Digital Home Thoughts: Hi-Def Cam Not Too Shabby

“The Sony Handycam HDR-HC3 brings down both the size and the cost of HD video to more reasonable levels. It's still not an impulse buy, but the excellent HD/SD video quality, the good mix of automatic and manual features, and the passable still-photo capabilities will make you feel like you got your money's worth. The bigger challenge is working with the video you shoot. Even after you upgrade your video-editing package to work with HD, your options for storing, transferring, and playing back HD video are far more limited than those of standard DV. Though you can get a high-end three-chip MiniDV camcorder for this price that will deliver higher-quality standard-definition content, the clarity and detail of the HDR-HC3's high-definition video might make it worthwhile to deal with HD's early-adopter limitations.”



This seems like a really cool camera. Not really in the pro-sumer league, but the HDV capabilities kind of make up for this. It is very small, and would be perfect for someone looking to make “viral videos” in public places where a big XL2 might be too much camera. I love the design (it’s a Sony, duh!) and it seems to have all the necessary options, taking into account that Hi-Def home movies are still a little ways off while we wait for a practical, recordable Hi-Def DVD format. It might be too soon to jump on board with HDV, but I don’t think you would be disappointed with this camera.