[Bearded_Malc]

The sony website, www.sony.co.uk has some new camcorders, HC24, HC35, HC44, HC46, HC94 and HC96. Quite what the differences are is not easy to work out. I was considering the HC90 so I wonder what the HC94 and HC96 has over the HC90.

Pixmania, after xmas had no stock of HC90 until end of Jan, then put the price up and now don't even list the HC90. Sony online shop show the DCRHC90EH.CEH as 699 and out of stock, but the DCRHC90EH.CEH.A as 479 and available (but then I see that this is a factory reburbished model so that explains the price difference). The HC96 in the sony shop is 649, out in feb.

OK, I've looked over the specs and these are the differences:

HC90 says manual focus is ring, HC94/96 says panel (but I think the HC90 is panel, the 85 had a ring)
HC90 says flash auto popup, HC94/96 says not auto
HC90 says 110x91x66 mm HC94/96 says 120x91x72 mm
HC90/HC96 says DV, Video, Audio in, HC94 says just out
HC94/96 no longer lists a memory stick but does have scart adaptor now.
HC94/96 battery now the NP-FP50 not NP-FA50. Power is down 0.1W but time 5 min less.

The FP50 is a square battery so I guess this now clips on the back like the HC42 etc. and not inside like the HC90. The HC94/96 looks to have some buttons on the side but if the battery is now at the back it could have lost some from there.

[Hades]

Was just looking at them as I too was keeping an eye on the HC90.

But the one I am really interested in now is the DCR-SR90 which has a 30GB HDD

The new Handycam® DCR-SR90 has a staggering 30 GB hard disk drive that can record up to 21 hours of uninterrupted footage, all in excellent quality thanks to the Carl Zeiss® Vario Sonnar T* lens and 3 Megapixel CCD.

The wide viewing angle of the 3 Megapixel CCD allows true widescreen recording, which is perfect for playback through a widescreen TV and the built-in Dolby Digital® 5.1 microphone adds full surround sound quality to your home movies.

To keep your footage safe, automatic drop protection protects the hard disk if the internal sensors detect a fall and if your camera suffers an impact during use, the Video Stream buffering feature saves video footage to its buffer memory until the hard disk drive recovers. The SR90 offers all this yet remains remarkably compact.

With the USB 2.0 and PC back-up functionality you can enjoy high speed and easy data transfer. The software (supplied) automatically synchronises with your PC to detect the newest data since your last back-up. Creating your own movies is now a matter of pushing one single button as the One Touch DVD Burn will automatically create your DVDs.

[Bearded_Malc]

DCR-SR90 is 849 in the sony online shop so 200 more than the HC96. Also, what do you do if you fill the HD while on holiday? 30G is about 15hrs recording I guess at DVD quality so I suppose that should do - about 15 dv tapes.

[Hades]

Originally Posted by Bearded_Malc

DCR-SR90 is 849 in the sony online shop so 200 more than the HC96. Also, what do you do if you fill the HD while on holiday? 30G is about 15hrs recording I guess at DVD quality so I suppose that should do - about 15 dv tapes.

I think 15 hours would be more than enough. I would be amazed if anyone used 15+ tapes while on holiday for 2 weeks.

[Bearded_Malc]

Probably depends on the holiday . Actually I've found a CES review on caminfo that discusses the new cams, miniDV and HD. This says 7hrs at best quaility so that's only 7 tapes.

[johnnylegs]

Check out Amazon for the HC90E. They've got them for £449. I picked one up beginning of December for £235. Display model - 12 months warranty, Couldn't believe it, great camera. I'm using it with a helmet cam at the moment, hence the need for AV in. Keep an eye on the sellers, not just Amazon themselves.

So Bearded_Malc, do you reckon it would be better to still go for the HC90 rather than one of the new Sony models?

[Bearded_Malc]

Well I bought a HC90.

My thoughts were - 1. I could wait and then find there are no more HC90 available and I might no like the HC96, then I'd feel stupid . Or the HC96 could be more expensive. So I went with the HC90. I didn't like the fact the HC96 was fatter and had the battery on the back.

I'm thinking the same thing. There appears to be darn ol' difference between the two camcorders but I think for me the HC90 appears to have the edge. Mmm, have to wait though until Pixmania has more in stock... Do you know offhand if you can get a decent battery better and longer than the npfa70?

[Bearded_Malc]

You might want to check out amazon. They seem to have it one and off for the same price as pixmania. Pixmania had it at xmas but not since AFAIK. Only 1 year waranty at amazon of course.

I have a 70 battery. That reckons 170min AFAIR when fully charged. I got it from a supplier on ebay - a business in bodmin, 19 quid inc pp. Watch the mAhr on the compatibles though. The sony is 1220mAhr. Compatibles range from 950-1600. I went for the same size, 1220, in case the 1600 was fatter as I'd read compatible batteries sometimes don't fit right (in general, not the HC90 specifically).

Saw the HC90 for £449 on Amazon and I thought great. Last one though at that price. Went back to it an hour later armed with my credit card only to find out that the thing was sold and the next best price is £529. A bit of a jump that so I might wait and see if Pixmania comes back with them at a better price. Cheers for the info on the batteries

[Hades]

Available here http://www.purelygadgets.co.uk/prodi...slist=6~14~113 for £489.95 + it includes a free 18 month extended warranty.

Cheers for the tip Gazza_UK . I'll definitely look at that...

[Hades]

Originally Posted by Fox28

Cheers for the tip Gazza_UK . I'll definitely look at that...

No probs.

Or you could just check this link daily... as it does change.

http://audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/...id=total_price

Had been checking kelkoo all the time but there hadn't been a good price for the HC90 for a while. They were all over the £530 mark which is a bit steep for me and they were showing a lot less sites selling the HC90 than they had been doing before Christmas. Is Sony phasing out the HC90 altogether do you know in order to make way for the HC94 and HC96??? In any case I may have to hold off on buying one for another month or two as my funds are not as good as I thought they would be . Thanks again for the tip. Much appreciated

[Hades]

Originally Posted by Fox28

Had been checking kelkoo all the time but there hadn't been a good price for the HC90 for a while. They were all over the £530 mark which is a bit steep for me and they were showing a lot less sites selling the HC90 than they had been doing before Christmas. Is Sony phasing out the HC90 altogether do you know in order to make way for the HC94 and HC96??? In any case I may have to hold off on buying one for another month or two as my funds are not as good as I thought they would be . Thanks again for the tip. Much appreciated

I am after one too, so always keeping an eye on them

It would be fair to say that with all the new Sony models coming out this year, that the others may be phased out. Its a case of how long to wait ebfore being a tad upset with not getting one The HC90 still gets very good reviews. Will be interesting to see what is said about the newer models as they come out.

Definitely. Still not long to go. I think Sony is releasing the new models on the 6th of February if I remember correctly. Will have to wait and see...

[owain_thomas]

I ordered mine from purelygadgets on friday, its out with UPS as we speak so hopefully have it some time tomorrow

after looking at the HC96 I decided I liked the 90 better and as the guts of it seem to have remained the same thought I might as well go for it before they become difficult to get hold of.