![]() The small 1/6-inch, 640,000-pixel CCD can't capture the level of detail obtained by higher-end cameras-a limitation evidenced by a general fuzziness in areas of high detail, such as grass, hair, and textured cloth. Colors hues are accurate but overly vibrant. The Sony DCR-HC26's low-end design is most evident, unfortunately, in its video quality, which is noticeably grainy even in bright light and extremely so under dimmer conditions. The included battery is rated for just 45 to 55 minutes of typical shooting, so a larger-capacity battery would be a wise purchase for the vacation-bound. Image stabilization works effectively through the first half of the zoom range, though shake becomes increasingly evident as you approach 20X magnification. There's no memory-card slot, either you're limited to shooting VGA-resolution stills on MiniDV tape.įor features on an entry-level camera, the Sony Handycam DCR-HC26's automatic focus and exposure perform quite well, reacting quickly and accurately after you pan to a new subject. And while the camera includes video and S-Video outputs, it lacks analog inputs, which means you can't use it to transfer your old analog tapes to digital format. You can give your subject a look at the shot by flipping over the LCD however, doing that doesn't activate the color viewfinder, so you have to shoot blind. ![]() Though the DCR-HC26's 2.5-inch LCD screen is on the small side, it's reasonably sharp and viewable, even in direct sunlight. While it gives everything a ghostly, greenish cast, it's generally more effective than the slow-shutter modes on many camcorders, which result in unusably blurry footage. The NightShot Plus infrared mode lets you shoot in total darkness. The spot-focus and spot-meter controls let you specify a portion of the touch-screen image for the camera to use when determining focus or exposure. It offers a variety of program autoexposure modes, such as Sports and Portrait, as well as manual settings for exposure and focus. Turn off Easy mode, and you'll find that the DCR-HC26 gives you a reasonable amount of manual control. Press the Easy button and everything's fully automatic. The Sony Handycam DCR-HC26 has few buttons or controls, handling most functions with touch-screen menus.
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