Sony HDR-HC3 HDV Digital Camcorder (2.1MP, 10x Opt, 80x Dig, 2.7" LCD)

Reviewed by: usmck9

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Picture quality and color is incredible. Camera size is fabulous! Low-Light is not so bad!

Weaknesses: Bad Bad Bad Focusing System. The Manual Focusing Toggle.

Overall Evaluation: I went through 2 of these camcorders thinking the first on was broken, but apparently not. With my experience, the camcorder has a great deal of trouble focusing. When I first used the camcorder, the focal problem only took a few seconds to find focus, but the more I used the camcorder (used about 12 hours during vacation), the longer it took to focus. No matter the lighting conditions, the camcorder (many times) would not focus at all even after several minutes. I had to switch to the manual focus toggle which is horrible to use. The second hdr-hc3 Sony camcorder had the same problem. I tried to record a soccer game, again, it took a minute or two (or at times couldn't at all)focus. It is a shame, because I loved everything else about this camcorder. It was so hard to take back this otherwise fantastic camcorder. But, a bad focusing system makes the camcorder, IMHO, worthless especially at the high price this camcorder currently demands. Perhaps the newer versions of this camera will be better at focusing without compromising the rest of quality this camcorder offers. Perhaps I got two bad camcorders, so if you can get one without the problem of the focusing system, then you will have a fabulous camcorder. Just F.Y.I. I have had several Sony Camcorders over the years, my last being a DCR-HC40. So, I do understand how to use the camera correctly. If it weren't for this focal problem, this camcorder would have received 5 stars and a fabulous review!