Sony DCR-HC96 Camcorder Reviewby James MurrayPublished on Mar 10, 2006 2:15 PM
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The Sony DCR-HC96 (Review, Specs, $516) offers a wide mode mode for shooting in 16:9 aspect ratio. A button for switching between 4:3 and 16:9 is conveniently located along the bottom of the LCD panel. This is much superior to rooting through the menu, as in a Panasonic, in order to change shooting modes. Unfortunately, the HC96 is not perfectly true 16:9. The key is the method by which it obtains the picture. True widescreen, as in any of the Canon camcorders, will simply add information on the left and right of the frame, like opening the shutters, to let in more picture information, and thus achieving the 16:9 frame. Other camcorders use a "crop and zoom" technique, whereby information is cut from the top and bottom, while the sides remained unchanged. The HC96 is somewhere in between. Information is definitely added to the sides, but there is also some cropping on the top and bottom. The result is some lost information in what may be a key portion of your frame, and decreased video resolution.
Scan Rates/24P (0.0)
The Sony DCR-HC96 comes with only one frame rate option, the native and industry standard setting of 29.97 frames per second. A much higher price level would need to be entered to attain true variable frame rates.
Other Features (6.5)
Accessory Shoe - There is an accessory shoe on the top of the Sony DCR-HC96, which is unfortunately covered by a cover that impedes the functionality of the viewfinder. It also just begs to be ripped off when no one is looking. The shoe is an Active Interface shoe that will only accept accessories that are Sony branded and compatible with this model. Potential accessories for this feature include zoom microphones, surround sound microphones and video lights.
Fader / Digital Effect / Picture Effect - The Sony DCR-HC96 has several features which can be engaged to digitally alter images when footage is still in-camera. The digital effects options are located within the administrative menu structure and consist of: cinema effect, delay motion, still, flash, luminance key, trail, slow shutter and old movie.
Zebra Striping - The Zebra feature is accessed by entering the shooting menu, followed by the administrative menu, and scrolling downwards until the Zebra option is selected. Zebra patterning is used as a warning device for brightness levels by displaying diagonal bars across sections of the composition that display brightness levels above the approved IRE (or brightness) level set by the user within the menu. The zebra pattern has three options of Off, 70 and 100; the setting of 70 produces zebra pattern anytime any brightness level of 70 IRE or greater is reached; the same one-to-one correlation is true of the 100 option. Although displayed on the LCD during shooting, the zebra stripes will not appear on the final footage.
Analog-to-Digital Pass Through - The Sony DCR-HC96 is capable of analog to digital pass-through thanks to the not-so-handy HandyCam Station, which allows the camcorder to connect to a variety of ports not included on the camcorder body which include an AV composite, USB, and FireWire. This station connects to the DCR-HC96 via a port located on the bottom of the camcorder body. This is something that Panasonic yanked off of their consumer MiniDV cams. If converting old footage is a priority for you, you can right off Panasonic and take a closer look at the HC46 (Review, Specs, $419.99).
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