Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DCR-HC27 Handycam Mini DV Camcorder

I wanted a basic, reasonable quality point and shoot camcorder for as little money as possible and that's exactly what you get. It's also quite well made which surprised me considering what it costs. It's amazing you can create your own films for such little money! The only slight criticism I have is that the wide angle setting is not that wide, but apart from that you can't really go wrong for the money.

Firstly, the price: I got mine for £128 and its just gone in the sale at local Sony shop for £150, so Amazon is the place to buy!
Secondly, the features: This camera isn't loaded with feature its plain and simple, point and shoot. It has a fantastic 'Night-Shot Plus' mode which works fantastically!
Third, recording quality: Quality of the image is absolutely amazing and the 20X zoom is all you need and has perfect clarity. An old JVC DV camcorder I had (which actually broke after only 2 years!) was awful with tape noise and also zoom noise, but this is very minimal only a slight bit of tape noise can be heard when recordings are very quiet.
Fourth, the design: The fact that this has a touch screen (which is really easy to use and very clear) means that there are very few buttons on it making it look less vulgar than many other products and it is very small and compact and looks great!

Other reviews say that it doesn't come with enough accessories but this is supposed to be a bottom of the range stripped down model so you can't expect too much for what your paying, besides I got 5 tapes for a tenner at ASDA and Firewires are dirt cheap if you look in the right places.

So my advice, don't be expecting too much but get it if you don't wanna spend an arm and a leg.
This is what I got for Christmas and was absolutely overjoyed with it!

had some gift vouchers to use so ordered this cc wed night - delivered following monday via super saver delivery - previously had an old hi-8 cc which i've had for years so couldnt believe how much smaller this was - could literally slip it into pocket - fold out screen turns all ways and gives excellent picture and also has touch screen controls - so easy to use that my 5 year old has been ''shooting'' videos on it - picture on tv when hooked up via av cable is 100x better than old hi-8 - all i all i cant fault this device - 5 stars

It does what it says on the tin could equally apply to this brilliant camcorder. I wanted an idiot's model which I point and shoot. This is it. Buy a firewire and it instantly transfers to PC and makes DVD copies within minutes. I went to my neice's wedding on a Saturday and by Sunday night I had delivered a lovely momento of their day. If you want an inexpensive, value for money camera, with some really good features, look no further.

Very simple to use, does most things 'out of the box' with no need for much user input beyond switching it on, pointing & pressing the REC button (its in red for maximum ease of spotting!)

There are the usual options to change things like effects for how pictures look etc but really this is for people who just want to video, with some simple menu options which are quick to learn.

Its light, small & fits nicely into one hand. Its quite well made too.

Couple of points to note: there is no editing software included (use Windows Media Centre or Photo Gallery) nor is there any cable to link your camcorder to your PC.

Both these omissions are unusual & seem a bit cheap of SONY, for which I've deducted 1 star.

You do get a short 'how to shoot videos' DVD which - once you ignore the childish & annoying cartoon 'guide' - is actually quite useful.

(the lack of any bundled cassette is normal industry practise)

Using a firewall cable I've found the video transfer to my PC (running Windows VISTA) painless & fairly quick.

All in all a good buy which I purchased from Debenhams in Birmingham for just £130 a couple of weeks ago.