Sony DCR-HC26 Camcorder Reviewby James MurrayPublished on Feb 9, 2006 9:00 AM
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Automatic Control (9.5)
Sony’s auto mode is a funny thing. Of course, it has the standard array of what you’d expect: auto exposure, focus, white balance, gain, and shutter speed. If you like, you’ll never have to think about these controls again. Just push the big blue Easy button on the side and your cares are over (assuming you don’t actually care that much about image quality).
In a way, though, the controls that Sony does include are also “auto,” in most ways. The most useful ones include Spot Metering and Spot Focus, both of which have been simplified to the point where you can just push on the screen where you want the camcorder to focus or adjust exposure and it complies. Not that the controls are exact, or even adequate for some users. Experienced users will find this process maddeningly dumbed-down. Absolute beginners and infrequent shooters might actually like the controls, making them feel as if their opinion matters to the shot.
Just getting to these controls can be a process, however. The menu navigation is atrocious. We can’t mince words about this. Unfortunately, the HC26 is the only MiniDV cam to not offer the “3D Menu” system, which offers larger, more user-friendly icons. What you get here is a series of tiny, translucent, barely visible buttons of questionable purpose. The structure is also confusing.
The settings for shooting in preset modes are located within the first submenu of the administrative menu. This menu is navigated via up and down arrows located on the bottom of the LCD screen; their icons appear beneath the linear onscreen menu structure that seems to be a holdover from older camcorders made by Sony. Menu selections may be altered once highlighted by using the EXEC. Control located next to the up and down arrows. To exit the administrative menus, users will need to press the RET button until they are placed back into the Function Menu. The preset controls located within the administrative menu allow the user to set camcorder parameters to adjust to the following settings: Auto, Spotlight, Portrait, Sports, Beach & Ski, Sunset/Moon, and Landscape.
Page 1 and Page 2 of the menu
Located within the same submenu as the preset shooting modes is a list of preset digital effects which are applied in real time during shooting. The following picture effects options are possible: negative art, sepia, black & white, solarize, pastel, and mosaic.
So, as mentioned earlier, if these controls are too daunting, Sony has placed an inviting Easy button on the left side of the body which will alleviate any terror. It will eliminate any opportunity for the user to access controls or settings. When this mode is entered, users can only access beep, clock set, and language, along with a display guide setting which is mostly useless considering the utter lack of control options. The only settings outside of this which can be controlled by the user are when to record and how much to zoom. Even the still image capture to tape feature is not available when shooting in this mode. Apparently, Sony believes that users who may find this mode helpful are also slightly visually impaired; the size of the display font on the LCD screen is increased.
Automatic controls reacted with consistency and accuracy in gauging both focal depth and like white balance and exposure. Sony plays to their strengths and has definitely tailored this camcorder for the auto enthusiast. However, the camcorder doesn’t give the user opportunity for improvement. Unlike camcorders like those built by Panasonic, users won’t be able to shift from full auto to partial manual to full manual over time. Before purchasing, consider whether or not you may want manual controls in the future, or if the strong performance found on the auto mode settings is good enough.
Overall Manual Control (3.0)
In terms of manual controls, the HC26 provides a few options, although nothing as comprehensive as the control options found on camcorders released this year by Panasonic and JVC, or even Canon. It is possible to control focus, zoom, exposure, and white balance to varying. The focus setting allows you to select between Spot Focus, auto, and manual settings, though the auto and manual settings perform with greater accuracy and sensitivity than the Spot Focus feature.
White balance options include a full auto mode, two presets, and a “One-Push” manual feature which is activated through the same menu structure as the focus control. And finally, exposure is manipulated by a sliding scale for proper exposure levels. There is, unfortunately, no numerical setting displayed when activating this feature, so users will need to rely solely upon the sharpness of the image produced by the LCD screen when gauging exposure levels.
