Sony DCR-HC21 Camcorder Review

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (9.5)
The Sony DCR-HC21 (Review, Specs, $329) includes automatic control options for focus, white balance, and exposure. There are also Program AE preset windows of performance which adjust shutter and iris automatically within particular limits for environments of Spotlight, Portrait, Sports, Beach & Ski, Sunsetmoon, and Landscape. There is also an Auto Shutter function, found on all MiniDV Sonys this year, which supposedly adjusts the shutter speed automatically when in bright light environments. Frankly, I can’t tell the difference. But the feature’s default setting is on, so it doesn't hurt to use it. Finally, there is an Easy mode on the Sony DCR-HC21. Accessed through the button directly above the LCD screen, this mode basically makes every adjustment automatic and reduces the camcorder’s menu system to two options: menu and display guide. The menu system will then feature only clock, beeping noises, and language options, while the display guide function allows the user to press certain options on the screen and have the options explained. This is definitely advantageous use of the touch screen menu system. The back light function is not available in Easy mode.

Sony’s touch screen menu system also allows the cool Spot metering and Spot Focusing functions found on last year’s and this year’s camcorders. While these functions cannot be seen as manual controls of the focus or exposure, they allow the user to guide the camcorder’s automatic adjustments a bit. Basically, in either function, a white box is outlined on the LCD screen, and the user presses within the box to indicate where in the image the camera should readjust its focus or exposure.

All in all though, automatic controls on the DCR-HC21 are very good. Sony already gets points from us for the quality of its automatic controls in general, and receives more for the DCR-HC21's quick and accurate adjustments to exposure and focus and smooth, subtle adjustments to white balance. Very nice. This camcorder is definitely designed to use in automatic mode.

Overall Manual Control (3.0)
Manual control isn’t the DCR-HC21's strong suit for two reasons. One: it doesn’t offer much of it, failing to provide independent adjustment over shutter speed, iris control, or gain control. And two: all manual control is accessed by the camcorder’s touch screen menu, a time-consuming and cumbersome process. Luckily, automatic controls are great. There is one upside to the DCR-HC21’s manual controls: the camcorder’s fabulous zoom toggle.

Zoom Control (8.0)
The zoom toggle on the Sony DCR-HC21 is pretty good for a camcorder this small. Usually zoom toggles aren’t elevated enough to control without being jerky, or they lack the ability to start and stop zooms smoothly. The DCR-HC21 does not suffer from either problem. The T-shaped toggle works great, and makes variable-speed zooms easy to execute. My only beef with it is that it is not placed beneath my index finger. While it is possible to operate the toggle with this finger, the zoom on the camcorder feels designed for the middle finger. Zoom may be the most used function on a consumer camcorder, and it is important to have a good one. The DCR-HC21 has a 20x optical zoom with options for 40x and 800x digital zooms.

 Zoom Power/Ratio (20.0)
The DCR-HC21 has a decent optical zoom of 20x.

Focus (4.0)
Manual focus on the DCR-HC21 is controlled through the camcorder’s touch screen menu system. Though the DCR-HC21 does include the entertaining Spot Focusing function, the actual manual focus option is kind of a joke. While not too much worse than any button or menu system based focusing method, it adds the frustration of tapping the LCD screen, thus shaking the image; and it emits a horrible beeping rattle as the user moves through the focal spectrum. Worse yet, there are no numerical focal length markers or meter to see how far you’ve moved within the spectrum.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.0)
Exposure as an entity is a ratio of exposure to shutter speed. This ratio is undefined by Sony; on the DCR-HC21, a +/-meter is used to move through 24 steps of exposure, from light to dark (F="1.8-3.1)." Manual exposure on the DCR-HC21 is would be much easier if it included independent control over iris readings or shutter speed rates. Like focus, exposure is available through the touch screen menu system.

Shutter Speed (0.0)
There are no true shutter speed adjustments available on the DCR-HC21. Instead, an auto shutter function and preset Program AE settings are available. When will Sony learn that people like shutter speed adjustment?

White Balance (7.5)
Along with the DCR-HC21’s automatic white balance option, options of Outdoor, Indoor, and One Push (manual) are available. Selecting One Push allows the user to press and hold a button to adjust white balance to whatever is on-screen. These are standard options and they work well. Unfortunately, all options are only available within the touch screen menu system.

Gain (0.0)
There are no manual gain controls on the DCR-HC21.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
The Sony DCR-HC21 doesn’t offer any additional manual controls other than the aforementioned.