Sony DCR-HC26 Camcorder Review

by James Murray
Published on Feb 9, 2006 9:00 AM

Intro Performance
Format Tour
Auto/Manual Controls
Still Features
Handling and Use Audio/Playback/Connectivity
Other Features Comparisons/Conclusion
Specs/Ratings  


Still Features (1.5)
Still features are the barest of the bare minimum on the HC26 (Review, Specs, $299.99). Stills can be captured to MiniDV tape by pressing the Photo button behind the zoom toggle. The resolution is fixed at 640 x 480, with resolution and quality identical to the video performance. You do get seven seconds of audio to accompany the still - just enough time say, “is this thing recording yet?!” If hybrid camcorders are essential to you, be prepared to spend at least twice as much money.

Still Resolution (0.95)
Because the Sony DCR-HC26 (Review, Specs, $299.99) can only capture stills to the MiniDV tape, the resolution (640 x 480) and quality will be essentially identical to the video performance. A side-by-side comparison confirms this. See the Video Performance section above for complete details.

Neither last year’s Canon ZR100 (Review, Specs, $219.95) nor the ZR500 (Review, Specs, $224.8) update has the ability to capture stills at all. Sony at least gives you the option of pushing a button to mimic the feel of a still camera. The Panasonic PV-GS39 (Review, Specs, $212.8) captures stills to an SD card at 640 x 480, but the feature hardly seems worth it. The colors are absolutely choked for vivacity, and the entire green-yellow spectrum has been conveniently truncated to two or three shades of yellow. Pulling a still from the HC26 MiniDV tape is a much better option, regardless of how much time it takes.

Still Performance (2.0)
Because the DCR-HC26 captures stills to MiniDV tape at the same 640 x 480 resolution as found in the video mode, the resolution will be the same: 333.7 lines of horizontal resolution and 285.3 lines of vertical resolution, yielding an approximate resolution of 95204.61.







<< Auto/Manual Controls | Handling and Use >>