Sony DCR-HC38 Camcorder Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on Jun 25, 2007 8:11 AM
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (7.0)
Sony typically excels in automatic controls, and while it is better than the competition, the low-end imaging set on the DCR-HC38 (Specs, $279) takes its toll. The auto focus is good when the zoom is kept in check. But in the upper regions of the zoom, 15x and higher, the DCR-HC38 has a harder time finding the proper focal point.
The auto exposure is fast, but the limited dynamic range is clear and detrimental. When shooting scenes with both light and dark areas, you’ll have trouble finding a satisfactory balance. The camcorder is likely to err of the side of properly exposing the brighter areas. If you try to have it expose for the darker areas, either by centering that area in the shot or by using the Spot Meter function (described below in the Exposure section), the lighter areas are sure to blow out. ¬
The auto white balance tended, almost invariably, to make the image appear warm. This is a little trick that camera and camcorder manufacturers like to do to make us look more attractive than we actually are. It’s hard to fault them for that, but we’ll go ahead and do it any way. After all, if you’re a bird watcher or landscape videographer (as boring as that sounds), you may never have a human being in your shot. And that’s when you want accuracy, not flattery.
Also included in the set-up are a series of Scene modes, accessed via the first tab in the function menu – yes, you do occasionally have to leave Easy mode. Scene modes include Twilight, Sunrise & Sunset, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Sports, Snow, and Beach. A list like this should cover just about everywhere you want to take your camcorder. Scene modes: the one-touch wonder buttons for point-and-shooters.
Overall, we love the response time of the auto controls. The accuracy is decent for what you can expect to find the price range.
Overall Manual Control (3.0)
The Sony DCR-HC38 is 1) a Sony, and 2) an entry-level model. That alone should have you merely scanning through the next few sections to see which manual controls Sony bothered to put on. To top it all, the HC38 is burdened with this god-awful menu that you have to muck through just to get to the manual controls (more on that later in the Menu section).
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The mode dial switches between |
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Clearly, Sony is marketing to a different crowd, but people are naturally inquisitive, and we’re certainly not getting any dumber when it comes to electronics. The HC38 offers simplicity, but when you’re ready to grow as a videographer and figure out what’s actually going on inside that little, grey box, the camcorder is not going to give up its secrets.
Zoom (5.0)
The primary zoom control is located on the top, conveniently positioned for the index finger. The low, ribbed piece of plastic that makes up the zoom toggle is of the same good design as most Sony camcorders, easy to grip. As a pressure sensitive control, you can get about three speeds. However, the electronic image stabilization is not very good, and after a 3x – 4x zoom, the picture shakes too much. When zooming, a small scale appears in the upper left-hand corner to let you know where in the zoom range you are. The scale is small, though, and there is no numerical indicator to give you an actual zoom value. This is fine for the 40x optical zoom, but it gets very difficult to figure out just where you are in the 2000x digital zoom.
Nearly all Sony camcorders also offer a secondary zoom control, two plastic buttons on the outer edge of LCD panel. These buttons are not pressure-sensitive, and push and pull the zoom at a medium-slow pace.
Zoom Power Ratio (40.0)
The Sony DCR-HC38 offers a 40x optical zoom, one of the largest zooms ever available on a consumer camcorder. The zoom war has been raging for years now, and it seems that they’re going to hit the ceiling at some point. Last year’s 32x high by JVC seemed insurmountable, but here we are. Of course, we recommend a tripod for any shot past 5x, particularly when paired with a poor image stabilization system.
The digital zoom can be turned off (recommended), capped at 80x (tacitly accepted), or the ridiculous 2000x. Don’t even bother to go past 80x – the picture looses all clarity.
Focus (3.0)
To access the focus controls, tap the “FN” button in the lower right corner. Focus controls are on the first tab. Like most Sony touch screens, you tap onscreen buttons to adjust focus, one shaped like a person and other shaped like a mountain. Unlike the entry-level DVD camcorder, the DCR-DVD108 (Review, Specs, $339), the HC38 does not offer any numerical indicator as to where in the focal range you are.
This is a particularly bad system. Here’s why. First, the screen is only 2.5”. Second, the LCD resolution is only 123,200 pixels. This means that even though the clarity of the image as it appears on the screen is really the only method you have of determining focus, you can’t really trust the image that you’re seeing. To boot, the entire system is touch screen, meaning that every time you touch the LCD, you’re adding a little more oil. Smudge on top of smudge, one after the other – after a few minutes you’ll have no idea if the problem is the focus or just the screen. This is a particular problem when shooting outdoors, as screen glare heightens the smudge factor. Our solution: buy a better camcorder if you have any intention of focusing.
The Sony also offers Spot Focus, which suffers from some of the same smudge problem, but is easier to use and allows you to employ the auto focus as a crutch. Once activated, the Spot Focus feature basically allows you to touch the area of the screen that you want to appear in focus. There are only a few zones, however, so complicated, multi-plane shots are not suggested.
Exposure & Aperture (4.5)
The exposure controls are also located on the first tab of the menu. Like focus, there are two buttons that you tap, a plus and a minus, to brighten and darken the image. A scale in the middle gives you a sense of how bright or dark you can go, but there is no numerical indicator. This system, widely used on Sony camcorders, is the most simplified we’ve seen. This is great for timid point-and-shooters, but even the slightly ambitious videographer will want more. The increments, 29 in all, actually correspond to shifts in aperture and shutter speed, but you’d never know this from the camcorder. There is no direct control of either shutter or aperture. Overall, it’s easy, but weak.
The DCR-HC38 also offers a Spot Meter feature, which works along the same principles as Spot Meter. When activated, you simple tap the screen where you want the best exposure. The auto exposure controls jump to your command. It’s an easy, accessible control that works well for simple exposure differences, like an indoor shot with a window in the background. More complex needs will require the real manual exposure, and probably a better camcorder all together. The HC38 does not have much dynamic range.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
The Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer shutter speed control, sorry. You’ll want either a much more expensive Sony camcorder or, more conveniently, any Panasonic camcorder, and most Canon and JVC camcorders.
White Balance (5.5)
The white balance controls on the Sony DCR-HC38 are located on the second tab of the function menu. There are four settings: Auto, Indoor, Outdoor, and One Push (manual). The Indoor setting can actually be pretty useful for indoor shots if you find the auto correction too warm (we did). Canon, along with other manufacturers, offers a wider array of white balance presets. If you’re okay with the auto adjustments, however, you shouldn’t really need them. The other, more accurate alternative, is setting the white balance yourself. The HC38’s manual response time (the time it takes to settle after you tap the set button) is great – among the fastest of any manufacturer. Some low-end camcorders can take 10 seconds or more. The HC38 takes 3-5 seconds. The manual setting is also accurate, and is a good way to avoid the overly warm tones of auto white balancing.
Gain (0.0)
The Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer gain control. Only Panasonic camcorders offer manual gain in the consumer realm.
Other Manual Controls (0.0)
The Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer any additional manual controls like frame guides or zebra patterns.