Sony HC62 MiniDV Handycam or Sony HC51 - Are they any good?? Do you recomend?

Question

Sony HC62 MiniDV Handycam or Sony HC51 - Are they any good?? Do you recomend?

Answer 1

MiniDV tape based camcorders capture video to the digital tape and store in DV format. This uses pretty much no compression. The "DV" in miniDV = digital video.

Presuming the camcorders are similarly priced, I would take a miniDV tape based camcorder over a internal hard drive or flash memory or DVD based camcorder in a heartbeat.

MiniDV tape continues to provide the best available video quality because it compresses less than the other storage formats.  More compression = more discarded digital video data = reduced video quality.

Personally, I would not buy either of these camcorders because they do not have a mic-in jack and they do not have manual audio control.The least expensive camcorders with a mic-in jack are the Canon ZR800, ZR900 and ZR930 - but they do not have manual audio control. The least expensive camcorders with a mic-in jack and manual audio control are the Canon HV20, HV30, Sony, HDR-HC7 and HC9.

(I use a Sony HDR-HC1 and HDR-FX1. Both are miniDV tape based camcorders.)

All this said, for entry-level consumer camcorders, the Sony DCR-HC51 and HC62 are fine camcorders. Keep in mind that because they are miniDV tape based, they will transfer video using firewire - this means your computer needs to have a firewire (IEEE1394a, i.Link, DV - all the same thing) port. They are easy to add if your computer does not have one (assuming your computer has available expansion slots). DV transfer using USB will not work.

Answer 2

Hi Mahoo,

These are both very good camcorders. Sony have a great reputation when it comes to making camcorders and the latest additions to their range has only re-enforced that. The prices have also come down a lot recently, so you can get fantastic bargains, with the HC62 now under £215 while the HC51 is a little over £125.

The other camcorder I would recommend is the Samsung  D381, which is roughly the same spec, with the larger, 2.7" LCD screen that the Sony HC62 has and 34 times optical zoom but a bit cheaper at less than £110 at the moment.

I hope this helps find a camcorder, whatever model you choose good luck and have loads of fun with it!