Sony DCR-HC62 Reviews: Sony MiniDV storage camcorder

+ 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.

- 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. 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.

+ good zoom, wide sreen, extensive features.

- Controls very fiddly. Eye-piece is very difficult to focus, does not come far enough from camera body and slops back and forth. Many features (EG fader) only available via touch screen which is ticky to use during filming.

+ Small, light, easy to operate, excellent lens.

- Still image quality is poor - you'll still need a digital camera. The sound quality is average, the microphone picks up the camera noise and there is no external mic input (though, in fairness, that is common on this price range of camera). Battery life is acceptable, but not longer than the length of a tape, and the spare batteries are very expensive.

+ Easy to use, my children can use it as they wish. Acceptable quality for the price. Excellent image quality.
Easy to connect to TV ,VCR and PC. Good to have still image function with Memory stick pro.
I have mini tapes from previous camcorder, I can play these back or convert to DVD. I reccommend this camcorder for the price and quality.

- Hissing noise during use, but this does not bother me. awkward on, off button. No memory stick supplied.
Spare battery and carry case expensive to buy.

+ Lightweight, easy to use, clear picture (even at full zoom)

- No place to fit shoulder strap. Other than that no faults found

+ Mini DV Tapes and Memory stick. Ohotos go to memory stick.
Size
Lens cover

- on off button and those controls

+ It was easy enough to set up for someone like me who is not used to these products.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ save snape shoots on to a memory card

- Did not come with a memory card

+ Compact, good quality and extremely easy to use.

- Initially I had difficulty manipulating the switches while holding the camera in my hand.