Sony's DCR-HC96E headsup a new line of six DV camcorders designed to restore faith in the Sony brand after a somewhat lacklustre performance in 2005. The top four models in this year's range now offer a true 16:9 widescreen mode designed to take advantage of a larger 3 megapixel Advanced HAD CCD, although only the top two models (this and the DCR-HC94E) give you access to the full range of inputs and outputs. The camera's Primary Colour Filter system applies a colour filter to each of the three red, green and blue primary colours independently, with the aim of improving the reproduction of each colour on the TV screen or monitor.
The HC96E employs a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar lens, which features an optical zoom ratio of 10x, with the digital zoom being a not-excessive 120x. What's nice about this model is the existence of a second set of zoom controls on the outer frame of the 2.7in wide hybrid LCD screen, which in turn offers touch-panel control. There's also a second Record button here, too, which makes it handy when using the camcorder in LCD mode. Perhaps the most welcome addition to a Sony consumer camcorder is the Wide button which is also positioned on the LCD frame; no longer do you have dig deep into menu systems to find the widescreen option - press the button and it's there. The widescreen mode produces a picture with a wider field of view, which indicates that more pixels either side of the CCDs main area are being employed to produce the 16:9 images. In still image mode, the CCD produces images up to a maximum of 2016 x 1512 pixels, which are written to Memory Stick DUO (not supplied) and onward transfer to the Mac via USB 2 MiniB connector.
The camcorder provides Super Steady Shot image stabilisation, but it's not as impressive as Panasonic's recent OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) and is designed to help out in those occasional dodgy situations where a hand-held zoom has to be used. A built-in flashlight supplies additional illumination when shooting in stills mode, and also on offer are Spot Meter and Spot Focus functions designed to assist manual control by selecting areas of the LCD and asking the camcorder to store the exposure and focus settings. It's not the best way to achieve such control and requires the use of the LCD screen during recording, but in tests it seemed to work reasonably well. Most home users will probably prefer to shoot in Auto mode most of the time, and in that respect the HC96E performs very well. An Intelligent Accessory Shoe is there if you wish to add a battery light, although with no microphone input jack you'll have to rely upon one of Sony's proprietary mics that pass their signals down to the camcorder via the hot shoe itself.
The full set of digital and analogue inputs is available on the HC96E, including a combined AV input/output jack and also an S-Video socket. Together with AC powering and charging facilities, the separate docking station provides all the signal connections to the outside world, and is very useful in that it can remain connected not only to the AC supply but also to a TV or video recorder. Recharging the battery after use is as simple as dropping the camcorder into the slot and switching it on. It also means that the camcorder itself can be free of extraneous connections not required during actual recording.
Some of the 2005 models delivered disappointing single-CCD picture quality, especially in lower light conditions, but there's no doubt that Sony has come up with a better range this time around. All models have similar handling characteristics, with features that increase in number as we move up the ladder. Not only does the single wide CCD produce beautiful pictures, but it's good to see Sony resisting the temptation to go overboard with gimmicks. Although a range of digital effects filters are available to tempt the first-time experimenter, there's little that can't be done in iMovie so it's all best left alone. The touch-screen LCD and associated physical controls won't find favour with everyone, though they will have their uses in typical domestic situations. Sound quality is better than expected, even when shooting outdoors, with no detectable motor noise when recording in a quiet room.
All-round ease of use and handling is excellent, and the fact that it's a top-loader makes it a more attractive proposition. That said, however, the quality of the digital stills produced with the HC96E isn't anywhere near what can be achieved with a dedicated digital stills camera, but users looking for a handy dual-purpose device won't have much to be concerned with. All round, it's a very good camcorder indeed.
All-round ease of use and handling is excellent, and the fact that it's a top-loader makes it a more attractive propositionAuthor: Colin Barrett
Sony DCR-HC96E