Sony DCR-PC55 Camcorder Review

by Matt Culler
Published on May 29, 2005 12:00 AM



The DCR-PC55 is an odd one. It’s marketed as, and is, the smallest MiniDV camcorder ever, and this inflates its price considerably. Aside from that gimmicky quality, the camcorder doesn’t really have too much to offer aside from a few cool still effects. Like most lower-end CCD Sonys this year, the DCR-PC55 has bad low light performance, little to no manual control, and a navigational system that is a pain. Though on the bright side, its 3” LCD is enormous, especially when put on such a small camcorder.

Video Performance (4.5)
With an imager similar to Sony’s cheapest MiniDV camcorder this year, the DCR-HC21 (Review, Specs, $329), the DCR-PC55 performs pretty badly. But then again, you aren’t buying this thing for its video performance, are you? You’re buying it for its portability, and by extension, novelty.

In case you did buy this camcorder for its video capabilities, you’re in for a treat. Just kidding. Armed with a laughable 680K CCD, this guy is pretty much the bottom of the barrel, and produces video even duller than the DCR-HC21. At 3000 lux colors lack vibrancy, though there is no noise or blurring. Everything looks fine, except everything is… dull. Just plain dull. Compared to almost any MiniDV camcorder this year, the DCR-PC55 just cannot compete in color richness, even against the DCR-HC21.

Video Resolution (4.9)
We captured video footage of a standard resolution chart with the DCR-PC55 in its 4:3 mode and exported its stills to Imatest Imaging Software in order to calibrate its real resolution. In 4:3 mode, the DCR-PC55 gave us approximately 265.3 lines of resolution and 186.2 lines of horizontal resolution, yielding a real resolution of 49,398.86.

The Front (9.0)
The DCR-PC55’s front is unique because the camcorder is so small. The camcorder’s tiny lens sits within the upper-most curve of the ovular-shaped front side. Below this is the camcorder’s remote sensor, which detects signals from–you guessed it–the remote control. That’s it.

The Right Side (6.0)
On the DCR-PC55’s right side a number of ports and slots exist, though the side is primarily used as the gripped portion of the camcorder during handheld recording. Along to bottom of the right side is the camcorder’s battery slot. The camcorder’s battery actually slides into the camcorder instead of hanging off the back or side like most camcorders. We’ve seen this same technique in use with both the DCR-PC1000 (Review, Specs, $699.97) and the DCR-HC90 (Review, Specs, $629) (Review, Specs, $629); while stylish, it certainly limits the user’s ability to buy and use longer lasting battery packs. On the top portion of the right side, the camcorder’s A/V input/output, DC input, and Docking Station ports are all located. Unlike most camcorders with docking stations, the DCR-PC55 rests with its right side in the docking station (most camcorders connect with the bottom side).

The Left Side (9.0)
The left side of the DCR-PC55 features the camcorder’s immense 3.0” LCD screen. This screen is one of the biggest screens put on a Sony, tying the DCR-DVD301 for size. It is also a touch screen hybrid LCD like most Sonys have this year. And let’s just face it: this thing is huge. It completely covers the left side of the camcorder; no, it is the left side of the camcorder. Along the bottom of the LCD screen are five nice-looking, quality buttons, including a secondary (or primary) record button, Side Show Plus, Back Light, Disp. Batt. Info, and Easy mode. Also, a small speaker is located here, designed for docking station playback. The camcorder is supposed to be placed on the docking station which tilts the camcorder forward a little. The LCD screen should then be flipped around and viewed like a small TV.

 

The Back (6.0)
The back of the DCR-PC55 is the main control center of the DCR-PC55 aside from the camcorder’s touch screen menu system. On the back are the camcorder’s Memory Stick Duo Pro slot, its tiny zoom toggle, its primary record button, its mode selector switch, and the open/eject switch used to switch tapes.

The Top (6.5)
The top of the DCR-PC55 features its built-in stereo microphone, photo button, and slender, intelligent accessory shoe. The shoe is covered by a port cover which, when released, flops around on a very flimsy plastic strip.

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (9.5)
Automatic control on the DCR-PC55 is very good, primarily because it’s a Sony. This is a good thing, as the camcorder in general is designed for point-and-shooters. In fact, it is designed, like many DVD camcorders, for point-and-shooters who love gimmicks and convenience. Automatic controls should be used at all costs.

