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  • Performance

  • Format

  • Auto / Manual Controls

  • Still Features

  • Handling and Use

  • Audio / Playback / Connectivity

  • Other Features

  • Comparisons / Conclusion

  • Photo Gallery

  • Specs and Ratings

  • Performance
  • Format
  • Auto / Manual Controls
  • Still Features
  • Handling and Use
  • Audio / Playback / Connectivity
  • Other Features
  • Comparisons / Conclusion
  • Photo Gallery
  • Specs and Ratings

Performance

The Sony DCR-HC38 comes equipped with the standard low-end imager, a 1/6" CCD with a gross pixel count of 680,000 and an effective pixel count of 340,000. With an imager this small, it might be able to pull off a decent performance in bright light, but not in low light.

At 3000 lux, the image certainly looked every bit its price tag. The color performance is dull, which is a little surprising. Most of the time, when a manufacturer wants to mask poor image quality it boosts the saturation, often through the roof. Perhaps it’s to Sony’s credit that they chose to imbue the HC38 with a more natural color palette. Or they forget. Who can say? In any case, the colors will be considered passable by undiscerning shooters. The image is also noisy, noisier than an image should be in bright light. The noise is a fine grain, black-ish fizz, similar to low-end Panasonic camcorders.

Last year’s DCR-HC36 is essentially identical. We see the same color performance and the same quality of noise. This year’s Canon ZR850 is identical in MSRP to the DCR-HC38. The ZR850, however, is blessed with a better imager. It’s still 1/6", but packs in 1,070,000 pixels. It’s not surprising that the picture looked much sharper than either Sony. The color palette was very similar. The cheaper Canon ZR830, which has 680,000 pixels, offered the same sharpness, but much, less noise. Finally, last year’s Panasonic PV-GS39 had the same type of fine grain, black noise. Again, the color performance was almost identical. Sony pushed the blues a little more, and Panasonic favored the greens.

Overall, the Sony DCR-HC38 is par for the price.

Video Resolution* (5.25)*

To test the DCR-HC38's video resolution output, we shoot a DSC Labs video resolution chart and review the playback footage on an HD monitor. The camcorder produced an approximate horizontal resolution of 350 lines widths per picture height (lw/ph) and a vertical resolution of 300 lw/ph).

Low Light Performance* (3.9)*

The Sony DCR-HC38 is not likely to fare well in low light due to the single 1/6" CCD and the poor track record of low-end Sonys in this test. At 60 lux (moderately low light), the camcorder produced a very noisy image. The noise was thick and black in most areas. In neutral color areas – greys, whites, blacks – and in anything blue or violet, we saw a lot of blue fine grain noise as well. Blue noise has been a problem with low-end Sonys for years, and we’re not seeing any improvement with this camcorder.

Last year’s direct antecedent, the DCR-HC36, had a very similar image. Noise was the primary issue in that camcorder, too. The HC36 pushed the saturation levels a little higher, which can be considered a boon in low light, as long as they don’t skew too far from the actual color. Side by side, the HC36 gives a stronger image. The Canon ZR850 was much darker, offering no competition for color performance. The Panasonic PV-GS39 looked best under 60 lux conditions, with the highest exposure and a finer grain noise than Sony camcorders.

At 15 lux, the Sony DCR-HC38 lost pretty much everything. There was almost no color information and the camcorder had difficulty focusing. The fine detail was lost under the immense amount of noise. Last year’s DCR-HC36 definitely looked better, managing to salvage some color and remain in focus. The Canon ZR850 was an even draw with the HC38. Again, we saw no color and very little fine detail. The Panasonic PV-GS39 retained both color and detail, and managed to stave off noise admirably (for a camcorder in its price range). We hope to see the same thing from entry-level Panasonics this year.

The Sony DCR-HC38 was able to produce 50 IRE at 13 lux. Under an even 60 lux lighting, Imatest imaging software reported a color error of 17.8, with a noise level of 2.385% and a color saturation of 51.9%.

