Sony HDR-HC3 Camcorder Review

The HC3 MemoryStick Duo slot

All the manual controls and automatic controls found in the video mode, such as Spot Meter, Spot Focus, sharpness, and AE shift, can be found here as well . A flash, located above the lens, can be set to Auto, Forced Flash, and Off.

Last year’s HC1 (Specs, $2295) included burst mode and exposure bracketing, both of which have been dropped here. Panasonic offers more manual controls. Most Canons do, as well, and the shutter speed can be particularly useful for stills. There is no such feature on the HC3.

Still Resolution (11.5)
The Sony HDR-HC3’s stills were tested for resolution by shooting a standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. At its highest quality image, 2304 x 1728, the camcorder produced an approximate resolution of 1145772.0,  an expected resolution score for a still of this size.

Still Performance (9.25)
The HDR-HC3’s stills are darker overall than the video performance. Color balance is not as good, either. The picture is very sharp, naturally, compared to the video, as the 2304 x 1728 has nearly twice as much information as the 1920 x 1080 video.

The HDR-HC1 (Specs, $2295), by comparison, had more red in the image, which strengthened the oranges and yellows. Greens were weaker. The Panasonic PV-GS500 (Review, Specs, $1040) was brighter overall, with strange patterns of saturation: heavy on the red and white, but almost blown out in the greens and yellows. The Canon Optura 600 (Specs, $1099) had better color balance all around, and was exceptionally crisp. Finally, the DVD505 (Review, Specs, $664) was essentially the same image as the HC3.

Though the HC3 had decent stills overall, the camcorder cannot compare to a dedicated still camera. 4MP may be sizable for a camcorder, but is merely passing for a point and shoot. Remember: still features are an add-on, not a reason to buy any camcorder.