Sony HDR-HC1 Review

Photograph courtesy Sony
A Tipping Point
In every field a product comes along every now and then which is later regarded as atipping point– a fulcrum, if you will – around which the old and the new swing. In digital photography many regard theCanon D30of several years ago as such. It brought the the price / performance ratio of the DSLR to the point where the huge prosumer market was allowed to open up, and things haven't been the same since.
In video, theSony HDR-HC1may likely find itself regarded in the same way as was the Canon D30. Just as the D30 wasn't the first DSLR (numerous Kodak models as well as theNikon D1proceeded it), so too the HC1 isn't the first High Definition camcorder. But at less than $2,000, a size that allows it to fit in a jacket pocket, and image quality rivaling that of its brethren which can cost more than twice as much, it certainly will be regarded as a milestone camera.
The HC1 became available in mid-July 2005, and this review is based on sev...