Review: Sony Handycam DCR-HC35 digital camcorder

Earning extra points for being by far the smallest, neatest and lightest camcorder in our round-up is the Sony Handycam DCR-HC35. Sometimes camcorders that carry less weight can have a tendency to suffer from shaky-cam syndrome but the DCR-HC35 gets around this thanks to a built-in electronic image stabiliser (although this is not a unique function).

A shorter than average optical zoom (only 20x) and a smaller than average LCD display (2.5in) are the most obvious flaws of the Handycam. And, despite the presence of a dedicated Photo button, support for still photography is fairly thin on the ground, as it is with many of the other budget cams.

The DCR-HC35 more than makes up for these minor deficiencies in other areas, however. Navigating menus, for instance, is a lot easier than with most of its rivals, since the Handycam has an intuitive touch-sensitive LCD screen.

Picture quality was very impressive too, undoubtedly helped in no small measure by a high-quality Carl Zeiss lens. Edges were sharp, colours rich without oversaturating or bleeding, and skin tones were realistic. Even indoors the Handycam performs well, with only a touch of graininess creeping into darker shots.
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ony provides a useful selection of accessories as standard, including a remote control handset and a camera dock. The dock features all the DCR-HC35’s in and outputs, including a two-way Firewire port. This is an extra bonus for those looking to edit their work on a PC, since it means the DCR-HC35 can record edited movies from a PC back to tape as a full-quality master copy.

This article is part of a group test of budget digital camcorders. Others are:
Canon DC100
Canon MV930
JVC GR-D340
Panasonic NV-GS37
Samsung VP-DC161W
Table of features can be read via our pdf download.