| Sony DCRHC85 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom | 
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| Brand: Sony
Category: Photography
List Price: $1,678.75
Buy New: $240.00
You Save: $1438.75 (86%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 31303
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 10
Display Size: 3.5
Maximum Focal Length: 45
Minimum Focal Length: 4.5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 1 x 1 x 1
MPN: DCR-HC85
Model: HC85
UPC: 027242646780
EAN: 0027242646780
ASIN: B0001DB3GQ
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Good all round point and shoot Camcorder August 18, 2004
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
The Sony DCRHC85 MiniDV camcorder really delivers for me. This metallic finish Camcorder is both a sleek design and easy to operate. This is a very user friendly Camcorder, just about anyone could take good quality footage or stills with this. It is, however, worth reading the manual, and learning how to operate the different shooting modes, as shooting everything on Easy mode will not necessarily give you the best results. Altering the camera settings is done mainly on the LCD screen, and this is both impressively large and intuitive to operate. The quality of the footage is good at 1/3.6" Advanced HAD, and I was relieved to find that there weren't the video quality problems described in some early reviews I read online for this product. The only few minuses I can think for this camera package is that it didn't come with a mini DV tape supplied, iLink cable or a case, you'll have to get these separately. Look for value for money with this camera as you can get some great deals if you buy this Camcorder online. Overall one of the best point and shoot Camcorders on the market. Not a Pro-Cam, but delivers significant performance nonetheless for the mid-range point and shoot market. A great buy.
 sony camcorder July 26, 2004
4 out of 28 found this review helpful
it is real good camcorder it was just a little too small for my liking, i like to know that i have a video camera in my hands, not some itty bitty thing thats the size of an apple. other that that its good.
Hits the right price point... April 29, 2004
71 out of 72 found this review helpful
I'm quite impressed with the new Sony DCR-HC85. I had been looking at some of the Panasonic 3CCD cameras in this price range as well as the Canon Optura Xi (which is a little more expensive). In the end I chose this camera for the following features:
* very large (and sharp) CCD for the price
* 0lux night shot mode, though somewhat gimmicky. grainy, and green in practice, is very effective for taking sleeping baby shots
* reputedly much higher reliability and better repair services (vs the Panasonic)
* large reflective/transmissive LCD that's highly visible in both dark and light
* many videophile-oriented features (more on that below).
* can operate as a webcamUpsides:
* Though many online reviews have questioned whether or not the touchscreen-based interface is a good thing, I found it to be more than adequate for my needs. One of the first things I did was rearrange the menus with my favorite features up front. Very easy to do and makes the camera feel "customized". If the camera weren't capable of these customized personal menus, however, I'd imagine the somewhat slow and bulky interface would get pretty annoying.
* True anamorphic 16:9 widescreen functionality works great and is easily understood by video importing tools.
* Nice shape, easy to hold. I have shaky hands and prefer a slightly larger camera to hold onto.
* Its optical image stabilization is amazing. Once again, I have shaky hands and was worried about getting steady video. Exceeded my expectations on this point.
* Setting it up as a webcam was straightforward and the quality was great.
* Nightshot Plus is eerily effective. The video ain't gorgeous, but it sure does do the trick. I'd imagine that the accessory shoe-based IR light that Sony offers would improve the functionality of this feature even more. Downsides:
* Camera comes with an 8MB card that can only realistically hold 8 photos. Kinda pointless unless one is just test-driving the feature. * Camera comes with just a single FP50 lithium battery which doesn't hold enough power to record an entire 60min DV tape (unless, possibly, you turn off the LCD, use just the viewfinder, don't use anything on the accessory shoe, and film straight through without stopping). I guess that's what keeps the price down.
* Camera doesn't come with a FireWire cable. I was not able to use Windows Movie Maker 2 using just the included USB cable (although USB streaming with MSN Messenger worked great with that). I had plenty of FireWire cables in my bin of extra computer parts, but just don't see how you can get professional results without one.
* Though the camera supports both progressive scan and true anamorphic 16:9 widescreen (both features helpful in acheiving a film look with a digital video camera), you can't use them both at the same time.
* Some default settings are questionable (but easily changed). Why default to 4-track 12bit audio vs 2-track 16bit? Why default to beeping melodies on key presses? Some odd buttons on the default Personal Menu (which is what you customize). Overall, I'm a big fan of this camera and would recommend it highly.
My new toy April 26, 2004
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Well, after a bit of a wait I finally replaced my Sony hi-8 camcorder with this hc85. It is amazing the amount of features that are packed into this package. I've had it for 48 and here's what I like so far. Very sharp stills (in still mode) and obviously very sharp video. It works well in low light and the touch screen is very cool. I thought it would show a lot of finger prints from touching it but they're not that noticeable. The ability to do a still capture while shooting video is nice but the resolution is only 640x480 & is kind of lousy (haven't figured out how to change that one's resolution...or even if you can). As for still captures, it has all of your typical controls (red eye, forced flash, etc). I also like that the lense size is the same size as my old camera so I can use my old filters & wide-angle lense. There are a lot of capabilities & features which almost feels somewhat overwhelming when you're trying to capture images so I'm not so sure about the various modes & usefulness. I do like that it has the ability to take in an analog input and convert to digital so I'll be transferring my old hi-8 stuff to digital for storage on DVDs. As for any weaknesses, I haven't found it yet, and I look forward to several years of use. Some items to note: It is twice the size of the PC line but then again you get a better lense & more features. The memory stick w/ it is useless (8mb) as well as the battery (it has a 1 hr & I have done several recharges already). These last two items are why I'm only giving 4 stars instead of 5. I don't even know why they give you an 8mb stick when they know it'll be tossed as soon as you open the box!? It can only hold 8 pictures @ max resolution! Good luck & enjoy.
DCR-HC85 April 25, 2004
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I bought this camcorder about a month ago after I bought the DCR-TRV70 which was not working properly. This Camcorder is so much easier to use than the TRV70 and I like the larger LCD screen. I'm still learning about the camera but, I don't like the still pictures. My 8 month old is always drooling and the stills have silver dots on all his wet spots. Also you have to have very good lighting in a room to make the videos bright enough. the video always seems very, very dark indoors. The only time this does not happen is in the mornings and early afternoon. I'm going to try a video light for 40.00 to see if this will correct the problem. I'm also having problems streaming my video into my computer but the memory card goes right in and it's tons of fun to take my mpg video's and e-mail them to family. Nobody has had a problem opening any of these videos on there end. I love the video but, if your used to really sharp 4x6 or 3x5 from a 3 or 4 megapixal camera you won't like the photos from the DCR-HC85.
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