Sony DCRHC36 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder with 20x

I love this item.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I did tons of research on this item before purchasing it.(Amazon had the best price.) It has many great features and has helped us capture tons of memories in the short time that we’ve had it. You can just turn it on and use it, but I suggest reading the manual to make use of its full potential.

DANGER! PICTURE PACKAGE!
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The camera works great but …Neither Sony nor Pixela, the makers of the Picture Package software that comes with some Sony camcorders with mini-disks tells you that the software IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS XP, SERVICE PACK 2! It will crash your computer or not work properly. DO NOT install the Picture Package software if you have run Windows XP. If you have a DVD player on your computer, you can download the photos from the mini-disk without this dangerous software. Shame on Sony and Pixela for selling the software to Windows XP users or including it with the camera without a warning.

You get what you pay…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought it a week ago. Tried some shooting and transfered from HC36 tape to PC smoothly with firewire connection (not USB)and Windows Movie Maker/Sony Vegas 6.0. The picture quality is good for resolution up to 720×480 (high quality). Don’t expect too much from this handycam, only the basic video shooting will do. If you want to make ‘Hollywood-like’ movie, this is not the right choice. You need to have spare battery, the standard is about 80 minutes. One of the reason I chose Sony HC series is you can have an optional battery(NPFP90) up to around 500 minutes. For me it is important as I don’t want to carry a lot of spare batteries and keep changing batteries while travelling in remote area.

For me it’s a good product for what I paid.

Great camcorder depending on what you want to do with it.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I just got this camera the other day. And so far, I’m in love with it. I am a photographer and a video artist, and I had a nicer Sony camera that broke, and I was seeking out a replacement. The DCR-HC36 has a much lower quality image than my old camera, however its exactly what i’ve been looking for. Small, portable, and grainy. I still would like to get a nicer video camera to replace the old one. But I think that this camera is what the Holga is when talking about medium format film cameras. It has its charm and you definatly get a certain look to what you record.

This camera seems like it would be good for someone who just wants to film their kids or family events. However, if you want something with better image quality, spend the money and take a step up. However, i would also recomend this camera for a video production student, its got plenty of manual features and the 20x optical zoom is great.

Easy to use, poor software and service
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I just bought a Sony Handycam DCR-HC36. The features are good, and easy to use when you shoot videos. If you play the video on the TV directly, it’s not bad. However, when you use the software bundled with the camcorder, Picture Package to convert it to digital format, you can only convert it to a VCD. The quality of the converted VCD wasn’t good at all. It doesn’t convert it to higher resolution MPEG2 file. In addition, with this software, you can’t save it directly onto a file in the computer. You have to convert it to burn a VCD then load the file.

The USB driver which comes with the software to support the USB stream function is incompatible with a lot of brand names of computers. I have to try several computers to make the PC to recognize the camcorder. The tech support at Sony is not supportive at all. They tried some low level tricks and then just told me to talk to PC vendors.

Searching through internet, one can easily find many similar complaints about the bundled software and USB connection misfunction. It seems that Sony or the software company has never had intention to solve it. How difficult would it be for a company like Sony to solve the problem, if they really want to do it?

In short, if all of the features work, it’s an OK camcoder for the price. However, you have to keep your fingers crossed.

Nice features, poor play-back video quality…
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
All,

This camera is packed with features, almost too many. If you’ve worked with other hitech devices the menu is very logical. The play-back video quality is kind of grainy and my older chunky Sony Camcorder has better picture quality, I expected better from this newer model. Camera is not for the beginner. This model comes with all the cables. The model below this (HC-32) comes without some of the cables and the features of this one. So better to spend the extra money and get this one than go searching on e-bay for all the obscure connectors. Being able to record onto Memory Stick Duo Pro is neat, but quality is even lower and they don’t give you a starter stick. You need a real steady hand with this camera. The camera is incredibly compact.

/

Brian

a little disappointed
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The image quality is good (just as any DV camera). Connecting the cables directly to the camera with no need of any base or cradle is also very good. With USB connection you can use this camera also as webcam when at home, and you can even show recorded images on your tapes through as if it is a live image. The audio quality of the microfone rocks! (really really good) And it can also be used as USB microfone with the webcam.

Perhaps, I got disappointed with some important features:

- It does not have any led light that shows if the camera is recording of not (VERY BAD!).

- It can not take shots if you are recording in widescreen mode.