Stabilization* (3.28)*

The Sony DCR-HC38 is equipped with an electronic image stabilization (EIS), which works, in short, by removing a portion of the imaging chip from normal use and applying them to the task of stabilizing the picture. By cutting down on the number of pixels used, your overall image quality is suffering. Optical image stabilization is preferable. Using our custom built shake emulator, we tested the DCR-HC38’s EIS effectiveness by recording footage at two speeds. Speed one simulated the gravitational force applied to the camcorder when walking slowly with it. Speed two simulated a light jog with the camcorder, or a recording from a tempestuous boat. The DCR-HC38’s EIS produced a 50% shake reduction at speed one, but did not affect speed two with a shake reduction of 0%. This tells us that the HC38’s EIS is only going to help with slight hand wobbles. Anything after that, and you’ll want to use a tripod.

Wide Angle* (10.4)
*We measured the wide angle of the Sony DCR-HC38, pulling the zoom all the way back and turning the electronic image stabilization off. The HC38 was able to achieve a wide angle of 52 degrees, the same as Sony’s entry-level DVD camcorder, the DCR-HC38. This is slightly higher than average for a consumer camcorder.

 

 

 

 

Format

Compression* (5.5)*

What kind of compression? Hold on a minute, sonny. Let me get my spectacles. In all serious, it’s actually refreshing to see a DV camcorder, which is obviously a dying breed. It seems that consumers just don’t have patience for tape anymore, despite a lot of advantages. Yes, DVDs and HDDs are faster and offer random access, but we have yet to see MPEG-2 footage that looks as good as DV footage from a camcorder with the same imaging system. The issue is data speed, primarily. DV records at a fixed 25Mbps, while standard definition MPEG-2 moves at a max of 8.5 - 9 Mbps. On the screen, that’s going to mean more compression artifacts – those little, square blocks that dance around the edges of things. If you can deal with the extra time it takes to rewind, fast forward, and capture the tape to a computer for editing, you’ll be rewarded with better quality than your Johnny Quickpants neighbor.

Media* (6.0)*

The Sony DCR-HC38 records video to MiniDV tapes, which are cheap and widely available. Tape has fallen out of favor as a viable media because people prefer the speed of random access media like DVDs and hard disk drives (HDD). There are several reasons to choose tape, though. Archiving is simple and safe. Tapes can sit on a dry shelf for years with little corrosion. Unlike DVDs, if a little bit of the tape gets messed up, the rest of footage will remain unaffected. The finicky directory system of a DVD means that one bit of corruption can kill the disc. And unlike HDDs, a collection of tapes is spread out in neat, sixty minute packages. One bad tape is not the end of your collected memories. A corrupted HDD, if you forget to back-up (or don’t have a chance) might wipe out an entire vacation. Tape is durable, cheap, and relatively reliable.

Editing* (8.0)
*DV has been around for years, so you can capture and work with the DCR-HC38’s video in pretty much any editing software. For the same reason, there are dozens of free editing programs that you use to stitch DV footage together. The same can not be said for cutting edge formats like AVCHD, which can barely be played back on your DVD player, let alone edited. One such free program is Avid FreeDV, for which we ran a lengthy tutorial series.

 

 

 

 

 

Auto / Manual Controls

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (7.0)

Sony typically excels in automatic controls, and while it is better than the competition, the low-end imaging set on the DCR-HC38 takes its toll. The auto focus is good when the zoom is kept in check. But in the upper regions of the zoom, 15x and higher, the DCR-HC38 has a harder time finding the proper focal point.

The auto exposure is fast, but the limited dynamic range is clear and detrimental. When shooting scenes with both light and dark areas, you’ll have trouble finding a satisfactory balance. The camcorder is likely to err of the side of properly exposing the brighter areas. If you try to have it expose for the darker areas, either by centering that area in the shot or by using the Spot Meter function (described below in the Exposure section), the lighter areas are sure to blow out. ¬

The auto white balance tended, almost invariably, to make the image appear warm. This is a little trick that camera and camcorder manufacturers like to do to make us look more attractive than we actually are. It’s hard to fault them for that, but we’ll go ahead and do it any way. After all, if you’re a bird watcher or landscape videographer (as boring as that sounds), you may never have a human being in your shot. And that’s when you want accuracy, not flattery.

