Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DCR-HC47 Handycam Mini Dv Camcorder With 2.7'' LCD Screen

This is my first camcorder so this is no expert review!

What I needed:

1) a small camcorder. I have tiny hands so some heavy brute of a device would have been no good.
2) I needed a format suitable for editing. I really like the hard disc models but to edit footage from these camcorders you need to convert to DV first, then edit, then reconvert to mpeg 2 - all of this resulting in a loss of quality.
3) Long battery life - I am going on a long trip and want to use the camcorder for long periods.
4) Not expensive!! Only have a limited budget.

As a result of all of the above I chose the Sony DCR HC47.

This is a widescreen model that comes with a Handycam station for all your connections to the pc, TV etc.

The camcorder is small but to be honest, it is still a little too big for my hands. I would have been better off with a hard disk model in this respect. However for the majority of people the camcorder would be fine.

The quality of the video is superb in adequate lighting. Colours are vivid and the detail is amazing. Low light performance though is another matter. The image gets very grainy and a lot of colour is lost. This is because the CCD is only 1/6 inch. As far as I understand it, the smaller the sensor, the less light that can get in. The larger the sensor, the more light received. If you look at higher end models you will see that the CCD size is around 1/3 or 1/2.

I did try the nightshot option - this results in an effect like you would see on "most haunted". Unless that is the effect you are after then don't bother. Best low light results were obtained by manually adjusting the settings. As far as I am aware, low light performance on most camcorders in this range is about the same.

As regards battery life, not amazing with the supplied battery but it has exceeded the quoted time of 55 minutes though which is not bad. Extra stamina batteries can be purchased to extend your recording time which is something I will certainly be doing.

I have tried some editing on the footage taken and I have been very happy with the results so far. You will need a firewire port and cable for this purpose though - I bought a firewire PCI card from Amazon which was a doddle to install.

NB. One last point, Sony use a touchscreen method of accessing settings, menus etc. Why I ask? You get grubby finger marks all over the LCD in no time at all. A little jog dial or similar would have been a better option. If you get this camcorder - get a cleaning cloth to keep with it at all times.

Just got this camcorder, my first, and am very impressed so far. Picture quality is great in sunlight and indoors with good lighting, not bad in low light certainly as good as would be expected. Detail on 25x zoom is incredibly clear. Handycam station is great as just slot it in and you can charge and transfer to computer via firewire (need to buy firewire cable separately). I've got a mac and transfers to imovie no problems, have to fiddle with the settings to get imovie to import video in widescreen but burnt my first dvd within a few hours of having camcorder. Plugs into my sony LCD with supplied cable and can watch the videos straight back. Touch screen LCD is easy to use. Went for miniDV format after some research as best quality at present and easiest to edit, for £250 is great value and will last a couple of years until high def and HDD camcroders are cheaper.

Wanted a replacement for my old Panasonic mini-dv camcorder,which was falling apart after 4 years of hard use.Shopped around and decided against the dvd versions(because not sure of reliability)and hard-drive models(no colour view-finder,why not?).
Bought this model for £239 delivered,which still is a bargain,especially for a 1 meg version.
So far impressed with the unit,although I feel the batteries are a rip off if bought in the UK,try US web-sites,maybe there is a bargain to be had as the prices quoted in dollars are half the price of the UK quoted prices.
Also it's a shame the software to transfer to a PC is very basic.
It's still a good bit of kit despite those two little niggles and would recommend the camcorder to anyone.

I love this camera. Bought as a replacement for my JVC which died suddenly I went for the HC47 on the basis of various reviews I've read. It's easy to operate, a good selection of features and if you buy the infoLithium battery you have up to five hours recording time available. The only let-down is filming in low light conditions, but I was aware of this when I purchased it and that's the only reason I have given it 4/5. I haven't tried to use the i.LINK, i download the movies via a USB cable and edit the films using Sony Vegas Movie Studio which is a dream to work with.

The only problem I have is that I can't put it down, it's just so much fun to use!

I bought this camera in May and again in August!!!! Why, because cant get the darn thing to download via IIlink to computer.

Amazon first class service, refunded no probs, but I really want this camera, or one that does work. We tried it on our computer, my brothers 3 computers and none of them could find the camera on the Ilink.

Reported it to Sony who advised us to download updates for software, which we had already done about 5 times all to no avail. So back it goes again. Fortunately my brother has made our films (daughters wedding!!) into DVD's for us through his canon. What shall we do, do we persevere and try again or just try a different camera. Also have bought loads of tapes and 2 extra betteries for this model.

Anyone else had this problem or know a solution?? Or recommend a different make and model .

P.S. Have now bought another one from local Sony centre (different batch obviously) and it is fine. Lovely camera, cant do better for price and Amazon provides a top class service.