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The Road to Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam

Hello Chieh,
Some research you have done in the article, wow.

I was going to by an HC85E already to put my order in when I noticed it was discontinued. and then saw that the HC90 is similar. Have you considered that discontinued model (it's still available from dealers.

Also what price did you get for the HC90E. The best I could get in the US is 719$ at Broadway Photo

I have a few questions you might be able to answer:
How did the camera pan out? Was it good?
What's the difference between an NP-FP70 and an NP-FA70 ?
is the Flash a pop up?

BTW I think you have a typo the NP-FP-50 only has 680mA and not 6800mA

Like to hear from you,
Martin

Martin Tross
Thu Apr 28 23:31:38 PDT 2005

... HC85E ... Have you considered that discontinued model ...

I have not considered the DCR-HC85 before. But I have heard that it is the predecessor to the DCR-HC90. The DCR-HC85 has a focusing ring, which the DCR-HC90 lacks.

Also what price did you get for the HC90E. The best I could get in the US is 719$ at Broadway Photo

I got the DCR-HC90 for $799 from Amazon:
Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

I suggest you read my article on "Where to buy cameras?" You can see a picture of the Broadway Photo store front by clicking here. Do you really want to buy from them?

How did the camera pan out? Was it good?

I just got it a day ago. I'll play with it for a few day and write more; maybe even a full review.

What's the difference between an NP-FP70 and an NP-FA70 ?

One is Sony's P-series battery, while the other is Sony's A-series battery. The DCR-HC90 uses the new A-series battery that is thinner, like a card. Pictures below shows the two different type of batteries.

is the Flash a pop up?

No. Flash is built into front of the body beside the lens. You can kinda make it out in the picture.

BTW I think you have a typo the NP-FP-50 only has 680mA and not 6800mA

Yah . . . SonyStyle web-site, and every other web-site that copies the information from SonyStyle, shows that mistake. After getting the actual batteries, I found that the extra 0 is a typo.

Chieh Cheng
Fri Apr 29 00:10:40 PDT 2005

Hello Chieh,
Thanks for your response, you really got me alert with respect to the sellers ...
Until you come up with your first impressions of the DCR-HC90 I have a couple of additional questions:

Do you know if there is any difference between the HC90 and HC90E except what is obvious (PAL vs NTSC) ?

With this camcorder can you take still photos while you are shooting video - example I'm video-ing a school show and would like to take a still image of what the camera is pointing at.

Thanks, Martin

Martin
Wed May 4 14:19:48 PDT 2005

Like you said, the HC90 and HC90E's basic difference is NTSC vs. PAL. I think the HC90E is the European version. If that is true, the only other difference is that the European models cannot record video into the camcorder through DV or video-in (due to European laws). So these functions are disabled.

You can shoot still pictures while shooting video. The only catch is that the picture is show in low resolution mode (640x480) rather than at 3 MP resolution. I don't know if it is a technical limitation or a poor design.

Chieh Cheng
Wed May 4 20:08:57 PDT 2005

As far as I'm aware, the HC90e has DV in/out. There's a tax on the import of video recorders in Europe. Manufacturers only tend to disable dv-in on the budget models.

Dave Newman
Fri May 6 01:11:27 PDT 2005

Thanks for the feedback.
The capability of taking full resolution still images while shooting video is very important to me. Are there comparable camcorders that do not have this limitation (low still resolution while doing Video)
Thanks,
Martin

Martin
Fri May 6 08:20:35 PDT 2005

Thanks for the heads-up, Dave.

Martin, I played with the camcorder some more this week. It's fairly easy to switch from the video mode to the camera mode for 3MP pictures.

Chieh Cheng
Fri May 6 11:22:20 PDT 2005

Very impressed with your site. I too was debating between the PC55 and HC90. I chose the HC90 because it is a familliar form factor (currently own a Canon ZR10 so this is a huge step up) and image quality is more important to me than portability.

Just ordered the HC90 from Amazon. Total was $810 with standard shipping. Thought about purchasing from Sony Syles (12mo same as cash financing) website but the the price came to $1,091.12...way too steep for me.

Will post my impressions when it arrives.

