Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent camcorder for the price I paid - it's only an 800k pixel budget model though, 22 Sep 2008
I quite like this little Camcorder - I had and loved the near identical Sony DCR HC22E miniDV camcorder that has just gone kaput [the LCD screen failed although the camera still records/plays]. The HC22E came with a next to useless USB2 'docking module', whereas this HC53E has the AV/USB2/iLink Fire-Wire PC connections on the body [which I much prefer]. However I always use the AV or iLink output with our Panasonic TV DVD recorder, rather than a PC, as picture quality is better. The camera comes an NP FH30 battery, a mains adapter 'brick', a USB2 cable and an AV [3-phono] cable, so if you want to use iLink [mini Firewire] you need to buy that cable separately. There's also a CD of PC software and the paper/pdf manual. Strangely there's no remote control option though, which I do really miss. Plus this HC53E looks a bit naff in black compared to the older cams classy grey/silver, not helped by a bulbous tacky plastic 'hand grip' on the right side.
I much prefer miniDV tape camcorders like this to hard drive/miniDVD models, as you can pack 15 hours into the suitcase (15 tapes), battery life for the supplied NP-FH30 is about 80 minutes [you need three batteries really to cover a day's intensive shooting], and tape recording has always been very reliable [compared to DVD]. You can recharge batteries in the camera, but I bought a £15 generic mains/12v car charger combo, so that I can recharge one battery while filming with another - recharging in about one hour. Very very annoyingly my old [identical looking] 7.2v Sony NP-FP30 batteries don't fit the camcorder though, thanks to a few mm more plastic on the base lugs and Sony's new info-lithium chip.
This camcorder shoots very well even down to low light, and there's the B&W NightShot Plus mode that can film [somewhat video noisily] in absolute darkness. Video colour is a bit washed out, particularly indoors [I tend to run in `easy' auto mode], but image sharpness is good and it's noticeably better than old hi-8 analogue tape. Autofocus is OK, except in poor light and high zoom, plus there's a few menu options for things like white balance & focus, and there are buttons for battery level, NightShot, zoom and backlight compensation. However the newer and more expensive HC62E miniDV has 20% higher resolution over this model and it's better for widescreen and stills capture, plus it has a small remote - so check that out if it's important to you. As our kids have just left primary school behind, with all its associated video opportunities, and all our old MiniDV tapes are recorded at this lower resolution anyway, I'm not so fussed. In fact I bought this model over better models simply because it was likely to play all my old MiniDV tapes also recorded at 0.8 mega-pixels [the HC53E's resolution] - and it was also cheap.
This camcorder offers 40x zoom compared to the 62E's 20x, although you can't go above 20x without using a tripod or leaning on a wall. This HC53E camcorder is easy use and the small batteries last for over an hour, although its tubby shape isn't as cumfy a grip as thinner models. I bought one `genuine' Sony NP-FH50 spare battery (Sony has nobbled the camera so that cheaper generic ones can't work without a patch cable, which loses the almost essential info-lithium battery 'hours/charge left' on-screen graphical info). I wouldn't go for the larger battery sizes though as they stick out a long way from the camera rear, spoiling the camera's smooth lines and make handling uncomfortable.
Also get a Psion 5mx stylus or similar (they are still about at £10 for three) as using your fingers on the touch LCD screen really messes it up and it's very difficult to clean off - whereas a PDA stylus eliminates that completely and doesn't scratch [you can buy screen protectors as well]. The picture quality via AV/out is as pretty much as good as a standard TV picture at around 500 lines to PALs 625 (and is 20% better than analogue hi-8). The little MiniDV tapes take up much less storage space - plus they search better that Hi8 tapes [particularly with a nice little remote, shame there isn't one]. But more importantly the camera itself is miniscule compared to old Hi8 camera's, fitting into the hand for easy handling, but still with all the features [colour LCD playback, sound etc..]. That said this HC53Es image quality naturally lags well behind new & expensive HiDef camcorders and even the comparably priced 1 mega-pixel Canon 235 and Canon 160 MiniDV models. Although this camcorder will seem great to anyone upgrading from an old analogue Hi8 camcorder, but be warned there are better miniDV camcorders out there - the 800k resolution is poor by modern standards. However I avoided these decent [e.g. Canon] video cameras as often MiniDV tape recorded on one model won't replay correctly on another manufacturer's camcorder, and I have that large Sony archive of miniDV tapes.
I use cheap Sony Premium miniDV tapes that work perfectly with this HC53E Sony camcorder, with never a drop-out. Plus the camcorder replays my old HC22E recorded tapes correctly. So overall the HC53E is highly recommended if going cheap [I paid £110]. This HC53E model also offers a USB2 PC link [as well as standard AV and Firewire] and this is the main 'extra' over the similar Sony HC51E base model.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sony DCR-HC53E Mini DV Handycam, 22 Sep 2008
Fantastic little camera, astonishing results when played back on a TV. It's very easy to use, charge the battery, turn it on and start recording, there's also plenty of goodies in the menu, manual control, spot focus, white balance, super night-shot, etc.
I did a lot of research before buying the camera, DV tape is still considered the best quality because you don't lose any frames when loading on to your PC for editing. It's very easy to transfer the footage from the camera to your pc.
I'm no expert when it comes to video cameras, but compared to the one I had five years ago, it's brilliant. I bought the camera with the five-pack Sony premium DV tapes. Highly recommended.
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great little camcorder!, 19 Aug 2008
This is a great little camcorder. The size of is perfect - not too small, not too big, just right. It's very simple to operate and the video quality is excellent. Even better it has a USB port and comes with a USB lead and software so you can edit all your home movies.
The only tiny little complaint is the fact that there was no tape to get started with, so i suggest you buy some along with the camcorder so you are ready to go.
If you want a camcorder that does all the basic stuff, is not difficult to operate and is excellent value for money then this is the camera for you!
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