Sony HDR-HC1

Gruntsplatter · 03-11-2005, 5:19 PM

Anyone had a play with one of these? Comments? Advice?

I am thinking of getting one and would appreciate any words of wisdom from you lot, esp. a good place to buy. Pixmania are the cheapest I have found so far at £1095.

Many TIA

vonhosen · 03-11-2005, 7:03 PM

It's been mentioned in a few threads here, try the search facility to find them.

ianh64 · 04-11-2005, 12:15 PM

Pixmania may say they have them in stock but getting one from them is a different matter. I wasted 3 precious days prior to going on holiday before they admitted they were no in stock afterall. Thankfully I got one in London that could pick up in person - and it was cheaper than Pixmania at the time.

I would also recommend looking at any battery & case options in person to check the ergonomics. You may not feel that it is comfortable with the large battey on the back but you do need a larger battery than is supplied as this thing eats them for breakfast - you may get as little as 15 minutes recording time with the standard battery.

I have used the Sony Excellence tapes sofar without issue. Not sure if I would trust the budget premium Sony ones that Pixmania were bundling at the time. I don't think the HDV specific ones are worth the extra - assuming that my recordings remain reliable over time.

And try and get a spare composite/audio cable if you intend to permanently wire the camcorder into a hard to access connector on your TV. The supplied component cable does video only so you need the composite/audio cable too for the audio side of things.

laser · 04-11-2005, 1:04 PM

Do not order from Pixmania, their service is terrible....

Checkout this link to download high def camcorder footage. If you haven't already done so it will give you a flavour of the stunning picture quality Sony high def camcorders will achieve. Stunning.

http://www.vasst.com/HDV/FX-1_images.htm

serial45 · 04-11-2005, 2:01 PM

seriously considering buying one of these cameras, i was only wanting to spend around £500 but by god this has me thinking! hehe

Gruntsplatter · 04-11-2005, 3:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serial45

seriously considering buying one of these cameras, i was only wanting to spend around £500 but by god this has me thinking! hehe

You and me both, mate. I was thinking in the region of up to around 6 or 7 hundred quid, but this little beauty has got me seriously considering a credit card bashing!

Alan A · 04-11-2005, 4:48 PM

well, got one a week ago from Hi Spek, £1,139 with 0% credit for nine months.
Didf my first recording with it on Saturday (kiddies birthday party) and I was amazed at the quality of the footage through component into my plasma superb!
I have the alrge 90 battery fitted and you cannot get your eye to the eye piece, but experimenting with it, you canb still use the eye piece, just not as good.

I bought the ND filter kit, but you cannot attach the protective filter to the lens and then fit the lens hood as the two slots are covered, but they will screw into the hood

easy to hold, easy to use, love it!

Its going with me to Florida in a couple of weeks, where it will get a hammering.

There is one of the most comprehensive reports on a camera I have ever seen here
http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/showthread.php?t=2325

ianh64 · 04-11-2005, 5:09 PM

Alan

Thats good news. I was a little worried that you didn't like it since you moving on from a very nice camera so would probably be more critical of it.

Alan A · 04-11-2005, 6:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianh64

Alan

Thats good news. I was a little worried that you didn't like it since you moving on from a very nice camera so would probably be more critical of it.

Well I am now in the envious position of having a superb main camera and an equally superb back up camera

07-11-2005, 1:56 AM

Just bought an HC1 to suppliment my FX1, great wee cam, iamge quality is amazing for the dough, however there are a couple of issues that I think Sony could have got better...

1. Bottom loader, a bit of a pain for serious users
2. No independant aperture or gain control (& no aperture or gain readout in cam mode, I know a work around though)
3. No universal hot shoe, just a specific sony fit, crap crap crap
4. Picture is a bit dark in low light (not an issue for serious users with lights etc, but probably for most home users)
5. No AV in, can't have everything.

Everything else this camera does exceptionally well, the above points are niggles, I'm well aware of the concessions one has to make to cost

07-11-2005, 1:56 AM	#10
Roy Mallard Guest Posts: n/a	Just bought an HC1 to suppliment my FX1, great wee cam, iamge quality is amazing for the dough, however there are a couple of issues that I think Sony could have got better... 1. Bottom loader, a bit of a pain for serious users 2. No independant aperture or gain control (& no aperture or gain readout in cam mode, I know a work around though) 3. No universal hot shoe, just a specific sony fit, crap crap crap 4. Picture is a bit dark in low light (not an issue for serious users with lights etc, but probably for most home users) 5. No AV in, can't have everything. Everything else this camera does exceptionally well, the above points are niggles, I'm well aware of the concessions one has to make to cost
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