Sony HDR-HC9 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Feb 25, 2008 3:31 PM 
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (8.0)
The Sony HDR-HC9 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) is similar to its predecessor, the HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56), in so many ways. Nearly all the automatic and manual controls are identical.
Sony has always done a good job with creating easy-to-use camcorders that can satisfy the needs of the most green point-and-shooter, including great automatic controls. The Easy mode on the HDR-HC9 will restrict a lot of the controls on the menu, a kind of idiot-proofing that hands over exposure, shutter, and white balance decisions to the camcorder.
The best automatic controls are the exposure and white balance. The auto exposure is very fast and accurate, but doesn’t “leap” to adjust. It gives just the right adjustment curve for a consumer camcorder, taking about 2 to 4 seconds for major transitions. A slow pan, tilt, or zoom is treated so well that you probably won’t even see the exposure change happen.
The auto white balance is nearly as good. General indoor and outdoor lighting prove to be no problem. Only very yellow incandescent light cannot be adjusted for very well, requiring a manual setting.
The manual focus is good, but not great. Typically, we saw the HC9 overshoot the proper focal length, then back up. With the wrong kind of shot, like macro shooting, this can look very bad. It doesn’t help that the tiny Cam Control dial is too small and inaccurate for repeatable rack focusing.
The HDR-HC9 comes equipped with a number of one-touch auto features that allow some small degree of user decision making, but aren’t “traditional” manual controls. The Scene modes are the most straightforward, spelling out exactly when to use them: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Candle, Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Beach, and Snow.
There are also offers a number of Sony-specials that brand loyalists have come to love. Spot Focus and Spot Meter are two separate functions that work nearly identically. When activated, a frame is drawn around the LCD screen. Simply touch the area of the screen that you want exposed or focused properly and the camcorder does the rest. It doesn’t work for finely-detailed or small areas, but larger subjects are easy. New on the HDR-HC9 is the Spot Meter + Focus feature, which combines both tools in one.
Overall Manual Control (8.0)
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The Cam Control dial |
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There are two important new features on the HDR-HC9. First is the addition of peaking, which creates a fuzzy discoloration in the areas that are in focus. This is an invaluable tool for focusing when you’re forced to rely on the small, low-res LCD screen. The second addition, Spot Meter + Focus, is less vital, but useful nonetheless. This one-touch control combines the Spot Meter and Spot Focus features in one tool. There’s little fine control here, but it can be useful for on-the-go shooting.
Most of the manual control interface is split between the touch-screen LCD and the Cam Control dial on the left side. Both of these draw some deserved criticism. The touch-screen control is great for infrequent users, but power users will accumulate greasy fingerprints very quickly. This is especially difficult for evaluating manual focus. Touch screens also require large touch-friendly buttons, which inflates the overall size of the menu.
The Cam Control dial is too small. For some reason, each side is buffered by a fat ridge that prevents you from finding a good grip. Also, just like the similar dial on the Canon HV20 and HV30, it’s poorly placed. If the LCD panel is tilted up or down it blocks the dial. Sony blocks it even more than Canon. Why, oh why, did Sony downgrade from the full-sized lens ring on the first generation HDR-HC1 (Specs, $2295) (Specs, $1399.95)?
Zoom (6.0)
The zoom toggle on the Sony HDR-HC9 feels great, much smoother and studier than the Canon HV30, even after its improvements since the HV20. Depending on finger pressure, we were able to achieve three distinct zoom speeds. The slowest crawl is too fast, and the HV30 tops it in this capacity. Also, all Canon camcorders offer the option to lock the zoom speed to three different settings, regardless of finger pressure.
When zooming, a scale appears in the upper left corner to indicate where in the zoom range you are. However, there is no numerical information provided, making it hard to duplicate a shot. Canon has the same problem.
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The zoom in action |
Zoom Power Ratio (10.0)
The optical zoom extends to 10x, the standard for most consumer HD camcorders. The digital zoom, which can be turned on and off, reaches to 20x. The Canon HV20 and HV30 has a longer digital zoom, with settings at 40x and 200x. Offering a better digital zoom is hardly an upgrade. We’ll consider this tied with an even optical zoom and ignore digital zoom completely.
Focus (7.5)
The manual focus system has been improved since last year’s HDR-HC7, but Canon still holds the advantage. Both camcorders offer two methods. Canon has the joystick and the left-mounted dial. Sony has the touch screen and left-mounted dial. Here’s why we like Canon:
First, the joystick works better for focusing than the touch screen, which is prone to finger smudges that blur the very image you’re trying to gauge. Secondly, the Canon dial is slightly better engineered. It’s easier to grip, and the LCD panel doesn’t block it quite as much at angles.
