Sony Handycam HDR-HC9

The Handycam HDR-HC9 is the upgrade to Sony's 2007 miniDV camcorder, the HC7. With this 2008 offering Sony provides minor improvements over the award winning HC7. The camera retains its barrel-shaped form factor that houses the Carl Zeiss lens with 10x optical zoom. HDV footage with a resolution of 1440x1080 is recorded onto the miniDV tapes, standard definition DV footage can also be captured through the menu settings. The HC9 retains the same touch-screen menu based interface and offers a host of manual controls from white balance and infinity focus, to peaking functionality and colored outlining.

Where to Buy

Sony Handycam HDR-HC9 1
MSRP $1,099.00
Release date February, 2008
Brand Sony
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Pros & Cons9
Reviews4
Details
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Competitors2
Comments1
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
4 reviews
86
negative
mixed
positive
4 positive
0 mixed
0 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
•
HDV is a standard format that all video software recognizes
+3agreedisagree

•
Plenty of manual controls
+2agreedisagree

•
Good selection of outputs including USB2.0, Firewire, Component, HDMI
+2agreedisagree

•
Great video capture quality
+1agreedisagree

•
Internal, automatic lens cover
+1agreedisagree

•
Better quality compression for MiniDV over solid-state media formats
+1agreedisagree

•
Black design is better than silver
0agreedisagree

•
smells like flowers
0agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
•
Still limited to proprietary Sony accessories
+2agreedisagree


4 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!
See individual votes »

Details

Specs

  • 10x optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens
  • 3.2MP CMOS sensor
  • up to 1080i video recording
  • miniDV tapes for storage
  • 2.7" LCD touch screen monitor, 211K pixels
  • Internal lens cover mechanism
  • Records video with x.v.Color (need a compatible TV to view)
  • Data ports: USB2.0, Firewire
  • Video ports: Component, S-Video, HDMI

Differences between HC7 and HC9

Body - the HC9 comes in a black color while the HC7 is silver.

Memory stick support - The HC9 supports a memory stick duo capacity of 8GB while the HC7 is limited to 4GB.

USB support - for transferring data the HC9 uses a USB2.0 interface which is significantly faster than the HC7's USB1.1 interface.

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This report was started January 21, 2008 at 11:54 am by Omar
with the last edit occurring December 15, 2008 at 8:58 am by Erik
This page has been viewed 7158 times, with 39 edits by 6 contributors.
See the full report history »

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Competitors

Sony Handycam HDR-HC9 is ranked 1st among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Camcorders »
Canon HV30

Canon HV30

MSRP  $1,000.00    Released  February, 2008
Pros
  • 30p mode is a very welcome addition
  • Same great recording performance as HV20
  • Much improved hot shoe cover that doesn't fall off
Cons
  • No focus ring
  • Worse than Sony for ease of use
  • Auto-Focus snaps to focus instantly
ProSCORE
2 reviews
60
Vote! (4 votes)
vote Sony Handycam HDR-HC9 75% vs. vote Canon HV30 25%
Sony Handycam HDR-HC7

Sony Handycam HDR-HC7

MSRP  $1,399.00    Released  January, 2007
Pros
  • Great video quality
  • Good battery life (2 hours)
  • Configurable manual focus ring is useful
Cons
  • USB1.1 interface is crazy
  • Have to use Sony Memory Stick cards
  • Small control dial
ProSCORE
2 reviews
46
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Sony Handycam HDR-HC9 100% vs. vote Sony Handycam HDR-HC7 0%

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Comments

1.  avatar Erik said:

I'm going to tentatively cast my vote for the HDR-HC9 over the Canon HV30, because of 1) the better manual controls, and 2) my fantastic experience with my older miniDV Sony camcorder.

If you are a quality nut, and plan on doing any editing with video software, I would say go for the MiniDV format over the solid-state cameras. Sure, the non-linear format with no moving parts is cool, but it comes at the expense of compression quality. Annoying compression artifacts and incorrect color reproduction is a deal-breaker for me. I'll stick with the MiniDV until mfgrs can sort out that mess.

If anyone can point me (and the community) to some sample footage of the HDR-HC9 vs. the Canon HV30, I would be very interested in seeing it.
Feb 07, 2008 2:22pm
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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

Erik

avatar
February 7, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
86
negative
mixed
positive
6 pros
1 con
want itwant it

Pros

  • HDV is a standard format that all video software recognizes
  • Plenty of manual controls
  • Good selection of outputs including USB2.0, Firewire, Component, HDMI
  • Internal, automatic lens cover
  • Better quality compression for MiniDV over solid-state media formats
  • Black design is better than silver

Cons

  • Still limited to proprietary Sony accessories

Comments

"I'm going to tentatively cast my vote for the HDR-HC9 over the Canon HV30, because of 1) the better manual controls, and 2) my fantastic experience with my older miniDV Sony camcorder.

If you are a quality nut, and plan on doing any editing with video software, I would say go for the MiniDV format over the solid-state cameras. Sure, the non-linear format with no moving parts is cool, but it comes at the expense of compression quality. Annoying compression artifacts and incorrect color reproduction is a deal-breaker for me. I'll stick with the MiniDV until mfgrs can sort out that mess.

If anyone can point me (and the community) to some sample footage of the HDR-HC9 vs. the Canon HV30, I would be very interested in seeing it."

Competitors

Erik prefers Sony Handycam HDR-HC9 over Canon HV30
Did you find this review helpful?
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 / 
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Omar

avatar
February 7, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
want itwant it

Pros

  • HDV is a standard format that all video software recognizes
  • Plenty of manual controls
  • Great video capture quality

Cons

  • Still limited to proprietary Sony accessories

Competitors

Omar prefers Canon HV30 over Sony Handycam HDR-HC9
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

tyguyone

avatar
February 19, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
0 cons

Pros

  • HDV is a standard format that all video software recognizes
  • Good selection of outputs including USB2.0, Firewire, Component, HDMI

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

camazotzz

avatar
December 14, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
1 pro
0 cons

Pros

  • smells like flowers

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

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This product is also known as:

HDR, HC, 9, HDRHC, HC9, HDRHC9