Manual controls are accessed by pressing the FN (Function Menu) icon located in the lower right corner of the LCD. When the user has the Sony DCR-HC26 in Easy mode they will find that this menu is limited and only allows access to Beep On/Off, clock set, and language parameters, with all changes initiated through the touch screen interface.
When the HC26 is in regular shooting mode, users will see a number of manual control options within the first screen display. The first menu page allows access to Spot Focus, Focus, Spot Meter, Display Guide, Menu, Fader, End Search, and exposure settings. All controls and submenus are activated and navigated by pressing the touch screen LCD, a process which leaves finger marks, thus affecting the quality of the displayed image. The second page of the Function Menu allows access to settings which control White Balance, Self Timer, and LCD Brightness. The placement of white balance in this menu seems odd; it would seem more logical to place this manual control with the rest of the manual controls listed on the first page, especially considering the likelihood that even point-and-shoot users may find this one useful.
If full manual control is desired, the Sony DCR-HC26 isn’t going to satisfy to any real extent; the touch screen interface used for features like Spot Metering or Spot Focus will perform with less accuracy and responsiveness than other versions, mostly because of the limitations imposed by the size of a human finger in relationship to a 2.5-inch LCD screen. Also, the fact that the user’s hands must cover the LCD during manual control alteration means that sections of the LCD will be masked, something that suddenly becomes a problem during post-shooting review when you realize that there is an unwanted object or obstruction in the bottom corner of the LCD screen which was hidden at the time of capture by an index finger adjusting the focus.
Zoom (8.0)
The zoom toggle on the Sony DCR-HC26 is positioned on the top of the camcorder body, and while awkward in placement for users with larger hands, this control displayed an impressive level of sensitivity and responsiveness considering its slender build and the price of this camcorder. The zoom level on the HC26 is 20x, sizeable but not ostentatious. However, the use of electric rather than optical stabilization will result in a decreased ability to offset the hand-shake which is displayed more easily at higher zoom levels.
There is a secondary zoom control located on the frame of the LCD to the left side of the monitor. The zoom controls here are two small buttons labeled “W” or “T” and both are raised slightly from the surface of the camcorder. When using these controls, users may find the camcorder moving slightly and shifting during use. They secondary zoom controls are also less sensitive, and their use results in broader shifts in zoom level because of a limited nuanced reaction to pressure. The only point on which this control is preferable is its use when the user is positioned in front of the camcorder body, which was precisely the point. Otherwise, the danger of having a jostled or shifting frame outweighs the benefits of this feature when shooting in a regular stance.
Zoom Power/Ratio (20.0)
The zoom power on the Sony DCR-HC26 is 20x optical, which provides users with an good level of optical zoom for an inexpensive one-chip camcorder. However, the SteadyShot control is an electronic rather than optical one, which means a lower quality result will ensue. If some camera shake at higher zoom levels is tolerable then this electronic stabilization system may be acceptable. Better yet, users should consider turning off the SteadyShot option and just using a tripod when shooting with higher zoom levels.
There is a digital zoom feature on the DCR-HC26, allowing users up to 800x of digital zoom. It is possible to cap them within the menu at either 40x, or 800x, or turn it off entirely. Although slight use of digital zoom will result in minimally degraded video, even a setting of 40x is going to yield video of very poor quality indeed. Unlike optical zoom, which actually engages the optics of the camcorder, the digital zoom feature merely enlarges the pixel size of the image at the highest end of the optical zoom spectrum. The higher the digital zoom level, the worse the picture quality; it’s as simple as that.
Focus (4.0)
There are two control options on the Sony DCR-HC26 beyond full Auto Focus. Firstly, you have the option to engage a Spot Focus control which displays a frame on the LCD screen, so users can stab blindly within it, encouraging the camcorder to recognize the intended change in focal depth for differing subjects. Depending on the proximity of subjects, size of fingers, speed of deployment etc., this control method will yield varying results.