- If you don’t want to mess up your battery, you have to take it off from the camera, because it does not detect that the battery is already charged. This is terrible when you are using the camera at home with the AC adapter: always remeber to remove the battery.

- Night vision is badly placed, so when you attach an extenal lens, the light is covered. Also, when not using an external lens, it only works when very close to the subject.

The last point i think is a general DV cams problem: don’t waste your money with a 1GB or 512MB memory stick to store pictures. The picture quality is terrible, it’s only 0.3 megapixel (640×480). An old 64MB memory stick is enough, unless you want to store videos on it, but why you’ll want to do that if you have DV tapes???

Sony DCR-HC36 MiniDV
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Overall, I am satisfied with the camera. I did not like the software which came with the camera. It appeared to be very basic, and I prefer using Studio. The transfer images are better than analog, but still are not as crisp as when played directly to a TV. It is relatively simple to use, but I find myself continuing to go back to the manual for some applications.

For the money it is possibly a very good camera and very adequate for home use to record the special memories.

Picture Package software is awful – Shame on you Sony!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I’ve been buying Sony products for years and have always been satisfied. While this camera operates fine, the Picture Package software that comes with the product is GARBAGE!

If you have Microsoft XP Service Pack 2, DO NOT INSTALL THIS SOFTWARE! I did and when I’d run the software to capture video, a fatal error message would pop up on my screen, something about “RunDLL as an App” but if I click Send, or Don’t Send (doesn’t matter) it would pop up again. It would never stop popping up.

So I uninstalled the software from my system (there are three uninstallers), but even after rebooting, it keeps popping the error message up. This software has corrupted my operating system! Every time I run my computer now, this error message pops up and I cannot dismiss it. I have to just move it to the side and live with it.

So I called the tech support number listed in the manual and the support person explained to me that to uninstall the software one must simply delete two folders on the hard drive. He said that there are no uninstallers for the software but I found them in the Control Panel!

He also explained that this software is incompatible with XP Service Pack 2! Well, thanks for the warning! He also said there are no plans to fix this software to ever work on XP Service Pack 2! Sony really blew it this time.

Anyway, even after running the uninstallers, and deleting the contents of the Sony Corporation folder and the InstallShield folder, I scanned my system registry and found Picture Package dll registration entries all over the place!

When I explained about the system registry entries that remained after uninstallation, the support person explained that it was way over his head, that they were not trained to know anything about that. Yet more evidence that offshoring technical support is a bad business strategy.

Well, this software has now broken my computer and I will have to pay Microsoft tech support on my credit card to have them help me fix the damage that was done.

I asked if I could talk to a supervisor of if there was a site or email address I could use to get better assistance and was told “no”. However, he said he’d forward my problem to Japan.

SHAME ON YOU SONY! You have lost your face!

Erik Thomas

An Easy-to-use Starter Video Camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The Sony DCR-HC36 is very easy to use, especially with the “EASY” setting turned on. Picture quality in well-lit places is pretty good. However, the color quality suffers in low-light situations, with a somewhat bluish tint occurring.

The camera can be hooked up to a PC or Mac via Firewire (iLink) or USB. I hook up the camera to my Mac Mini via Firewire and the iMovie software works great with it. iMovie can control the camera pretty well. The camera can also act as a web cam (via Firewire) using Yahoo! Messenger on the Mac.

Incredibly bad
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Shortly after I purchased this camcorder (within hours), I returned it to Best Buy. I think my old Hi8 Sony camcorder had better picture quality then this one. It has good features, and I liked the sleek design, but in the end, the quality of the video is ultimately what I am looking for. The video it recorded was very pixelated and grainy. I have been told there is other options to make the picture better by a best buy customer service rep, but there is none. I had reservations about buying another Sony product, but everyone was telling me Sony leads the pack with their camcorders. Those folks were wrong. I bought the Canon Elura 100 and is much happier with that products video capabilities. I think my experience with this Sony product was the final nail in the coffin, I won’t be buying anymore Sony products. My advice is, stay away from this unit. You will regret it, just read all the other customer feed back on CNET and you will understand.

