Sony NSC-GC1 First Impressions Camcorder Review

Other Features
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Conclusion
It’s easy to pass judgment on the Sony NSC-GC1. It’s a low-resolution, extremely inexpensive camcorder built with cheap plastic parts. Sony is hardly breaking new ground. YouTube-friendly cameras and camcorders are being announced left and right. The company also has every reason to debut a product like this right now, as they just launched their own video sharing site, Crackle (formerly Grouper). But knocking the NSC-GC1 is a cop-out.

As much as long-time video enthusiasts may wish otherwise, the ways in which we interact with video is changing. No longer is video editing an arcane process. True, high-end production continues to grow in complexity, but the bottom-end of the scale is getting wider (and arguably deeper). YouTube is only the avatar of a much deeper shift in telecommunications. The actual process of democratizing media means putting cheap, easy to use camcorders like the NSC-GC1 in people’s hands.

That said, don’t expect us to get all soft on them. The Sony NSC-GC1 delivers poor quality video. We’ve seen a lot of still cameras over at DigitalCameraInfo.com that offer higher image quality for only a little more money. The Sony’s own DSC-T100 shoots good video, has a larger pixel count, a huge LCD, and optical zoom. The Canon A570IS has all the same benefits, and costs almost exactly the same price as the NSC-GC1. Both at least offer much better handling. No, you don’t get the same instant upload to YouTube, but the benefits of quality are in their favor.

This is a good first attempt from Sony, but the NSC-GC1 needs a little work. If a still camera with video capability feels better in the hand, and offers a number of other great features, why choose the GC1 at all?