Sony Officially Announces $1,700 HC3 High Definition Camcorder

by Robin Liss
Published on Feb 20, 2006 8:00 PM



February 20, 2006 - In a global announcement Sony has just officially released the HDR-HC3 high definition camcorder, replacing the HDR-HC1. The HDR-HC3 marks their third consumer high definition camcorder which utilizes the HDV format. Earlier this month a manual of the camcorder was leaked which revealed many specifications that the camcorder appears to follow. The new model is priced at $1,700  which is $300 less than the HDR-HC1, Sony's existing lower priced consumer HD model.



According to the official Sony press release the new camcorder is 26% more compact than the HDR-HC1 HDV camcorder, which was brought to market in the Spring of 2005. The new HDR-HC3 adds HDMI support, a popular connectivity standard for high definition televisions and products.



It is clear that Sony is targeting a crowd comprised more of consumer point-and-shooters with this replacement for the HDR-HC1. The HDR-HC3 drops the manual focus ring of the HDR-HC1 and adds an assignable dial similar to what was used on the Sony DCR-PC1000 camcorder. The dial can be assigned manual control of focus, zoom, and exposure. Sony has added the Easy Handycam button to the HDR-HC3 but dropped the microphone input jack that was on the HDR-HC1. Sony has also dropped the manual shutter speed control as well as color bar feature.

The HDR-HC3 uses the same CMOS "Clear-vid" chip as the Sony DCR-DVD505 (Review, Specs, $664) which can record stills at 4 megapixels. The camcorder features the hybrid record function of the DVD505 which allows users to shoot 2.3 megapixel stills while shooting video in high definition and 1.7 megapixel stills while in standard mode. Sony has also downgraded the viewfinder on the HDR-HC3 to a 123K pixel viewfinder, but they have slightly increased the pixel resolution on the LCD to 211K pixels. The HDR-HC3 drops the shot transition feature and the expandable focus of the HDR-HC1. The HDR-HC3 also adds a built-in lens cover.

It is clear that Sony is going after a different target market with the HC3. While the HC1 was the most affordable high definition camcorder ever when it was introduced, it included many features that were clearly targeted at prosumer users. The HC3 drops those features as well as the price and focuses on Sony's core market of point-and-shooters seeking ease of use.

Those feature choices could alienate many of the users who made the HDR-HC1 such a popular camcorder. However, Sony is continuing the HDR-FX1 and sources close to the company stress that this replacement isn't an abandonment of prosumer users. Rather, they stress that Sony is attempting to satisfy the needs of a greater number of camcorder users who are interested in HD with a more utilitarian model.

 

 

 

The HDR-HC3 will be available in April for $1,700.