Also included in the set-up are a series of Scene modes, accessed via the first tab in the function menu – yes, you do occasionally have to leave Easy mode. Scene modes include Twilight, Sunrise & Sunset, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Sports, Snow, and Beach. A list like this should cover just about everywhere you want to take your camcorder. Scene modes: the one-touch wonder buttons for point-and-shooters.

Overall, we love the response time of the auto controls. The accuracy is decent for what you can expect to find the price range.

Overall Manual Control (3.0)

The Sony DCR-HC38 is 1) a Sony, and 2) an entry-level model. That alone should have you merely scanning through the next few sections to see which manual controls Sony bothered to put on. To top it all, the HC38 is burdened with this god-awful menu that you have to muck through just to get to the manual controls (more on that later in the Menu section).

Included in the manual control suite are focus, exposure, and white balance… that’s it. And of these three, only white balance handles with any efficiency. Few people care if white balance is buried in the menu a little, because it’s not accessed that frequently. But focus and exposure should be available without the necessity of tapping the screen and upsetting the shot. Thus, you understand our preference for a joystick. Also, as you’ll read in more detail below, the focus and exposure controls offer no real understanding of what’s going on. The manual focus controls are just two buttons that you tap, one for near and one for far. But where is the actual focal measurement? The exposure control has the same problem. You can make the picture bright and you can make the picture dark. But what are you actually doing to the aperture and shutter speed? No one knows until you watch the footage in playback.

Clearly, Sony is marketing to a different crowd, but people are naturally inquisitive, and we’re certainly not getting any dumber when it comes to electronics. The HC38 offers simplicity, but when you’re ready to grow as a videographer and figure out what’s actually going on inside that little, grey box, the camcorder is not going to give up its secrets.

Zoom (5.0)

The primary zoom control is located on the top, conveniently positioned for the index finger. The low, ribbed piece of plastic that makes up the zoom toggle is of the same good design as most Sony camcorders, easy to grip. As a pressure sensitive control, you can get about three speeds. However, the electronic image stabilization is not very good, and after a 3x – 4x zoom, the picture shakes too much. When zooming, a small scale appears in the upper left-hand corner to let you know where in the zoom range you are. The scale is small, though, and there is no numerical indicator to give you an actual zoom value. This is fine for the 40x optical zoom, but it gets very difficult to figure out just where you are in the 2000x digital zoom.

Nearly all Sony camcorders also offer a secondary zoom control, two plastic buttons on the outer edge of LCD panel. These buttons are not pressure-sensitive, and push and pull the zoom at a medium-slow pace.

Zoom Power Ratio (40.0)

The Sony DCR-HC38 offers a 40x optical zoom, one of the largest zooms ever available on a consumer camcorder. The zoom war has been raging for years now, and it seems that they’re going to hit the ceiling at some point. Last year’s 32x high by JVC seemed insurmountable, but here we are. Of course, we recommend a tripod for any shot past 5x, particularly when paired with a poor image stabilization system.

The digital zoom can be turned off (recommended), capped at 80x (tacitly accepted), or the ridiculous 2000x. Don’t even bother to go past 80x – the picture looses all clarity.

Focus (3.0)

To access the focus controls, tap the "FN" button in the lower right corner. Focus controls are on the first tab. Like most Sony touch screens, you tap onscreen buttons to adjust focus, one shaped like a person and other shaped like a mountain. Unlike the entry-level DVD camcorder, the DCR-DVD108, the HC38 does not offer any numerical indicator as to where in the focal range you are.