Finally, and most importantly, Canon offers better “helper features” for manual focusing. We’re very happy to see Sony has added peaking this year, an option that creates a false, colored fuzz around the edges of objects that are in focus. What’s more, Sony pilfered from the best focus system– JVC’s – by allowing the peaking areas to appear in multiple colors. By choosing white, yellow, or red, you can still find the in-focus area regardless of the tones in your shot. However, the peaking tool is buried deep in the menu. Yes, you can move it to the top level of the menu, but Canon beats Sony with an external “Focus Assist” button on the LCD. At the touch of the Canon button, peaking and an instant digital zoom are engaged, making it even easier to see your subject. While Canon’s peaking is not multi-colored, its accessibility and combination with instant zoom make it the more powerful choice.
The manual focus as it appears during touch screen adjustments
Sony retains the distinction of providing numerical info as to the focal length, in meters, rounded to the nearest tenth. This certainly aids in recreating a shot. When tallying up all the factors, Sony and Canon are nearly tied in overall manual focus, with a slight edge to Canon. Of course, any of these elements depend on the needs of the shooter.
Manual focus as it appears when using the Cam Control dial
Exposure & Aperture (6.0)
The Sony HDR-HC9 offers multiple exposure tools, but no direct control over the aperture. The simplest and most straightforward is called Exposure, which can be adjusted either with the touch screen or the Cam Control dial. The touch screen offers a finer control. When activated, a scale appears in the center of the screen with plus and minus buttons on either end. In total, there are 30 increments. The problem here is that the screen becomes terribly cluttered with graphics and buttons – so much so that it’s hard to see what you’re trying to meter. When used with the Cam Control dial, the scale is much smaller, but harder to gauge.
The primary exposure control
The second control is the AE Shift. It looks similar to the Exposure control, but the degree of change is much finer. The scale only has nine increments.
The third, previously mentioned, is Spot Meter. This allows you to tap the area of the screen you want metered properly. The fourth, closely related, is the Spot Meter + Focus, which combines the effects of Spot Meter and Spot Focus.
Shutter Speed (8.5)
The shutter control is located deep in the Main menu. Manual settings are 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/90, 1/100, 1/125, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/725, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, 1/6000, and 1/10000. This is a great range of options, and it should not go overlooked that it comes from Sony, a company typically loathe to offer shutter control. The shutter options that dip below 1/60 are particularly useful for low-light shooting. Shutter speed can be changed either using the LCD touch screen or the Cam Control dial.
White Balance (6.5)
The white balance options on the HDR-HC9 are bulked up compared to the average Sony camcorder. In the standard set, you’ll find presets for Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and One Push (Manual). Making a manual adjustment is very easy.
The second control is the WB Shift, which allows you to dial up a slightly warmer or cooler look. Like a lot of controls on this camcorder, the WB Shift can be altered via the touch screen or the Cam Control dial.
The WB Shift control in action using the Cam Control dial
Gain (0.0)
There is no manual gain control on the Sony HDR-HC9.
Other Manual Controls (9.0)
Camera Color - Camera Color gives you some control over color saturation. When activated, you’ll see a scale of eight increments. The default setting is four. Pro camcorders tend to saturate much less than consumer camcorders, so feel free to bump it down a few notches if you want the pro look.
Tele Macro - Tele Macro is used for getting a tight focus on small subjects while blurring out the background. On Sony camcorders, this means the zoom is automatically extended to its full range when activated. Any lowering of the zoom disengages the feature. There are lots of other ways to get this effect if you play around with the camcorder, even though there is no direct aperture control.
Zebra Pattern - When this feature is activated, overexposed areas are marked with black and white stripes to draw out the problem. The tolerance can be set at either 70 IRE or 100 IRE. For reference, 100 IRE is the upper legal limit for broadcast standards. Seventy IRE is quite conservative.
Histogram - A live histogram is a great tool for serious shooters. Appearing in the lower left corner, a histogram gives a pixel-for-pixel diagram of exposure values. The left side of the histogram is shadows, and the right is highlights. In most instances, you want the main grouping in the middle – healthy midtones.
Conversion Lens - This feature is strictly for those adding a lens to the HDR-HC9. There are two options, one for wide angle lenses and one for telephoto lenses.
Guideframe - The Guideframe option creates two horizontal and two vertical lines on screen, dividing it into a 9-sector grid. This does not appear on your final footage.
Center Marker - The Center Marker creates a cross in the center of the screen to help you set up a shot. This does not appear on your final footage.
Color Bars - Engaging this option creates SMPTE (or at least, SMPTE-like) color bars to help you calibrate your screen.
x.v.Color - This is an emerging color standard for HD recording and display components. In order to get the benefit of recording in x.v.Color, you’ll need an HDMI cable and an HDTV that can support it. Read here for more info.