassette. The head tends to get dirty if you re-record on the same cassette more than 3 times
- You can edit movies in Windowx XP using Windows Movie Maker, but beware it does not support 16:9 ratio video. Hence your videos look ugly as you shot them in 16:9 but Movie Maker converted it to 4:3. Invest in Pinnacle Software version 9 or 10 for better movie editing capabilities. Pinnacle is the only software, I am aware of, that preserves teh 16:9 ratio. Even Roxio could not allow 16:9 format.
- You can also invest in wide-angle lens as it gives excellent coverage

Buy Sony products at your own risk.......2006-01-15

As an owner of the Sony DCR-HC30 model DV Handicam, I want to warn everyone about my horrible experience with this product line. Design and feature-wise, these Handicams are great. The problem is, they are built like junk.

From the day I opened my box, I got a message that told me that the heads were dirty and needed to be cleaned. In retrospect, I should have returned it for a replacement then and there. But being a basically optimistic guy, I decided it just got dirty in transit, and I got a head cleaner and cleaned the heads. It worked fine for about 30 days - just about the amount of time in Sony's crappy labor warranty. And from that point forward, I have gotten dirty head messages constantly, which at first could be `cleaned away,' but now, even when the message is gone, problems persist.

I often get bars across the screen during playback, and I have already determined that I have lost many a precious memory of my infant children. Sony's solution to this situation is their standard "flat rate" repair program, truly a bargain for $250 or so - more than half what I paid for the camera in the first place.

And Sony wonders why their brand value has all but disappeared? They are just another electronics brand now, and one with sub-par quality and service at that. Guess I'll be buying Samsungs or Canons next time around.

Are you listening, Sony?

Great camera.......2005-12-29

I shopped around for a while before I bought this camera. I checked out many reviews and I have to say, I'm VERY happy with this camera. I wanted something that worked in low light. This was the most important feature I was looking for. I had a Canon video camera, and I now have very few videos of my daughter growing up because if there wasn't enough light it would make interference on the tape. This camera works very well with normal indoor lighting. You don't have to turn on extra lights. (It also has nightvision which works in very low light)

The only complaints I have are 1) the battery doesn't last more than an hour - but I don't video that long anyway 2) the memory stick doesn't hold many pictures - but I'm spoiled with my digital camera holding lots.

In general, I would highly recommend this camera. You can download the video to you PC really easily and burn it to DVD.

Oh, and in some reviews it mentions that the zoom is hard to use. I don't find that to be true at all. It is sensitive, but not hard to use.

Great video, so-so camera when it works.......2005-12-23

Like other reviewers, I researched this purchase carefully and was very pleased with the overall performance of this combination video/still camera. Video quality is great.

Some issues - buttons are designed for holding the camera eyepiece to the eye. The secondary controls on the screen are ok, but otherwise it is awkward to use the camera at waist level. Still camera focus is slow and unreliable. Stills can take "forever" to snap - especially #2, 3.

Finally, the camera has completely shut down on me twice in 6 months and I am sending it back again for service - just before the holidays when I would really like to have it. This unreliability is unacceptable.

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