Sony HDR-HC9 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Feb 25, 2008 3:31 PM 
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Still Features (8.75)
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The pop-out flash |
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Sony’s Dual-Record mode allows shooters to capture stills while in Video mode and screen grabs can also be captured to MemoryStick while in Playback mode. An onboard flash is located next to the lens, but be wary of using it while the lens hood is attached. Due to the off-center placement of the flash, the hood will block the light on anything closer than a foot from the camera.
A histogram is available to display exposure levels faintly similar to the Levels control in Photoshop. The HDR-HC9’s histogram is a bit vague though, with no information to indicate exposure values. Histogram readings on the left indicate black and right indicates white. As you move the camcorder, the levels shift based on the exposure levels, but it’s difficult to attain a truly accurate reading.
The P-Menu in Photo mode
You can record a series of images in intervals of 1, 5, or 10 minutes by selecting Int. Rec-Stl. This will come in handy for a stop motion interpretation of a sunrise or short film entitled “Progress of the Slug.” All manual controls are available in Photo mode, in addition to Picture Effects.
The Photo menu is accessed by selecting Menu from the P-Menu. The Photo menu contains the following items:
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Photo Menu |
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| Camera Set | Scene Select, Spot Meter + Focus, Spot Meter, Exposure, White Balance, Sharpness, Shutter Speed, Auto Slow Shutter, AE Shift, Camera Color, WB Shift, Spot Focus, Focus, Tele Macro, Peaking, Flash Set, NS Light, Color Slow Shutter, Zebra, Histogram, Self-Timer, Digital Zoom, SteadyShot, Conv. Lens, Dial Set |
| Memory Set | Still Set, Format, File No., New Folder, Rec. Folder |
| Picture Applications | Int. Rec-Stl. |
| Edit/Play | End Search |
| Standard Set | Volume, LCD/VF Set, Component, i.LINK Conv., TV Type, Display Guide, Status Check, Guideframe, Center Marker, Remote Control, Rec Lamp, Beep, Display Output, Menu Rotate, Auto Shutoff |
| Time/Language | Clock Set, World Time, Language |
Still Performance (9.49)
The still performance of the Sony HDR-HC9 was tested by shooting an X-Rite Color Checker chart at an even, bright light, then running the stills through Imatest imaging software. At best, the Sony HDR-HC9 produces a color error of 6.32, which is quite good compared to the competition. The noise measures 1.7125 percent, also a good score, though the noise is primarily in the blue channel, which skews the cross-channel average. The saturation measures 106.8 percent.
In order to get this best score, the camcorder had to be taken out of Auto mode and the exposure adjusted to -1, which corresponds to an aperture of f/4.0 and a shutter speed of 1/60.
Shooting outside the lab, the stills look pretty good. The noise is low, overall, though not as good as a solid point-and-shoot still camera under the right settings. Sharpness and color balance are decent.
Still Resolution (29.48)
The still resolution was tested by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 resolution chart at an even, bright light, then running the images through Imatest imaging software. At best, the Sony HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56) produces a horizontal resolution of 1487 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) – with a 1.17 percent black clipping and a 6.92 percent undersharpening – and a vertical resolution of 1185 lw/ph – with a 0.83 percent clipping and a 12.3 percent undersharpening.
In order to get this best score, we had to raise the exposure to +1, which shifted the aperture to f/4.8 and a shutter speed of 1/60.