- Standard Definition video recording on affordable DV tape
- 800k pixel CCD sensor with Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
- 40x optical zoom and Super SteadyShot technology
- 2.5" LCD touchscreen
- Up to 14 hours STAMINA continuous shooting time
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Technical Details
Product details
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Product Description
Manufacturer's Description
This Sony DCRHC51E miniDV camcorder has a 40x optical zoom through a Carl Zeiss lens and a 80x digital zoom with a 2.5" LCD screen. This camcorder features an image stabiliser to reduce vibration or shake, and a night mode that lets you carry on recording in low light conditions. The Sony DCRHC51E has a mini DV recording format with a built in microphone and can be used as a digital camera. This Sony MD205 camcorder comes complete with a lithium ion rechargeable battery pack, HC51 Handycam station, AC adaptor and A/V connecting cable.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
114 of 118 people found the following review helpful
Positives
- Excellent nightvision mode
- Great colours
- One of the best optical zooms I have seen on a home camcorder
- Long battery life
Negatives
- Motor noise (a constant humming sound from the motor makes filming in quiet locations impossible. I was going to put up with it, but was just too loud which has forced me to return it).
- Excellent nightvision mode
- Great colours
- One of the best optical zooms I have seen on a home camcorder
- Long battery life
Negatives
- Motor noise (a constant humming sound from the motor makes filming in quiet locations impossible. I was going to put up with it, but was just too loud which has forced me to return it).
128 of 133 people found the following review helpful
An excellent camera at an excellent price. For the semi-casual user such as myself this is a great product. Dead simple to use when you want to just get something down on film, but you can also use the provided software to get a little more clever. Not only that, but it's compact. Really very compact. I couldn't quite believe it when I opened the box and it came out. Things have moved on so much even in the last couple of years. For the money, this is a great little video camera, and well worth it.
56 of 60 people found the following review helpful
Due to my JVC dx 57 finally giving up the ghost and
on the basis of reviews here I ordered the unit 05/08.
Taking some test footage of foreground panning to landscape outside in bright summer sunshine. I then transfered via firewire to my PC and was very disappointed with the results. Specifically the unit really struggled focusing (an issue I could perhaps understand in low light) and footage looked like it was shot in soft focus. Note this is not apparent when replaying footage on the unit itself (which I assume is the reason why this has not been raised in other reviews or perhaps this is the first camcorder the other reviewers have experienced).
You can manually focus the unit but try doing that when your toddler subject is running about and its definitely not recommended.
I suppose I was asking for trouble with a unit boasting 40X zoom, sounds great until you try it and find you're reaching for a tripod. Sony would have done better concerntrating on the basics.
Top marks to Amazon in their returns policy as I was dreading this but turned out the best part of the purchase (the reason why this review got a star).
I then joined Which (I only wish I'd done so before) and my experiences tallied with their review. I've subsequently up'ed my budget and bought a Panasonic nv gs330eb (again from Amazon) and I'm delighted with the quality of the footage taken.
The main lesson I've drawn from this it don't solely trust these reviews.
on the basis of reviews here I ordered the unit 05/08.
Taking some test footage of foreground panning to landscape outside in bright summer sunshine. I then transfered via firewire to my PC and was very disappointed with the results. Specifically the unit really struggled focusing (an issue I could perhaps understand in low light) and footage looked like it was shot in soft focus. Note this is not apparent when replaying footage on the unit itself (which I assume is the reason why this has not been raised in other reviews or perhaps this is the first camcorder the other reviewers have experienced).
You can manually focus the unit but try doing that when your toddler subject is running about and its definitely not recommended.
I suppose I was asking for trouble with a unit boasting 40X zoom, sounds great until you try it and find you're reaching for a tripod. Sony would have done better concerntrating on the basics.
Top marks to Amazon in their returns policy as I was dreading this but turned out the best part of the purchase (the reason why this review got a star).
I then joined Which (I only wish I'd done so before) and my experiences tallied with their review. I've subsequently up'ed my budget and bought a Panasonic nv gs330eb (again from Amazon) and I'm delighted with the quality of the footage taken.
The main lesson I've drawn from this it don't solely trust these reviews.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
sony don't care, but it works
I've had three of these cameras. They have DV out live feed for animations, and film from them is easy to edit with any software I've tried. Read more
Published 5 months ago by T. Cousins
Great MiniDV camcorder
I had this camcorder for over 3 years and I have to say it has a great and reliable camcorder and it has never let me down, 3 of my relatives also own Sony Handycams but different... Read more
Published 16 months ago by NB
excellent
this is a great camera to have and whenever you and your friends want to make a video its usually at your house also you can record for a long time without recharging (110min) but... Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2009 by A. Watson
Oh, Sony, what have you done?
I wanted to replace my aging Sony TRV22E Mini DV and I was toying with the idea of going full digital with a hard drive based Camcorder, but instead I went for the cheaper Mini DV... Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2009 by Paul B
Good Price, Shame about the Quality
I have had this camcorder for just over a year and it has had 2 faults in this period.
1. The firewire link(labelled DV)failed after about 2 months. Read more
1. The firewire link(labelled DV)failed after about 2 months. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2009 by Harry Ferris
Excellent Value for Money
I have bought this for our new arrival.. It is very simple to use that you dont need to open manual. I still not trust Digital Hard Drive cameras... Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2009 by Mehul Bakrania
Good Value for Money
Sony DCRHC51E Mini DV Handycam With X40 Zoom
I recently bought this camera as a replacement for a much more expensive panasonic video camera whose video heads had worn... Read more
I recently bought this camera as a replacement for a much more expensive panasonic video camera whose video heads had worn... Read more
Published on 18 July 2009 by P. D. Cowlishaw
There's a market for 4:3 video?
Good product for what it does, but I bought this as a gap filler while waiting for the right HDV camcorder to present itself to me, it does the job but doesn't cope well with... Read more
Published on 2 July 2009 by W. Faulkner
b.smith
I studied spec of the camcorder and the features were even better than the current Panasonic I own.I found no problem with 1394 DV when using on computer editing with firewire link... Read more
Published on 12 May 2009 by Mrbrendongsmith
DO NOT BUY THIS CHEAP AND RUBBISH CAMCORDER
It will NOT work on any computer connected via ieee 1394 port with firewire i-link cable.
Published on 5 May 2009 by M. Cummins
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