This is a particularly bad system. Here’s why. First, the screen is only 2.5". Second, the LCD resolution is only 123,200 pixels. This means that even though the clarity of the image as it appears on the screen is really the only method you have of determining focus, you can’t really trust the image that you’re seeing. To boot, the entire system is touch screen, meaning that every time you touch the LCD, you’re adding a little more oil. Smudge on top of smudge, one after the other – after a few minutes you’ll have no idea if the problem is the focus or just the screen. This is a particular problem when shooting outdoors, as screen glare heightens the smudge factor. Our solution: buy a better camcorder if you have any intention of focusing.

The Sony also offers Spot Focus, which suffers from some of the same smudge problem, but is easier to use and allows you to employ the auto focus as a crutch. Once activated, the Spot Focus feature basically allows you to touch the area of the screen that you want to appear in focus. There are only a few zones, however, so complicated, multi-plane shots are not suggested.

Exposure & Aperture (4.5)

The exposure controls are also located on the first tab of the menu. Like focus, there are two buttons that you tap, a plus and a minus, to brighten and darken the image. A scale in the middle gives you a sense of how bright or dark you can go, but there is no numerical indicator. This system, widely used on Sony camcorders, is the most simplified we’ve seen. This is great for timid point-and-shooters, but even the slightly ambitious videographer will want more. The increments, 29 in all, actually correspond to shifts in aperture and shutter speed, but you’d never know this from the camcorder. There is no direct control of either shutter or aperture. Overall, it’s easy, but weak.

The DCR-HC38 also offers a Spot Meter feature, which works along the same principles as Spot Meter. When activated, you simple tap the screen where you want the best exposure. The auto exposure controls jump to your command. It’s an easy, accessible control that works well for simple exposure differences, like an indoor shot with a window in the background. More complex needs will require the real manual exposure, and probably a better camcorder all together. The HC38 does not have much dynamic range.

Shutter Speed (0.0)

The Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer shutter speed control, sorry. You’ll want either a much more expensive Sony camcorder or, more conveniently, any Panasonic camcorder, and most Canon and JVC camcorders.

White Balance (5.5)

The white balance controls on the Sony DCR-HC38 are located on the second tab of the function menu. There are four settings: Auto, Indoor, Outdoor, and One Push (manual). The Indoor setting can actually be pretty useful for indoor shots if you find the auto correction too warm (we did). Canon, along with other manufacturers, offers a wider array of white balance presets. If you’re okay with the auto adjustments, however, you shouldn’t really need them. The other, more accurate alternative, is setting the white balance yourself. The HC38’s manual response time (the time it takes to settle after you tap the set button) is great – among the fastest of any manufacturer. Some low-end camcorders can take 10 seconds or more. The HC38 takes 3-5 seconds. The manual setting is also accurate, and is a good way to avoid the overly warm tones of auto white balancing.

Gain (0.0)

The Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer gain control. Only Panasonic camcorders offer manual gain in the consumer realm.

*Other Manual Controls (0.0)
*The Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer any additional manual controls like frame guides or zebra patterns.

 

 

 

 

Still Features

Still Features* (0.0)*

The Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer the ability to capture still images. For those who can’t survive without a camcorder with a camera function, you can export a single frame from your NLE after capturing the footage. Unfortunately, since the video is interlaced, the image will be pretty bad lines. Our suggestion: find a camcorder with a still image feature, or better yet, get a real camera.

Still Performance* (0.0)*

Sorry, the Sony DCR-HC38 does not offer still photo shooting.

Still Resolution* (0.0)
*Again, we apologize. Try the next model up, the DCR-HC48, which offers still capture to MemoryStick Duo and PRO Duo in resolutions up to 1152 x 864.

 

 

 

 

Handling and Use

Ease of Use* (7.0)*

Of course the DCR-HC38 is easy to use—it’s a MiniDV Sony. Between the almost universal format and Easy button, you should experience few bumps in the road while shooting…until you need to interact with the menu. As outlined in the menu section below, the DCR-HC38’s menu is a free-for-all of convoluted structuring and arcane abbreviations. Every feature is a grand quest to locate and activate. The DCR-HC38 loses points for this crucial blunder.

