 Best Bang For Your Buck! |
| Review Date: June 14, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Jeep Girl, |
This is a fantastic camcorder, I've had it for 6 months and have played with it a ton. We bought this camera as a replacement for our 8 year old Samsung Hi-8 camera. The first thing that astonished me was the size difference between the two cameras! The Sony HC26 was 1/4 the size when compared to the outdated (but well performing) dinosaur Samsung. We paid more 8 years ago for the Samsung Hi-8 than we paid for this outperforming, master of technology, the Sony HC26! I was so impressed by the level of improvements in technology and the space and compactness, I instantly was very happy with this camcorder. I was hesitant about the touch screen controls, but have now fallen in love with that feature. It has enough features for the average user, it's a great camera for home use. If you're not "averagely technological" to master the programmed settings, an "easy button" located on the inside controls when you open your viewing screen, makes a pro out of ANY new camera operator. My seven year old is able to operate the camera, and do quite a good job at it, so if that's not user friendly, I don't know what is! We compared it to the Panasonic, JVC, and Canon, but knowing that we had no need for the still camera, this was the best choice for us. It's perfectly hand sized, buttons are easily reached to the "blind eye," the zoom is awesome at 20 optical zoom and placed right under your right index finger, other models have the button placed awkwardly. Despite other reviewer comments, I detect no "noise" from the zoom even after reviewing the footage in playback. The best-selling feature on this camera is the impressive nightshot when compared to similar cameras under $500. It films in real time with a black and white image and really captures your subject clearly and brightly. No other camera came close to the image quality with the nightshot feature, most were too dark to distinguish your subject. The nightshot really only works up to about 5 feet away even though they claim up to 10 feet. The Carl Zeiss Lens captures vivid colors and crisp images and the sound quality is very good. If your wanting quality picture and sound, definately go with this mini DV tape Sony Handycam 26 camcorder! Just a note, the technology isn't quite "there" yet for the disc recorders, you compromise on sound and picture quality by using the disc camcorders. This is a superior camcorder for the price! The fire-wire doesn't come with the camcorder package, but is needed to download video.
UPDATED NOTE: 2006 CONSUMER REPORTS BUYING QUIDE gives the Sony DCR HandyCam high marks as follows: picture quality-very good, ease of use-good, image stabilizer-excellent, audio quality-good, battery life-80 minutes. I thought it was interesting that they rated the JVC GR-DF450, the Canon Elura 85, and the Panasonic GS250 with FAIR audio quality, and all of these cameras are considerably more expensive but most competive with the Handycam. Of all the digital camcorders reviewed, the Sony Handycam outperformed and was the most affordable too!
HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Very nice unit. Great for putting video to PC.
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| Review Date: March 17, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Mike, Towson, MD |
| Great product! Very good image stabilization, even when I zoom in close. I especially like the location of the zoom in/out button and the LCD touch screen is easy to use. The LCD is clear, buttons and menus are easy to understand, and the unit's overall weight is light and comfortable to hold. Top loading tapes make switching tapes easy, especially when mounted on a tripod. The Easy mode makes usage a snap. Battery life is good, but I will buy the heavy duty 2400 mAh battery soon. I wanted to use this camcorder to download and edit movies on my laptop. The iLink (aka 1394 firewire) port on the camcorder is the 4 pin type. I bought a 4 pin to 6 pin firewire cable and a firewire PCMCIA card to interface with my Dell laptop (not included with camcorder, obviously). I plugged in the camcorder and had video downloading into Microsoft Windows Movie Maker in a matter of minutes. I haven't tried the software that came with it because I like Movie Maker. Video quality was acceptable at night with low indoor lighting and without the night mode even turned on. Outdoor video during the day is bright and clear. This is not a $15,000 professional camera, but if your intent is to take some great video to show your friends or keep a collection of memories and not spend a ton, this little guy is great! I did a lot of research on this before I bought it and I'm very happy. |
Very intuitave little bugger
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| Review Date: August 15, 2006 |
| Reviewer: A. Slater, Connecticut USA |
Compact, fits in my hand very nicely. There are a lot of extras built in to the menu system (touch screen). The zoom is very clear but the picture does get shaky once you get into the digital zoom. I have yet to get an i.link cable (aka firewire) so for now I am useing the USB cable that goes to my camera. I was very happy to see that there was no still shot with a memory card. Normally that feaure on ALL camcorders sucks, hence having a still camera seperate.
After charging the battery I had this little bad boy up and running within 20 min, and 10 min after that I was able to use everything and understand what the system was doing. The camera's ease of use is great. The touch screen makes the interface extremely easy to understand. Connecting the camcorder to the television was also very easy, with the included cables.
I highly recommend this camera for a new user or anyone who wants a camera that is easy to use. You can't beat this one for the price! |
Sony DCR-HC26
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| Review Date: January 16, 2007 |
| Reviewer: , |
This camcorder's zoom is extremely powerful, it is light weight, and compact.
You can film, and photograph details of people and objects for 2 stories high and half a city block away.
It is light enough that you can put it in your pocket and not feel the difference. This is one of it's aspects that makes it perfect for traveling and school.
The Sony DCR-HC26 is small enoung to fit in a small hand bag, comfortably in your pocket, or in your coat pocket. |
Very good value
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| Review Date: July 20, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Huon R. Lemercier, Jindabyne, Australia |
The price is right, digital tape technology finaly at cost to performance zenith.
works realy well with my Mac G4, lite weight, good battery life, ok picture quality, eazy to use, able to be thowen around, did lack remote control. Used profesionaly in ski teaching, best price proformance value on market |
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" Sony DCR-HC26 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom ", Today on Sales Sony DCR-HC26 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom + Free shipping. Get Sony DCR-HC26 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom Now! |
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