The DCR-PC55 offers automatic controls over white balance, exposure (both iris and shutter), and focus. Automatic adjustments and performance are spectacular, providing smooth, quick, and accurate shifts when moving from and within different environments. White balance adjustments are subtle, and almost invisible, until you’ve finally noticed that a change has occurred.

As the DCR-PC55 includes a touch screen menu system, Sony has included its Spot Metering and Spot Focusing controls, which are sort of a cross between automatic and manual controls. When engaged, these controls allow you to touch any spot on the LCD screen to adjust either focus or exposure to that particular spot. These features gain a bit of versatility as the LCD screen is so large.

Overall Manual Control (3.0)
Consistent with all Sonys, the manual control on this camcorder is lacking, though on the DCR-PC55, this is relatively understandable. As the smallest MiniDV camcorder ever, it’s almost taken for granted that this is for the point-and-shoot crowd. That said, users can adjust focus, exposure, and white balance using the touch screen menu, which makes things almost always more a nuisance than not.

Zoom Control (6.5)
In the wake of the more lower-end HC series, Sony includes a similar zoom toggle on the DCR-PC55, but with an inferior effect. Like the HC series, the DCR-PC55’s zoom toggle is pretty fluid and small, but it’s placed in a way which makes it operable by the thumb, which is difficult and unnatural. As long as the camcorder is handheld, you might as well just walk closer instead.

Focus (4.0)
Aside from being slightly easier to achieve because of the larger LCD screen, manual focus on the DCR-PC55 is exactly the same as that of Sony’s lower level HCs in quality. Manual focus is an option available in the camcorder’s touch screen menu system. Users press either left or right to move from close to near; unlike on the DCR-HC90 there are no distance measurements to speak of. You can only eyeball the LCD for accuracy. This manual control is pretty much unusable for the above reasons, and also because it requires digging around in the menu system and tapping on the LCD screen.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.0)
Manual shutter speed and iris adjustment have been lumped together on the DCR-PC55 as the “exposure” manual control. Sony does not disclose the algorithm used to achieve such an adjuster, but exposure is nonetheless adjusted in a way similar to manual focus without a helper other than the user’s ability to eyeball correct exposure. This feature should be used sparingly, due to its inconvenience and inapplicability.

Shutter Speed (0.0)
There are no manual shutter speed controls on the DCR-PC55.

White Balance (7.0)
Probably the most usable manual control on the DCR-PC55, white balance allows user to set a value for white, either by using one of the presets (indoor or outdoor) to narrow down the processor’s definition of the color, or by choosing one’s own (one set). White balance is set in the camcorder’s menus system, but should be set before recording starts so the user doesn’t have to dig for it during capture.

Gain (0.0)
There are no manual gain controls on the DCR-PC55.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
The Sony DCR-PC55 doesn’t offer any additional manual controls other than the above mentioned.

Ease of Use (8.5)
As the DCR-PC55’s touch screen menu system is more of a gimmick than a useful device, the camcorder’s easy mode is really the most sensible operating system to be used with this camcorder. That said, the DCR-PC55’s easy mode makes the camcorder easy enough for even a baby gorilla to use. And, if you get the hankering for any manual anything, you’ll know that nearly everything else is accessible within the touch screen menu system. Another feature than is often overlooked is the battery info button. Located on the camcorder’s LCD margin, this button provides a handy way to see how much power the thing’s got left when it’s not on. Not only is the display multi-colored, but it is animated and approximates LCD time for you (as if you had another option–there’s no viewfinder).

 

Still Features (6.0)
Unfortunately, the DCR-PC55 doesn’t offer many still options. With its 680K CCD, the camcorder can only capture 640 x 480 stills. Usually, small camcorders like this can be assumed to be hybrid camcorders, paying equal attention to both still and video capture, but the DCR-PC55 does no such thing. There is an option for fine or standard quality, and that’s it.