As far as editing goes, nothing can surpass MiniDV for ease. Almost every NLE on the market supports the format, and you can capture footage, edit it, and export it right back onto your MiniDV tape. HDD, SD, and DVD camcorders are not that simple—many deal with finicky video files that must be converted before they even see a timeline of any sort.

Sony’s classic Easy button is the consumer’s definitive lifeline. Pressing the blue-dotted button of aid sets the camcorder in full autopilot, allowing the shooter to sit back only to worry about the record start/stop and zoom controls. The touch screen menu buttons grow in size and the screen is less cluttered. Menu options are also whittled down to the bare essentials.

Handling* (5.0)*

The Sony DCR-HC38 feels good in the hand, we’ll say that much for it. The padded hand strap is comfortable and set at such at height that the camcorder will not careen to the left when you let go of the body, as most camcorders do. The zoom toggle is well-positioned. The record on/off button is in the right place for the thumb. Every exterior feature is great.

Unfortunately, everything stemming from the touch screen, including the menu and all the manual controls, handles like a wet dishrag. We go into more detail in the Menu section below. In brief, menu systems have a big impact on handling, and the HC38’s menu has a bit, fat negative impact.

There’s not a whole lot else to the HC38. This is an entry-level model with precious few features. The built-in lens cap is smart, though we can only speculate on its durability over time. We’re pleased that Sony opted for tape mechanism that loads from the top. The bottom-loading Canon DV camcorders, which cannot be opened on a tripod, are a big hassle.

Menu* (3.0)*

This is by far one of the most scatterbrained, vexing menus we’ve seen in a while. Nothing is in any particular order—most poor innocent point-and-and-shooters will be sucked into a web of oblivion while attempting to maneuver through the DCR-HC38’s labyrinthine interface. Everything requires two steps too many, eating time and boosting stress. To make matters even worse, the menu buttons are miniscule and the LCD is 2.5" wide. Let’s attempt to extract the logic out of this one, shall we? Anyone with fingers wider than Bic tips will get the shaft. We once attempted to press the return button eight times before it caught on.

Function menu

On the main screen you’ll see two buttons in the bottom right corner—guide and function. Let’s deal with the function menu first. Once you find a way to press the puny rectangle of frustration, a screen appears with a bar at the top and two tabs, page 1 and 2. Page one consists of Spot Focus, focus, Spot Meter, display guide, menu (for accessing the full administrative menu), scene selection, End Search, and exposure. Why is the menu button randomly thrown into the grab bag of settings and not placed more prominently? No one will ever know. Another pain is that when Spot Focus or Spot Meter are selected, you can’t return to page one. Your only options are "end" or "auto," which bring you right back to the main screen.

On page 2 you’ll find your faders, white balance, beep, clock set, and LCD brightness settings. Why did white balance get stuck on page 2, while End Search makes the first page? It’s a lot easier to have your core manual controls under one roof, otherwise the propensity to grow mad is highly plausible.

To access the full admin menu, jump back to page 1 and press the "menu" button. A small, vertically scrolling subset of options appears. Along the bottom of the screen is a set of rectangular buttons: down, up, execute, and return. All of these directives are abbreviated within an inch of their lives, making the first few go ‘rounds with the HC38 incredibly frustrating. Because the admin menu is too small for any human finger, you have to use the up and down arrow buttons to scroll through each option. Execute selects that option, and return must be pressed to revert back to the submenu. This is preposterous. Too many buttons, too many levels. The whole point of a touch screen menu is to simplify. But when the screen is too small, they have to extra buttons?! Those with ADD will not fare well with this deplorable menu structure.

The admin menu is broken into six submenus: Manual Set (including picture effects), Camera Set (digital zoom, wide select, SteadyShot, edit search, NightShot light), LCD/VF Set (LCD backlight, LCD color, viewfinder backlight, wide display), Tape Set (record mode, audio mode, tape remaining), Setup Menu (USB stream, language, demo mode), and Others (world time, auto shut off, and display out).

