Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

I use my Sony FX7 to capture high definition videos, and then sudenly my firewire (DV) connection in the camera is not working !
Then I bought this very nice camera just to transfer my HD miniDVs to PC, since most of the new cameras now are digital, and I hardly found this one new in these days.
Thanks B&H.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

I will often use 4 or 5 tapes with 2 to 4 camcorders and prefer DVC tapes to memory chips.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

This is a great camera for video producers. We have used it for several productions and for Friday Night Football filming. Very reliable and well made.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

We weren't ready to go to memory based recording for our application. We needed to use MiniDV and we needed a quality, easy to use camera at a good price. This met every critiria. Our videos look great. The camera is easy to setup, easy to use. We are very pleased with the product.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

This is a replacement for one that was damaged by being knocked over on a tripod during fieldwork. It is the last consumer camcorder using tape that Sony made. Tape is still the best medium for ethnographic documentation. I recently shot 20 hours at a First Nations youth & elders camp. I dub onto DVD with a Sony DVD recorder and then use DVDxDVPro software to select clips and export them onto a hard drive for import into Final Cut Express. It saves a lot of time locating things on the tape and I have the tape both as an archive and as an HD source if I want to make a video in HD rather than SD.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

We use the HC9 to document the many activities of our organization, [@]. That includes daily life of 3,000+ orphans living in our 100+ homes in Cambodia. The roads are rough and so the HC9 has held up very well to the bouncing and jostling and the wind and dirt. Many of the places we visit don't have electricity so, low light capability and long battery life are very important and the HC9 does very well in capturing good images under less than ideal conditions. We use the footage to create DVDs to inform our donors what's happening and they love it. Starting off with HD footage and then converting down to SD for the DVD gives us a much better final product than staying SD from start to end. We're very glad to have the HC9 because of the quality of the images, the active hot shoe for our Bluetooth wireless mics, the ease of editing HDV vs AVCHD, the LANC control really helps for zoom control and headphone out is a must. This has everything we NEED and more.The only thing that would make this unit better is simultaneous recording of video to the memory stick. That way one could transfer footage faster than real time and you could archive the tape. This is what we do with the Sony HVR-Z7U. So the only downside to the HC9 is no video recording capability to the memory card.Looking forward to adding a few more HC9's to our collection, just wish the pricing would go back down.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

The camcorder does record beautiful HD video provided there is ample light. I found that for ourdoor events, this camcorder performs well. I am quite disappointed in the performance in low light situations. The autofocus is very slow, much slower than the older model Sony TRV-11 ( my previous camcorder ). There were many times where I missed the shot because of slow autofocus. Night shot was'nt much better. Overall, I can't recommend this camcorder because of this major flaw.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

I bought this camera because I prefer tape and I wanted something I could put in a race car but also use in personal projects and to make instructional and event videos. It has done great for the couple of years I have had it. I would love to have more control over the camera settings when it is turned one, such as to use the previous manual focus setting, and others. The slow-mo feature is also very nice, though I which it would run longer, maybe up to the capacity of the memory card. Also would have loved to have A/V-in capabilities as I often have to use bullet cams in my work.

But, I have had problems. At certain zooms the corners of the view are blacked out, as if an aperture was out of place. Also, the image has started to jitter, and this is not normal image stabilization. Search Vimeo for the HDR-HC9 and you will find my example.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

I used this product for birthday party and the quality was amazing.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

This camera has done great work for me. I have used it to produce several short documentaries, as well as a great deal of travel and home video. I have shot many concerts with this camera as well, and it performs very well in low-light settings. The sound quality is good with internal mics, but it also includes an external mic input. Very solid construction.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

I been a professional videographer for the last 20 years. I have two of these camcorders and have video at least 100 weddings with them and I could not be more pleased. I have a long list of brides thanking me for how much they loved there video.[...]

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

Once again Sony makes a great product. Images look great, easy to use.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

Good camcorder for price. I use it at small worship room. It show to me very clear video quality.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

Travel Docs, Verite docs, anything where you need to be low profile but demand HD quality video.

This little camera is perfect for shooting a documentary on the road. Act like a tourist and people won't freak out. I highly urge you however to also purchase the Sony Blue Tooth wireless Mic kit where the wireless receiver will connect to the camera's hot shoe. People will think you had a sound man with you.

My main complaints are the manual controls. If you want control over aperture, no problem. If you want control over focus, no problem. But of you want control over aperture and focus at the same time... Not so easy!

My other beef would be lack of Shutter speed settings. They are only three or four settings. If you find yourself shooting under 50 cycle lights with an NTSC version of the camera, you only have a 100 shutter speed setting to compensate for the flicker.It cuts too much light and often doesn't erase the flicker. Would be nice if Sony allowed you to dial in 50 frames per second or at least give you a preset for this problem.

It doesn't shoot "progressive" but you can easily achieve the progressive look in editing with the right software.

