Sony DCR-HC62E Mini DV Handycam with X25 Zoom

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Editorial reviews

Product Description
Simple, affordable, fun. Widely-available DV tape makes a great choice if you're into editing your own shots. Megapixel quality movie with powerful 25x Carl Zeiss lens. Easy to use touchscreen LCD and high-quality widescreen colour viewfinder. With DV (i.Link) input function.Main Features:Standard Definition video recording on affordable DV tape1 megapixel CCD sensorCarl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 25x optical zoom / 2000x digital zoomSuper SteadyShot for improved still image and video stability, especiall...

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-11-02 rating:
Not connecting to Mac
It arrived. We videoed. It didn't connect to our Mac iBook.

Tried both USB and Firewire but nothing shows up on the computer screen. The software provided only works with Windows. The Operating Guide manual small print says you can only use it for stills but doesn't state categorically that you can't transfer videos from the camera to a Mac. If this is the case then Sony should make this apparent. Mentioning Mac compatibility but not saying it only means the stills facility (I already have a digital camera) is misleading. If there is a way to transfer then the Guide needs to be a lot clearer.

As this is quite basic mini-dv technology, how come this generation of cameras isn't Mac compatible like the old JVC mini-dv we had?

Very disappointed.

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review by: bst4709 date: 2008-03-20 rating:
Pretty good; a little weak for interior work
The must-have feature that clinched the buying decision for me was DV-In so I could record back to tape after editing. Very few budget camcorders have that. I edit using iMovie 2 on an old Mac PowerBook and this model works just fine, both in and out of the Mac's FireWire ports.

Time lapse recording is great; leave the Camcorder on a tripod and it will take one frame every 2 to 120 seconds and produce those time-lapse sequences you see on TV. Very cool.

My gripes are:
(1) the automatic light level setting seems dark to me when filming inside. Any backlighting at all can cause the foreground image to be quite dark. There is a backlighting compensation control, but you often don't realise you needed it until you view the footage later on.
(2) Also in mediocre light, the unit seems to try to refocus occasionally, resulting in sudden moments of fuzziness in the middle of a sequence. Not quite bad enough for me to feel I can claim it is faulty, but nevertheless irritating.

If you have a chance to try before you buy, do your testing indoors under artificial light. That's the weak spot.

Overall I'm pretty happy and am learning to live with and work around the couple of limitations.




review by: John R date: 2008-03-15 rating:
Good Camcorder
First of all I have to start with a gripe. You get the camcorder and you are instructed to install the software and driver before registering the product via a USB cable. You follow the instruction and guess what? It won't connect. I telephoned Sony technical who were worse than useless. They had no idea what the problem was or how it can be solved. Whilst waiting for a return call from them (which I never got) I managed to solve the problem myself (more luck than judgement) if I am honest. I wish companies would write instructions that is crystal clear that a 2 year old would understand.

Anyway, on to my review of this camcorder now. As you expect with a Sony product the camcorder is stylish and comfortable in the hand. It does what it says on the box and does it well. The LCD display is clear and adjustable. There are a host of adjustments for those who seek perfection in their videos. For those like me who just want to point and shoot the Easy Handycam feature does this automatically.

My main reason for choosing this model is I like to edit my videos on the PC, make DVD`s to view and make a backup copy by copying it back to the camcorder DV tape. I then store it away for safety. To do this you need a camcorder that has DV in and out. This Sony has it and it works beautifully.

I started this review with a gripe but for the price this camcorder is well worth the money. You would be hard pressed to find a better camcorder than this Sony.

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