Usage guide in action

The DCR-HC38 also includes a usage guide, activated by pushing the "GUIDE" button next to the function button on the main screen. The usage guide contains a shoot guide and a display guide. The shoot guide offers information about each scene selection setting and it also explains Spot Focus and Spot Meter in camera preferences. The display guide allows you to select a part of the screen in order to obtain information about quality settings and screen setup.

Portability* (5.75)*

A model like the DCR-HC38 was made for the road, measuring a compact 65mm x 85mm x 115mm (2 1/2 in. x 3 3/8 in. x 4 5/8 in.). It’s also just shy of a pound, tipping the scale at 450g (15oz.). You can definitely toss the DCR-HC38 into a small camera bag with room to spare. Throw some extra MiniDV tapes and battery packs in there, and you’ll be all taken care of for a full day’s worth of shooting. Since the DCR-HC38’s battery lasts over 2 hours, you will probably only need one extra pack. The DCR-HC38 operates at a temperature range of 32 degrees to 104 degrees and can be stored at -4 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s good news for all you Floridian Fellinis. Be sure not to leave the port covers open and close the lens cap during transport, or the DCR-HC38 will soon bite the dust.

LCD and Viewfinder* (6.5)*

The DCR-HC38’s 2.5" wide 4:3 aspect ratio LCD screen will transport you back to the mid 90’s. Standard definition monitors are a dying breed in 2007 as the HD boom continues to grow. The DCR-HC38’s LCD extends 90 degrees from the body and rotates up to 270 degrees vertically. The LCD has a 123,200 pixel count and looks a bit washed out. You can tinker with the LCD color in the administrative menu, but then you’d be cheating yourself out of a true image. There is an LCD backlight button located in the LCD cavity. The backlight can also be accessed in the administrative menu. A thin vertical strip containing zoom out, zoom in, and record start/stop is located in the left side of the LCD panel. Take note: the zoom control on the LCD panel is not touch sensitive to speed; it’s a fixed, medium pace.

Here’s a peculiar phenomenon: a translucent viewfinder. The DCR-HC38’s hard plastic extendable eyecup does not fully block intruding light, rendering the viewfinder compromised in bright light – precisely when you’re relying on the viewfinder because the LCD is totally useless. You’ll have to jam your eye as far as it will go into the viewfinder shaft in order to create a sort of human matte box. The eyecup is actually removable and can be cleaned, and the dioptric adjuster is located on its right side. You can apply a backlight to the viewfinder by accessing the LCD/VF set found in the administrative menu.

Battery Life* (1.23)*

We tested the life of the NP-FH30 battery pack by setting the camcorder to full auto mode and recording continuously in a fixed position until the battery croaked. The DCR-HC38’s battery lasted a total of 123 minutes and 7 seconds (2 hrs. 3 min. and 7 sec.). A battery that lasts over 2 hours is a rarity amongst consumer camcorders, and the DCR-HC38 will not let you down. A backup battery wouldn’t hurt, but it’s not entirely necessary for most normal shoots.

 

 

 

 

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

Audio* (4.0)*

Like most camcorders in this price range, the DCR-HC38 does not come equipped with a mic or headphone jack. You’re stuck with the built-in stereo microphone, which will give you mediocre sound quality. The DCR-HC38 records PCM audio in either 12-bit (32 kHz stereo 1, stereo 2) or 16-bit (48 kHz, stereo). Recording in 12-bit audio mode enables the camcorder for dubbing. The audio dubbing feature is accessed in the playback menu. Here you can do your own version of Mystery Science Theater 3000 by monitoring recorded footage and laying down voiceovers and sound effects in the second audio channel. Dubbing can only be executed with 12-bit audio recorded in SP quality. You can even mix the levels of recorded audio to balance the original sound and the dubbed sound by accessing the audio mix feature in the function menu.

Playback* (3.25)*

As outlined in the menu section, the DCR-HC38 does not offer the most logical navigation system. Luckily, playing back footage is not a gargantuan task. Simply shift the mode dial once to the right from camera mode and you’ll find the blue play/edit screen. A row of controls sit at the bottom: stop, rewind, play/pause, fast forward, and function. This is as MiniDV as it gets, folks. A guide button is located half way up the left side of the screen.