It’s ok … nothing special. And the night vision is useless
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I just bought this because my panasonic minidv broke (tape insert would not open). I thought this would be cool, because of the built in night vision. However, this is a totally useless feature. It turns everything into black & white, and makes everyone’s eyes look like big white dots like a deer staring into a headlight of the car. Certainly not a way you want to remember family events, which is what I purchased this for. If I can do it over again, I would buy something that has a light mounted on the front of the camera. This nightvision feature is useless. Overall, the camera records moview, so I guess it works fine.

Sony DCR-HC36…Buyer beware!!!
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I purchased the Sony DCR-HC36 last December(2006) and while the picture quality was just ‘okay’ for us, we were content for a year. Recently though when we try to capture the video on any one of our computers (via USB)the picture is broken-down into digital squares and unlegible as well as there is no sound. I downloaded fresh drivers and installed them but nothing worked. We have only used the camera a total of 25 times and it has never been dropped or banged around but it is putting garbage now and we can’t seem to figure out why. The Sony site does NOT have a troubleshooting link to help figure this out and we refuse to put a dime into getting it repaiered since it really is not that good of a deal anyway. We do NOT recommend this camera to anyone. Do your research.

colour is not good
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
DCR HC36. I bought this camera just two days before. But the colour quality is not at the expected level.

It is showing only 50 % of the colours. I dont know what to do?

I spent a lot of money to buy the camera.If any others are facing the same problem please let me know.Only my camera is like that or all sony cameras are like that.

The Sweet Spot
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After having used an old bread-loaf-sized Sony 8mm camcorder with great success for many years, I felt it was time for an upgrade. Modern feature-packed MiniDV cameras have become very reasonably priced, as the DCR-HC36′s barely $300 price tag attests, so it was only a matter of which features I wanted – I prefer a powerful telephoto lens, and Sony has a curious habit of reducing zoom power the higher up the product line you go, so even though the HC36 is middle-of-the-road in the Sony camcorder lineup, its full 20x optical zoom made it a natural choice.

Modern MiniDV cameras are also very reasonably sized; occupying less than half a cubic foot, the HC36 weighs in at less than a pound even with the battery and tape. That’s about large cheeseburger size, or the size of a digital camera from a few years ago. Despite toy-like dimensions, the sculpted duo-tone exterior and handsome chrome lens bezel lend to a quality look and finish.

Those of you intimidated by the arms-length list of features who “just want to hit record and go” will be glad to know that the HC36 has an Easy button. Located right next to the Sony logo on the left side of the camera is a blue button labeled – yes, really – “Easy”. Pressing this button puts the camera into everything-automatic mode, and also increases the size of text on the display (very handy for the reading glasses set), allowing the old-school and I’m-not-technical school alike to record full quality video. You don’t even have to know how to flip out the LCD screen, the Easy button literally makes the camcorder point-and-shoot.

The more technically inclined are accommodated with tailored personalization. Nearly all the camera’s functions are controlled by the touch screen LCD’s menu system, but Sony uses a clever shortcut; A personalized menu which you can set to display the features you want – any camera function, such as exposure, white balance, etc., can be set as a menu button; A single touch of the LCD brings up the menu of buttons you’ve set to display. No scrolling through menus to get to some deeply-buried function, just press the screen and there’s the menu that you made with your functions. This system is in some cases faster than physical buttons on the camera itself!

And there’s no shortage of functions to play with. The HC36 features two different levels of night vision; “Nightshot Plus” employs an infra-red lamp on the front of the camera providing a fully lit view up to about ten feet even in total darkness, while “Super Nightshot Plus” bumps up the light sensitivity by slowing the shutter speed – great for distance viewing in low light, or shots of the night sky (night vision can see stars that you can’t). A Tele Macro function captures close-up sharp images from a few feet away, and the Spot Focus feature makes focusing a breeze – just touch what you want focused on the touch-screen and it focuses to that object.

There’s the usual basic palette of picture effects and faders included, but the true video editor will of course want to use the computer, which is what the MiniDV format was made for. An i.LINK jack (i.LINK is Sony’s name for Firewire/IEEE1394, they’re one and the same) is provided for a quick and quality connection. A note to the uninitiated: *DO NOT use a USB connection to export video to your computer.* The USB format is slower and will result in poorer-quality video. Connecting by Firewire provides a better-than-TV image using the right software – I avoid using bundled software when possible, and would recommend using Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 or Sony’s own Vegas DVD program, both of which offer free trials to see which you prefer.