One last thing. Because it is such a small camera, do not expect image stabilization to compensate for shaky hands. Buy a small light-weight tripod with fluid head and use it as much as possible. You will be much happier back in the edit room. Also, practice ways to be a human tripod. Use light poles, railings, and walls to stabilize yourself. I find sitting and resting both elbows on my knees while holding the camera with two hands can make even a telephoto shot look rock solid.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

I am giving the HC9 5 stars for now. I have shot some footage with it and it is smooth and well balanced. The anti-shake works much better than with other cameras of a similar size. I wanted a camera that still used DV tapes which I use to store all of my original video. Much better than cards which are expensive and easy to lose, or taking the chance of losing on a hard drive. Also, the HDV files are easy to work with in my video production company. I travel quite a bit and this camera produces good quality HDV images without having to lug around my Sony Z1U.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

You may think me a Luddite. I prefer tape to hard drive camcorders which can loose everything when bumped. If you are using flash based camcorders on a long shoot, you have to lug along a comparatively bulky computer to download to, and then be careful you don't bump it and again loose everything. Mini-DV cassettes are convenient for extended shooting such as when traveling and a good backup once you get home and download to your home computer's hard drive. I always buy the largest (8 hour) battery available, and have never had to worry about running out of power. I've never had to actually use the battery that came with the unit for backup.

The HDV standard for HD format on mini-DV cassettes is 1440x1080i, despite Canon's claim of 1920x1440i and Sony's claim of "Full HD". There's a lot of professional HD shot in the HDV 1440x1080i format.

The main reason I picked the HDR-HC9 is that it is the only reasonably priced HD camcorder that has a LANC input so I can use a Varizoom controller when shooting sports. To make your zooms seamless, always make sure you are panning, even slightly, when you start and stop your zoom.
This camcorder's built-in microphones actually have better sound quality than many of the expensive accessory microphones I've tried on the unit.
The HD Picture quality is excellent, though not quite as good in very low light levels as more recent designs.
The optical image stabilization is good for hand-held shooting, but don't forget to shut it off when using your fluid head tripod or the picture may jump when you change panning direction.
The camcorder's slow motion playback is smooth and other worldly. I've spent many hours enthralled watching polo, archery, figure skating and other action sports I shot with this HD camera and played in slow motion.
One would be hard pressed to see any difference in the picture quality of the HDR-HC9 and professional units, assuming the same photographer skills.

One trick I learned in bright sunlight is to adjust the LCD display to be fully illuminated by the sun rather than mess about and squint with LCD shades.

There are some frustrating "features" Sony engineers put into the HDR-HC9.
1. The zoom control is "hair trigger", but this can be overcome using a Varizoom controller.
2. The manual exposure control responds in steps that are too large.
3. All of the outputs in SD of an HD taping ( S-video, composite and even the I-link digital output) are much too dark and feature a muddy look like a nicotine stain when compared to the HD HDMI output. I can't figure this out because the differences in picture quality between DVDs and BluRay are very much less. While you can shoot and play SD on this camera, I've never tried it.
4. The viewfinders show less than what ends up on your HDTV! With the tel extender, you won't see the vignetting on your viewfinder that shows up on your HDTV as you zoom out.
5. The coded data (date, time, camera settings) is not accessible with the supplied remote. An older Sony remote will put the Data Code on the screen for you.
6. The wide angle accessory lens blurs at infinity.

When compared to DSLR video cameras, motion is reproduced a lot smoother. I cannot stand the jerky motion that DSLR video cameras have on sports action and pans, though some prefer this "cinema look". The HDR-HC9 has much better built-in microphones than any DSLR, so you don't have to mess about with external microphones much of the time. It shoots 6Mpixel stills, which readily blow up to high quality 8x10s. Even stills captured off the HD video tape reproduce passably to 8x10. So on a trip, with a choice of one camera, I'd pick the HDR-HC9 over any DSLR.

I now own three HDR-HC9s. The second was bought to ensure I could play my tapes in the future should one die. Early on, my first unit developed problems with its clock and settings battery, followed by the unit being reluctant to release its tape cassette. The first warranty repair resulted in its inability to play previously recorded tapes, even though they played on a Canon. The problems were rectified under Sony's one year warranty after 3 months in the shop. A couple of years later the exact same problem occurred, and Sony's repair estimate was 90% of the cost of a new one! So I bought a third unit, this time with extended warranty.

Would I do it over again? Yes I would.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

We use this camera to tape a "wide" shot of high school football games. We needed a "smaller" profile camera with ilink and firewire output. We stack this camera ontop of a 3 chip camera using a Monfrotto 492LCD onto the shoe mount and it works great!

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

This Camcorder will replace the DCR-PC-1000 that suddenly quit on me. I will enjoy the HD format and still be able to view my old std DV tspes. As a replacement it's a bit pricy for a model that is almost in extinction. The Canon Vixia HV40 costs about $300 less but I decided to stay w/the Sony family. Sony should pay me for my loyalty. I'm still experimenting the Camcorder so I don't have much to tell, may be after my next cruise I could.

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

Great overall camcorder

Comments about Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder:

* How i use the product:

-I used this cam on a documentary trip to a small town in the amazon forest.
-we used an external stereo mic connected to it via p2 cable.
-ALWAYS monitor your audio closely when doing this!
we got 95% of our audio, but the 5% we missed due to some error(plug not fully in or smthg?) was quite important.

* Things that are great about it:

-price/quality relation is great.
-image quality is very good.
-menu is simple to use.
(we used a cotton tip to access the touch screen, that kept it nice and clean so we could actually see what we were shooting and it conserves the equipment-durability).
-interaction with mac, perfect.
-light and small, if mounted on a decent tripod,
makes amazing shots, you'd never believe it came from such small equipment.
-battery life, awesome.

* Things that aren't so great about it:

-THE SINGLE WORST THING IS THE FOCUS DIAL.
just horrible.
if this cam had a focus ring by the lens it would be soooo much better.
got work around that.