Playback menu

When you press the function button this time, you’ll see an entirely different set of offerings—same tabbed structure, though. Page 1 consists of menu, volume, end search, display guide, stop, rewind, play, and fast forward. The VCR controls remain on the bottom of each page so you can have a live preview of your menu selections. Page 2 lists data code, beep setting, and clock setting. Page 3 is where the playback action happens: variable speed play (lets you playback footage in fast and slow motion), audio dubbing control, record control, and LCD brightness. All in all, the playback menu buttons are bigger and laid out in a far more logical way when compared to the camera function menu.

Connectivity* (3.0)
*Three ports are located in the back of the DCR-HC38, underneath and to the right of the battery: Firewire, DC in, and A/V out. The port covers are made of a flimsy rubberized plastic compound and are exceedingly difficult to snap back into place. They did withstand a fairly rigorous tug session, however. The LCD cavity is home to the USB jack, which is used for streaming pictures displayed on the screen of the DCR-HC38 onto a computer. The benefit of MiniDV is its compatibility with pretty much any major NLE on the market, thanks to its Firewire terminal.

 

*The Firewire, DC power, and AV ports are located on the back.

Not pictured is the USB port in the LCD cavity.*

 

 

 

 

Other Features

What’s in the Box?

Inside the DCR-HC38’s cardboard house, you’ll find a scarce set of offerings:

-AC adapter

-Power cord

-A/V cable

-NP-FH30 rechargeable battery pack

-"Handycam Application Software" CD-ROM

Based on the battery performance, it wouldn’t be necessary to buy a backup pack as long as you stick to occasional shooting—though it’s always nice to have the option. Chances are, the gift shop on your Celebrity Cruise ship doesn’t stock them. You’ll also need to buy a MiniDV tape, which will run you a cool $8. Sony didn’t want to weigh you down by putting one in the box.

Other Features* (2.0)*
NightShot Plus Light –When it’s too dark to record, Sony’s NightShot Plus light can be used to brighten the field of view via an internal infrared light, hence the "Plus." *Manual Control Freaks*

As if navigating through the quagmire Sony calls a menu isn’t bad enough, you only have control over white balance and exposure. The rest are presets. Manual control freaks will not enjoy the DCR-HC38.

Faders – The DCR-HC38 offers a decent array of faders—black, white, mosaic, and monotone. When selected, your shots will fade in and out in accordance with the starting stopping of the record process.

*Battery Info- *Sony’s InfoLithium battery packs store data that the camcorder can display when turned off. Just press the battery info button and you’ll see a blue screen with a neon green bar representing the battery charge level. The remaining recording time for the LCD and Viewfinder is also listed below. This screen only appears for 7 seconds, though, so you’ll probably have to press the button a couple times.

*Picture Effects - *The DCR-38 offers some gnarly picture effects: negative art, sepia, black and white, solarize, pastel, mosaic.

 

 

 

 

Comparisons / Conclusion

Comparison
Sony DCR-HC36
The most definitive divergence between last year’s DCR-HC36 ($399 MSRP) and this year’s DCR-HC38 whittles down to style—gallons upon gallons of style. The DCR-HC36 is a stunted little troll of a camcorder when pinned against the DCR-HC38’s luscious, silver metallic body. What does that mean? More sales for Sony. In this market, a hot looking camcorder is a priority for many consumers. If it looks cool and high-tech, then it must operate at the pinnacle of ultimate video performance, right? We’re sorry to tell you that the DCR-HC38 merely received a facelift—expect the same image quality as last year, with the same 1/6" 680K imager. The only thing last year’s DCR-HC36 has over the DCR-HC38 is a MemoryStick DUO Pro slot. But with a max still size of 640 x 480, it’s more or less a useless feature. Save $70 and go for the new DCR-HC38—you’ll turn more heads.