The camcorder does include Slide Show Plus, a feature that is meant to complement the camcorder’s docking station/desktop TV appeal. It is more of a VCR mode, but it functions like a screen saver, so it is worth a mention here. Basically, when in playback mode, this function (available on the margin of the LCD screen) will cycle through all the files on the MemoryStick Duo Pro (movies and stills), displaying them in succession on the LCD screen. The best part is the different modes available that affect display. Available modes are: Simple, which shows pictures and movies with different dissolves, overlaps, and zoom effects to transition; Monotone, like simple mode in black and white; Standard, which shows pictures and movies without effects, but with file info if desired; and Fancy, which displays files with transitional effects as well as pastel flowers and color time display. These functions basically turn your camcorder into a colorful paperweight.

It really is a shame that the camcorder offers such a cool display option but without many options for actual still capture.

Still Resolution (1.4)
The Sony DCR-PC55 can capture stills at the standard 640 x 480 resolution on a MemoryStick Duo. Stills can only be captured in 4:3, yielding approximately 149,722.68 pixels (0.149 MP) of resolution.

Still Performance (3.25)
Still performance on the DCR-PC55 is okay. The still results are very similar to those of the DCR-HC32 (Review, Specs, $490.7) (Review, Specs, $490.7). There is a significant amount of the grainy noise on the DCR-PC55, and colors aren’t as rich as on the DCR-HC32. Even with this decent performance, the DCR-PC55 only captures at a resolution of 640 x 480, and performs inferior to many lower-end Panasonic camcorders which should be looked into before you decide to (God forbid!) buy the DCR-PC55 for its still performance.

Low Light Performance (3.0)
Low light on the DCR-PC55 is poor. With a similar CCD to the DCR-HC21, the DCR-PC55 shows similar low light results, but the camcorder thankfully lacks the nasty blue noise and general graininess of the DCR-HC21’s results. That said, the DCR-PC55 does show especially drab colors, lacking even the relative vibrancy of the DCR-HC21’s results.

 

At 60 lux, the DCR-PC55’s image is usable, but bad blending occurs as well as an influx of noise. At 15 lux, the image is completely unusable. While both the DCR-PC55 and the DCR-HC21 show big drop-off of color, the DCR-PC55 still shows a much greater drop-off and overall less richness. Low light performance–or lack thereof–is definitely a reason not to buy this camcorder.

Zoom Power/Ratio (10.0)
The DCR-PC55 has an optical zoom of 10x with digital options of up to 120x.

Wide Angle (9.2)
Both the 16:9 and 4:3 modes on the DCR-PC55 yielded identical wide angle measurements of 46 degrees. This is because the camcorder’s widescreen mode merely puts black bars on the 4:3 image.

LCD 4:3 standard aspect

LCD in widescreen mode

VCR Mode (7.0)
The DCR-PC55 ships with the same Play/Edit mode found on many Sony camcorders. When selected, this mode presents a number of touch buttons along the bottom of the screen. These buttons are primarily playback buttons, though access to the camcorder’s menu system still remains here. There is also a small button for toggling between memory card and tape playback. In the camcorder’s menu system different speed playback options are available for selection, including 2x and slow motion. This is also where the user can burn DVDs and VCDs using a Sony brand Vaio computer. Audio dubbing is possible here as well.

The coolest and most unique feature in this mode is the Slide Show feature, discussed in length in the Still feature section. It basically turns your camcorder (and docking station) into a graphical, animated paperweight that displays MemoryStick files in a screensaver fashion.

LCD/Viewfinder (9.5)
One of the coolest features of the DCR-PC55, aside from its incredibly small size, is its incredibly large LCD screen. The screen is 3” on the diagonal, the same size as last year’s (and this year’s) DCR-DVD301. It includes 123K pixels. There is no viewfinder.

Audio (4.0)
We weren’t expecting an external microphone port from this little guy, and we didn’t get one. Its built-in stereo microphone is located towards the middle of the top side, in a pretty crappy place for detecting the sound of whatever is in front of the lens. This placement is a trend with compact matchbook camcorders like this one. Audio dubbing is possible, which is nice. Also, on-camcorder playback is not only possible, but encouraged. There is small speaker located on the LCD panel (where it should be) for monitoring on-camcorder playback.