The HC36′s still picture feature is a novelty; you must purchase/provide a Memory Stick Duo for the function to work, and while 640×480 VGA size images are nothing compared to a digital camera, it can be entertaining when combined with the camcorder’s other features – using the digital zoom and NightShot for example, you can capture an image from several hundred feet away in near darkness. Fun, but a real digital camera is still the way to go for photographs.

Connections are the HC36′s weak point. The aforementioned Firewire jack is there, but the cable is not included. An analog video/audio jack (out only, no in) is provided along with RCA-ended cable to connect to your television or analog source, but because the jack and cable are non-standard and unique, should you lose the cable, you’ll have to go to Sony to get another. And there’s no mic input. The built-in stereo mic can record 16-bit high-quality audio, but a camcorder with this many features should have this one more.

Overall, the HC36 is the sweet spot in the Sony camcorder lineup, a big-quality features-heavy camcorder in a small, lightweight package, with a tiny price to match. Five stars for Sony’s movie-making multi-tool.

(Addendum: Why not DVD? DVD camcorders offer similar features, however you must pay hundreds more for a DVD camera than a similarly-featured MiniDV cam. They’re also noticably larger, and DVDs aren’t nearly as easy to work with – You must format a DVD before using it, which requires setting the camera on a steady surface and waiting several moments. Recording at the highest quality setting, a camcorder DVD will hold only 20 minutes, and then you must “finalize” the disc before playing it in any other DVD player. Should you need to replace the DVD during an important timely event, or forget to finalize the disc before giving it to someone or storing it, you’re pretty much out of luck. Because the DVD camcorder system is set up to just play the DVD as-is, editing or getting the video on computer can be a long and very complicated process. Whereas MiniDV tapes last an hour, were made for editing, and offer slap-it-in-and-go convenience. If you have the extra money and just want to play back video as you shot it, a DVD camcorder is a possibility, but at a fraction of the price and complication, the MiniDV cam is the bang-for-the-buck convenience-is-king winner.)

Good camcorder for the money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I purchased the HC36 as a backup to a Sony VX2000. I filmed a play in low light and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the video. I was able to intermix the video from the HC36 with the VX2000 with only a slight difference in quality. The onboard mic was also excellent! more than I expected. I hadn’t planned on using the audio from this camcorder, but in the end I did use about 20% of the audio for a 2-hour production.

I have owned several camcorders over the years and I’m always pleased with the quality of Sony. I will definitely use the HC36 as a backup for wedding shoots.

Good bang for the buck.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera tonight, and after a little confusion, I am pleased. There are other reviewers out there that state you can only transfer the video to VCD. The problem is that the documentation is unclear about this. All you have to do is go to Start Menu>Picture Package>Handycam Tools>Video Capturing Tool.

I shot a small test video, transferred it, and all is well. I will recommend getting a Firewire cord when you buy the Camcorder, as it does not come with one. The quality on the firewire vs. USB video is more than noticable.

All in all, a good starter cam with more than enough features to keep you playing for some time.

Sony DCR HC36
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It was for me an exellent purchase, also the delivery time. The operation of the camera is easy and the resolution great.

I am very happy.

excellent camcorder.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This Camcorder has excellent features for the price…most important is the quality of video both in daylight and night use and it tops the canon and samsung brands as I have tried both…just in answer to the guy in new york with software issues…it clearly states in the manual that to use the “click to DVD ” feature you can only do this with Firewire (sony calls it I-link) and not with a USB connection.

Nice Camcorder with Great Features
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We replaced an older JVC miniDV camcorder with this one. I’m impressed with the Carl Zeiss Lens it comes with. It is pretty small but I’m getting used to that. I’ll get another Sony when I’m ready to upgrade this one but it won’t be for awhile because this one is more than adequate for what we’re using it for. (Family movies).

really good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
its really good.i sent india this item.them told me its working great.good capturing and good quality.really great item.

poor video, stills too small
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I have promised myself to stop buying Sony. This camera has broken the camel’s back so to speak. The pictures are grainy. The stills are useless. There was no reason to make and sell this product except to fool some people (me) into buying outdated technology with a good brand name. They ripped me off with their DVD player before and now with this. It is the last time I let them do this to me though. Goodbye Sony.

GREAT PURCHASE
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It was for me an exellent purchase, also the delivery time. The operation of the camera is easy and the resolution great.

Thanks

excellent transaction.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
the first camera sent had problems. the seller assisted me in a hassle free return for a new camera.