Canon ZR850

The Canon ZR850 ($329 MSRP) packs a punch that cannot be dodged by the DCR-HC38. Both camcorders have the same 1/6" size imagers, but the ZR850 manages to cram in a larger count, resulting in a walloping 1,070,000 pixels over the DCR-HC38’s 680,000. The ZR850 performed well in bright light image and sufficiently in low light. You don’t just get a better image with the ZR850—you get the ability to take stills up to 1152 x 864, along with a non-proprietary SD card slot, and a video light. Now here’s where the ZR850 really uppercuts the DCR-HC38 to the mat for a swift K-O: the thing’s a buck cheaper (MSRP)! Take that noble dollar and buy yourself some cheap thrills at the local five and dime in celebration of a bang-up deal.

Panasonic PV-GS85
Panasonic is renowned for equipping its consumer camcorders with high-grade components and manual controls, and their second in command PV-GS85 ($349.95 MSRP) is no exception. For just $20 more than the DCR-HC38 you get a built-in stereo zoom microphone, OIS, 640 x 480 stills, an SD/SDHC card slot, and a manual focus ring—yes, a MANUAL FOCUS RING ON A CHEAP MINIDV CAMCORDER! So what if the PV-GS85 only has a 32x optical zoom compared to the DCR-HC38’s massive 40x optical beast zoom. Two Hamiltons will provide you with an array of advanced features and a better manual control suite, based on Panasonic history. As far as video quality, don’t expect a monumental difference between both camcorders’ 1/6" 680K pixel imagers. Twenty smackers, people. Cough it up.

JVC GR-D796
JVC’s GR-D796 shows some potential. With a 2.7" widescreen LCD equipped with a menu joystick, the GR-D796 holds an edge over the DCR-HC38 in terms of handling. The GR-D796 also has a video light, takes stills, and has an SD/MMC card slot. Both camcorders have the same size 680K gross pixel count imagers, so expect similar video quality. Previous entry-level JVCs proved to give good performance for the money, but could not match Sony for automatic exposure and white balance adjustments, which are key features for any point-and-shooter. This is a tough contest. You’d better try them both out in the store to figure out if an extra $20 is worth it.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters

Point-and-shooters gather ‘round, this MiniDV’s for you! The DCR-HC38 will be a hit at Bar Mitzvahs and Sunday mass thanks to its long battery life and easy as pie MiniDV format—just toss a new tape in the hatch in time to catch Grandpa Weinstein do the electric slide.

Budget Consumers

At $330, you get MiniDV goodness at its most basic level. You can’t take pictures, the menu is ghastly, and there’s no flash or video light. Check out the Canon ZR850.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid

The DCR-HC38 is insecure because it doesn’t have a still feature function and all the other MiniDV camcorders within its price range do. Single tear.

Gadget Freaks

Gadget freaks will like the DCR-HC38’s…hmm. No, gadget freaks will not like the DCR-HC38 at all.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists

Pros—just don’t go there.

**Conclusion
**The Sony DCR-HC38 ($330 MSRP) will satisfy the entry-level user. It feels good in the hand, looks cooler than the competition, and offers solid automatic controls. The 40x optical zoom is undoubtedly alluring, but remember that holding a steady shot past 10x is nearly impossible, even with the image stabilization. Voyeurs and bird-watchers alike will want to invest in a tripod.

On the downside, the abysmal menu design drags down the whole "ease of use" appeal that is Sony’s stock in trade. If you’re the sort of user who has little intention of going beyond the start and stop button, a bad menu isn’t going to rain too hard on your parade. However, most people like to get involved on some level with their production, and the interface is going to be an obstacle.  For those interested in a little more hands-on control, the HC38 is the last place you should look. Sony offers virtually no manual control and awkward access to the controls they did include. Panasonic is your best bet, particularly the PV-GS85. Canon strikes the middle ground with their ZR series, which offer ease of use and better manual controls.

 

 

Specs and Ratings

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Meet the tester

Michael Perlman

Michael Perlman

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Michael Perlman is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.

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