Hc1 DV out

One eye · 07-08-2006, 4:30 PM

Hi

I am looking to purchase a Sony HC1 but have heard that the firewire link to PC, DV out (1394) tends to blow after several uses.

Does anyone have experience of such problems?

David · 07-08-2006, 7:42 PM

I've used by DV in and DV out between 15 and 20 times on the HC1 so far with no problems. Not heard of this problem actually.

emocean · 07-08-2006, 9:36 PM

I've heard this fire wire blow out thing several times about various different Sony cameras and have had a faulty one myself. In my case a brand new PC330 blew on its second connection to the PC. It was replaced by the retailer with a brand new one and I have used that almost every day for the last 3 years with no further problems. I also have an HC32 which gets plenty of use and has suffered no problems. My latest cam is an HVR-A1E which is the pro version of the HC1 and I have had no problems with that.
In my experience, if you get a problem it will be early in the cams life and will be covered by warranty. It may make you think twice about buying from Hong Kong but I don't believe that it is a massive problem.
You may be interested to know that all Sony Pro models come with a 2 year warranty but they have prices to match. The HVR-A1E sell for around £1700 and shares the same basic structure as the HC1. It has a more robust tape mech, external XLR mic and is a DV Cam. See http://www.sonybiz.net/uk for details.

fcat · 08-08-2006, 6:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emocean

I've heard this fire wire blow out thing several times about various different Sony cameras and have had a faulty one myself. In my case a brand new PC330 blew on its second connection to the PC. It was replaced by the retailer with a brand new one and I have used that almost every day for the last 3 years with no further problems. I also have an HC32 which gets plenty of use and has suffered no problems. My latest cam is an HVR-A1E which is the pro version of the HC1 and I have had no problems with that.
In my experience, if you get a problem it will be early in the cams life and will be covered by warranty. It may make you think twice about buying from Hong Kong but I don't believe that it is a massive problem.
You may be interested to know that all Sony Pro models come with a 2 year warranty but they have prices to match. The HVR-A1E sell for around £1700 and shares the same basic structure as the HC1. It has a more robust tape mech, external XLR mic and is a DV Cam. See http://www.sonybiz.net/uk for details.

used the dv out on my HC1 at least 100 times, no problems, where have you ehard the above ??

**senu** · 08-08-2006, 7:11 AM

Not with my HC1 ( so far...

)

Ive only used the dv socket about 40, maybe 50 times .Infact aaprt from viewing HDV material on a monitor that is the only way you can use it.

One eye · 08-08-2006, 9:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fcat

used the dv out on my HC1 at least 100 times, no problems, where have you ehard the above ??

I picked this up on the Dabs web site as a customer review.

One eye · 08-08-2006, 12:56 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys, you have given me the confidence to order one, I have even got a two year guarantee as standard too.

**senu** · 08-08-2006, 1:53 PM

Good luck with it..

It is a fantastic piece of kit , even as an SD camcorder
After your post I did a bit of searching in another forum I belong to ( dvdoctor) and found a link to a uaser in the states who had it and blamed it on a case of dodgy firewire blowout but it was also early and was replaced quickly ad didnt put him off
Clearly it happens very rarely and possibly very early.. Nobody in my circle of friends or on these forums seems to have experienced it
Once again Good luck with it

Out of interest Considering the HC3 is much cheaper , has HDMI , an slightly better lower light ( but not daylight/ outdoors) performance but no mic in and manual focus ring : was it on your shortlist?

One eye · 08-08-2006, 5:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

Good luck with it..

It is a fantastic piece of kit , even as an SD camcorder
After your post I did a bit of searching in another forum I belong to ( dvdoctor) and found a link to a uaser in the states who had it and blamed it on a case of dodgy firewire blowout but it was also early and was replaced quickly ad didnt put him off
Clearly it happens very rarely and possibly very early.. Nobody in my circle of friends or on these forums seems to have experienced it
Once again Good luck with it

Out of interest Considering the HC3 is much cheaper , has HDMI , an slightly better lower light ( but not daylight/ outdoors) performance but no mic in and manual focus ring : was it on your shortlist?

Hi Senu
Thanks for that. The manual focus is an important feature for me, otherwise the HC3 would have been a viable option.
Cheers

laser · 08-08-2006, 6:17 PM

I use my HC1 three to four times a week and have had no problems with it.

Incidently I have loads of footage on the Internet taken with my HC1:

http://www.nymrfootage.co.uk

Our local Sony Centre has the HC1 for £1099.99.

One eye · 09-08-2006, 9:07 AM

Thanks for that Laser, I have checked out some of your footage and it looks good.

I live in France so wouldn't be able to use your local Sony centre: I mangaed to track one down for 1373€ (about £935). Just waiting for UPS to deliver it.

laser · 09-08-2006, 8:59 PM

That's a very good price for the HC1E

Hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I have.

chrishull3 · 09-08-2006, 11:18 PM

i think the pics on my hc1e are great but the sound poor the ecm-hst1 mike i bought is poor value,i find sony premium tapes fine what do you use.i have the colour and sharpness settings one over centre on mine as i find it adds a bit more to the pics.i wish the cam had a hdmi connection like the hc3e do the big sony cams have hdmi or component,sadly great as my 2100 is it harly gts used now,my email address is chrishull656@hotmail.com