Sony HC3 or HC5?

[miepel]

Hi,

I plan to buy a Sony HDV DV-Camcorder. The tech specs of the Sony HC3 and HC5 look very similar. But the older model, the HC3, costs a little more.

Does anyone have experience with these two cams? Is the older one the better one (especially in low light)?

miepel

- Please excause my poor English -

[edDV]

See the reviews at www.camcorderinfo.com for detailed comparisons.

[miepel]

Thank you, I know about www.camcorderinfo.com and I like their reviews. But there is still no review of the HC5 (the HC7 uses another sensor).

Do you know other comparisons of the HC3 and the HC5 (no user reviews)?

miepel

[edDV]

I saw an HC5 vs HC3 review somewhere. I thought it was camcorderinfo.com .

Brief history. The HC3 was a stripped down version of the original HC1. The HC-3 took criticism for dropping the manual exposure and audio controls of the HC1. The HC7 uses a new higher resolution sensor and has returned to more manual exposure and audio control. The HC5 is a feature reduced version of the HC7 and uses a sensor of slightly lower resolution but I don't know if the sensor is identical to the HC3.

IMO the HC5 is probably better than the HC3 in overall features but I would compare the owner manuals which can be downloaded. Personally, I'd pay more for the HC7 because I need the manual control features.

[miepel]

The HC7 would be my favorite, too. But it is expensive and the low light performance is poor, because its chip has nearly the same size as the HC3/ 5, but the resolution is much higher. High resolution means low sensivity because of the small pixels of the CCD/ CMOS.

The manual control of the HC3 is better than the control of the HC5 (there is no wheel, only touch screen by the HC5). But the HC3 has the Sony-Style blue noise issue in low light. Perhaps the HC5 uses a better gain engine with lower noise?

miepel

PS.: The Canon HV20 is very interesting, but the build quality is not acceptable for me.

[edDV]

I've used the HC1 but not the HC3 or HC5/7. I'm hoping to borrow one for tests before buying.

I'm looking at the HC7, the Canon HV20 and the JVC HD7 as top contenders.

[miepel]

What about the low light qualities of the HC1? Is the noise bad (using a 37' or lager display)? What kind of noise can be seen? Big blocks or fine grain? How do the output looks if you are converting it to DVD (by camera or HDV edit with Vegas and then downconvert)?

miepel

[edDV]

What about the low light qualities of the HC1? Is the noise bad (using a 37' or lager display)? What kind of noise can be seen? Big blocks or fine grain? How do the output looks if you are converting it to DVD (by camera or HDV edit with Vegas and then downconvert)?

miepel

The HC1 was far worse than my DV PD-150 for low light but looked good with good light. Not as sharp as the FX-1 but that was probably the lens or one sensor vs three. Next to the FX-1 in good light the HC1 was a bit soft and edges were less sharp but it was usable for B-Roll.

In low light the picture looks noisy and dark. Camcorderinfo is a good reference for this because they test all camcorders under similar conditions.

BTW for dark rooms, I think it is better to shoot SD on the PD-150 and upscale rather than shoot HD on the HC1.

[slacker]

I know they are a LOT of money but the Canon A1 and the Sony FX1 still seem to be the only way to go if you are going to invest ANY sizable hunk of change into this hobby at the amateur or prosumer level. I still can't bring myself to buy 'noise' (HC7) and 'plastic' (HV20) at $1000 prices.

[zoobie]

I've the HC5 but never use it in low level light...but coming from hi8, it's a wonderful thing. Last I looked, CCI was supposed to review the HC5 but a bunch of new cams were released. Reports have it that the Canon HV20 is better in low light than the HC7 if that helps...

[miepel]

Zoobie, perhaps you can test the low light quality. I'm much interested in the quantity and the "look" of the noise under that conditions. The HC7 should behave completely different because of the different chip.