And regardless of whether the camcorder actually managed to register a change in different subjects’ focal depths, the HC26 tends towards breathing - an small but noticeable oscillation in the picture’s focus that looks like the camcorder is breathing. If this continues for prolonged periods or is noticeable throughout a length of video footage, it can become a very distracting visual irritant. Also, because this control is a touch screen feature, users will find that their hands and fingers will obscure sections of the frame during adjustment.
Luckily there is a manual focus setting with the HC26. Unfortunately it isn’t an external focal ring, although honestly with a one-chip in this price range it wouldn’t be likely to manifest in this form anyway. To get a manual focus ring, users will have to move into the 3 CCD market and look at models being released by Panasonic like the Panasonic PV-GS500.
The digital manual focus on the DCR-HC26 is accessed by pressing the FN icon in the lower left corner of the LCD. Once this display is entered users can select the Focus submenu, and once this menu is engaged, they can select the Manual setting. Once selected, manual control is altered by pressing the + and – arrows which appear in the lower corners of the LCD. While not nearly as accurate or subtle as an external focus ring this feature does allow at least some focal depth adjustment, even if it is hampered by the digital constrictions.
Exposure (Aperture) (4.0)
Exposure may be controlled by accessing the touch screen display through the FN marker located in the lower left corner of the LCD. Once opened, this display will show the Exposure submenu. When the user enters the submenu they will find options of either auto or manual mode. If manual mode is used, the user must press the + and – areas on the LCD, an action that is registered by a sliding bar located between them. To slide through the scale without repeated pressing, the user must merely hold the appropriate control down until the proper exposure level is selected. This control layout will leave smears on the LCD which will not necessitate continual cleaning and lead to a smeary-looking displayed image.
These onscreen controls will also mean that altering each manual control will leave the users fingers to obscure sections of the LCD. Another problem: the level of sensitivity for this control often compromised the intended setting most of the time. When I tired tried to move only a slight degree or two, the scale tended to jump to the end of the exposure spectrum in one fell swoop. Fine-tuning with this feature is nearly impossible. It would be nice to see a manufacturer construct a control layout that was able to both engage in single step alterations as well as drastic shifts from polar ends of control spectrums. As it is, Panasonic allows for exact (painfully exact, some might say) iris, shutter speed, and gain adjustments, while Sony has built a system meant for drastic and large changes. Unfortunately neither company has yet to produce a system which capitalizes upon both these equally functional and important control attributes.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
Shutter speed may not be manually controlled by the user of the Sony DCR-HC26, although this omission shouldn’t be seen as a huge detraction considering the price point of just under $300. Although less visually alluring, the Canon ZR500 can provide users with manual control over shutter speed, as can certain models by both JVC and Panasonic.
White Balance (7.5)
White balance adjustment is provided on the DCR-HC26. It has a full auto mode, two preset modes, and a full manual mode which allows users of varying skill levels to comfortably engage in this basic manual control. Interestingly, this control isn’t located on the same page display as other manual controls; instead Sony has elected to place it on page two, along with the Self Timer and LCD Brightness. This decision really doesn’t make sense. White balance is one of the few manual controls which can be easily understood by beginning users, and by hiding this control in a second menu separate from the obvious manual controls, it makes this feature less likely to be engaged.
Once the while balance is actually found by users within the second page of the Function Menu, users will can choose between Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and One Push (manual) White Balance. To set the manual white balance, users will merely need to select the manual setting and wait until the icon finishes flashing on the LCD screen. If the camcorder is incapable of properly setting the white balance, the icon will continue to flash and the user should revert to auto mode or improve the shooting situation.
Gain (0.0)
There is no manual gain control on the Sony DCR-HC26, an unsurprising omission considering the low price of this camcorder. If manual controls are essential to your shooting, it may be wise to look at manufacturers like Panasonic, who outfit their models with extensive manual control options even at lower price levels.
Other Manual Control (0.0)
There are no other manual control settings with the Sony DCR-HC26, though considering the price range, one-chip CCD, and other specifications, this shouldn’t be a huge shock.
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