 Handling (4.0)
Despite the tiny size, the handling on the DCR-PC55 isn’t too good. Sony has definitely played up to the portability amenities of this camcorder rather than its handling strengths. The camcorder is basically shaped like a wide candy bar, and it doesn’t really offer any gripping devices, indentions, or anything. I’m not even sure which hand I’m supposed to use. I assume the right, as the photo button is in the normal right-handed matchbook camcorder placement, but could just as well use my left. And as much as this camcorder is designed for one-handed use, it also encourages two handed use with its secondary, LCD-margin record button.

On top of these ambiguous handling signals the DCR-PC55 gives off, its zoom toggle is poorly placed. I would have been more comfortable operating one on the upper right side, near the photo button. I have big hands, and even I had tough time wrapping them all the way around this guy to operate its features, while at the same time trying to support its weight.

Portability (9.75)
The DCR-PC55’s incredible portability is the selling point Sony is using with the camcorder, and really, they’ve picked the right one. The camcorder has a poor imager, mediocre optical zoom, bad handling, and no still options, but it’s pretty much the smallest I can see a MiniDV camcorder getting. The battery is slender and unobtrusive (though not exactly interchangeable), and the camcorder as a whole is about the size of a MiniDV tape.

Battery Life (9.2)
The DCR-PC55 has an included battery life of approximating an hour and a half, when continuously recording with the three inch LCD open (1 hr. 32 min. 21 sec.).

Compression (8.0)
The Sony DCR-PC55 uses standard DV compression to MiniDV tape. MiniDV compression is certainly the standard of video quality against which all other compression formats are judged.

Media (8.0)
The Sony DCR-PC55 has the ability to record video to 6.35mm MiniDV tape in both SP and LP modes. Sixty minutes can be recorded in SP mode with 90 minutes available in LP mode. Still images can be captured to MemoryStick Duo Pro.

Editing (8.0)
Video footage recorded to MiniDV tape can be edited very easily using any of the many editing software suites, most notably, Avid and Final Cut Pro, though many manufactures include rudimentary editing software with their products. The DCR-PC55 ships with Sony’s Picture Package Software, which enables rudimentary editing, copying, and burning to various CD formats. If you have a Sony VAIO computer, “Click to DVD” software can be used to create DVDs.

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (5.0)
As opposed to Sony’s new Enhanced Widescreen mode seen on camcorders like the DCR-HC42 (Review, Specs, $399.95) and the DCR-HC90, which shows widescreen footage on the camcorders’ Widescreen LCD screens, the DCR-PC55 features a letterboxed Wide Select mode that chops off the top and bottom of the normal 4:3 image.

Letterboxed Wide Select mode

 

Standard 4:3 aspect

Scan Rates/24P (0.0)
The DCR-PC55 features no experimental frame rates, 24P effects, or anything like that.

Ports (6.5)
The DCR-PC55 features all the necessary ports for a small portable camcorder, aside from an external mic port. The camcorder includes a docking station that houses many of its ports as well as functions as an integral part of the camcorder’s Slide Show feature.

On the docking station are ports for USB, FireWire, DC input, and A/V input/output. On the camcorder there are secondary A/V and DC ports.

 

Other Features (5.0)
Program AE The DCR-PC55 features a number of Program AE presets which place windows of performance on the camcorder’s aperture and shutter speed adjusters, based on specific environments. They include: Spotlight, Portrait, Sports, Beach&Ski, Sunset&Moon, and Landscape.

Digital Effects A number of digital effects are available, though they are pretty cheesy. They include the usual: still, flash, luminance key, trail, slow shutter, and old movie. Some picture effects are also available: negative art, sepia, B&W, Solarize, Pastel, and Mosaic.

SteadyShot
The DCR-HC42 features an electronic image stabilization function. When recording a TV or a computer screen black lines may appear when using this function.

Color Slow Shutter
This is a special night mode which slows down the shutter speed of the camcorder considerably without increasing the F-stop, thus forcing tons of light into the picture, and hence brightening the image. It cannot be used with fader, a digital effect, program AE, manual exposure, or spot metering.

Tele Macro
This is basically an automatic telephoto close-up. When selected, the camcorder zooms in as far as it can. Once the zoom toggle is adjusted, Tele Macro turns off.

Multi-Color Manufacturing!!! The DCR-PC55 is available in Red (shown), Silver, White, and Black.