Manny Proenza
Sat May 21 16:14:49 PDT 2005

Welcome to the club, Manny. I've used mine extensively in the past few weeks. Been pretty happy with the HC90 so far. Let us know what you thought of it.

Chieh Cheng
Mon May 23 00:24:05 PDT 2005

The June 28, 2005 issue of PC Magazine has a First Looks article on the Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam. It did make a mistake, however, when it mentioned that the camcorder uses SD cards rather than Memory Stick Duo. Those of you interested in this camcorder might want to stop by the bookstore and pick up the magazine, or download it through Zinio.

PC Magazine rated the DCR-HC90 with 3-1/2 marks, which is the same rating given to the Canon Elura 90 Digital Video Camcorder reviewed on the same poge.

Chieh Cheng
Sat, 18 Jun 2005 16:16:20 -0700

ok ...... so what's the VERDICT ?! heh, seriously, can't wait to hear the end of the story ;)

Trevor Croft
Tue, 9 Aug 2005 19:47:08 -0700

Trevor, the verdict for question #3 is posted in an article called "3 MP Digital Camcorder Photo vs. 3 MP Digital Camera Photo" on this web-site. I need to update this article to reflect.

The verdict for question #1 is that the DCR-HC90 is very good for low light shooting. It beats my Panasonic camcorder. Though I would have to spend some time comparing it to my DCR-TRV350.

Chieh Cheng
Fri, 12 Aug 2005 18:48:00 -0700

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ is a great website for comparing different camcorders; it has detailed reviews which contain images taken from the camcorders at different light levels. This is very useful when comparing the low light capability.

The Sony DCR-TRV350 includes a 1/6 in. 460K pixel CCD with 290K effective pixels. The HC90 contains The DCR-HC90 includes with a 1/3-inch CCD, with 3.31 MP (2.05MP for video). The difference between the HC90 low light performance and the TRV350 is huge. The HC90 recieved a 6.5 for low light perfomance and the TRV350 recieved a 4. For general video performance the TRV350 produced 4.5 and the HC90 a 7. The HC85 performance is 4 for general video performance, and 5.5 for low light perfomance. This due to a bigger CCD (1080k effective video pixels) then that of the TRV350. I will post images of the HC85 and HC90 so you can compare low light video of both models at 15 lux and 60 lux. The HC85 start to produce brown colored whites whereas in the hc90 the colors are more realistic. I find it interesting that a camera which has a smaller CCD, the TRV350, received better general video perfomance score then the HC85.

Review of the HC90
Review of the HC85
Review of the TRV350

Joe

Attached Image:

Comparison HC90 and HC85 (60, 15 lux).jpg

Joe Banks
Sat, 13 Aug 2005 14:51:58 -0700

You are right about the sensor chip size. But I still wonder, because the DCR-TRV350 has a f/1.6 lens, while the DCR-HC90 has a f/1.8 lens.

Chieh Cheng
Sun, 14 Aug 2005 02:14:55 -0700

Yes, lens size, will play a factor in determining video performance also. I can't find a standardized video image of the trv 350 at 15 lux and 60 lux. I expect that the the difference between the F/1.8 lens and the f/1.6 lens does not outway the very large difference in CCD sizes between 2,000,000 and 290,000 effective video pixels. However, this could explain why the trv350 performed slightly better in general video performance then the HC85. The hc90 generates a much better picture then the hc85 however. Its not fair to compare the HC90 to the trv350 because the hc90 is selling for about $850 and the trv350 is selling for about $450/350. Both camcorders are great for consumers, they have many features, and they are "sony". I also think the hc90 lacks some features of the trv350 and has a small battery life I am not an expert, but at camcorderinfo's website the people have tested hundreds of consumers camcorders and rate them 1 through 10 in various catagories, they also have image charts so you can see the test results and compare for yourself. All camera's generate more noise at lower light levels and there colors tend to change. For example the whites in becoming discolored even at 60 lux for the hc85. More expensive camcorders like the canon gl-2, have better lens, better light imaging, better circuitry, and lower noise at high gain levels. I will post a video image so you can compare the $2000 gl-2 camcorder also.

Joe

Attached Image:

GL2.jpg