Comparisons
Sony DCR-HC series
Sony’s DCR-HC series this year brings up the rear of the price range of the DCR-PC55. The most expensive of the lower-end HCs, the DCR-HC42, is still a better camcorder than the DCR-PC55 despite horrible low light performance, and while the DCR-PC55 has the advantage on portability, the DCR-HC42 is still very portable. Both camcorders have equal manual control, though the DCR-HC42 is the cheapest Sony to have a widescreen LCD screen (the DCR-PC55’s 3” screen might be better, though). The DCR-HC42 has a genuine widescreen mode than doesn’t simply put black bars on the image. The cheaper HCs, the DCR-HC32 and DCR-HC21, also perform better than the DCR-PC55 (and the DCR-HC42) in low light, but lack the portability and some of the features of the DCR-PC55 and DCR-HC42, namely the LCD features and some still options.

DCR-DVD203 (Review, Specs, $587.65)
Sony offers a DVD camcorder for around the same price as the DCR-PC55. While we haven’t tested the performance of the DCR-DVD203 yet, based on the magnificent performance of DCR-DVD403 (Review, Specs, $489) and the horrific performance of the DCR-PC55, it could very well do better than the DCR-PC55. It has a widescreen LCD screen, and can support surround sound recording. Also, with a 12x optical zoom it can get in closer. Bottom line: if gimmicks attract you, like the gimmicky size of the DCR-PC55, why not look into the gimmick of DVD recording; you might end up with better quality video.

Panasonic PV-GS150 (Specs, $449.95) and Canon Optura 50 (Specs, $449.99)
Both priced similarly to the DCR-PC55, these two camcorders, one a 3 chip (Panasonic) and the other a single chip (Canon), both provide really good affordable video recording. They will have more manual control and still features than the DCR-PC55, and offer tremendously better looking images, but without the portability and Slide Show function of the DCR-PC55. They also only have 2.5” LCD screens.

Who It’s For
Point and Shooters (9.0)
The DCR-PC55 is perhaps nothing else but a point-and-shoot camcorder. It has nil manual controls, functions poorly, and its size screams for handheld use.

Budget Consumers (4.0)
Though available for substantially less than what Sony originally wanted, this camcorder is still not for budget consumers, especially considering its video performance.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid (3.5)
The DCR-PC55 cannot be considered a good hybrid camcorder because of its lack of still options. However, the slide show feature is pretty cool and does give the camcorder some points in this category.

Gadget Freak (3.0)
There is some gadget appeal in the DCR-PC55, primarily because of its incredibly small size, but also because no other camcorder offers the DCR-PC55’s Slide Show feature, which basically makes the camcorder into a cute desktop paperweight which displays whatever photos and MPEGs you’d like. Watch out though: palm pilots will probably be able to do this soon (if not already), so if you shouldn’t necessarily buy this camcorder for the feature.

Manual Control Freaks (3.0)
Like most Sonys, the DCR-PC55 is not a camcorder for the manual control lover.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists (1.0)
The only thing that could be appealing about the DCR-PC55 to a pro is its gimmicky size. Actually, the camcorder would probably only really appeal to the collector who likes the sound of owning the world’s smallest MiniDV camcorder.

Conclusion
Let’s get a couple things out of the way. One: The DCR-PC55 is the smallest MiniDV camcorder in the world. In the world. Two: though this is true, I doubt it will be that way for long. So I wouldn’t buy the camcorder just for that, and considering the negative effects its size has on its handling, I wouldn’t buy the DCR-PC55 for its portability either. You can probably get a cheap Optura 400 (Specs, $999) or 500 these days, a much better matchbook camcorder.

Electronics are pretty material in and of themselves, though if it was possible for a camcorder to be even more material and filled with less substance, the DCR-PC55 takes that prize. This camcorder is only about it's tiny size, and it's pretty exterior color - you might as well forget about the colors and quality of the video it's going to produce.

Now, I won’t lie. There is a certain gimmicky appeal to the DCR-PC55’s Slide Show function, but I, however tempted, wouldn’t let that blind me from the fact that there really isn’t anything good about the video quality of this machine. The Slide Show function makes this camcorder into an expensive, attractive paperweight, and that’s exactly what its poor video performance does as well.