Review Date: February 13, 2010
Purchase Date: December 30, 2009
Purchase Price: $831.93
Purchased From: Amazon
I've been using this camera for about a year, both at the track and shooting educational videos. I'm very happy with it. Here's why.
When I decided to get a high-def camera I was seriously thinking of moving up into the pro ranks. Yes, they definitely cost more, but they also offer a lot of features and performance not available at the consumer level, even at the high-end consumer level. For instance, the sharpness of a 3-CCD sensor, their low-light performance, and the focus, zoom, and aperture controls that are much more usable in live shoots. But in the end, I decided to spare my budget and get something that would work out better for in-car video. For in-car situations I didn't need the more ergonomic controls since I'd be setting up the camera and then leaving it alone. The low-light capabilities would not be essential because track days are always run in daylight or overcast conditions, but not dusk, dawn, or night.
The greater expense also concerned me because there is always the chance of loosing the camera with the car if the worse should happen.
Finally, I needed a smaller camera than what the pro ranks offered. I was going to mount it in a speeding car, a fairly high-vibration and high-G environment, and it can be a cramped environment, depending on what the car's roll cage design was. So I went with the Sony HDR-HC9, shown below, and took it to the track the very next time I had the chance.
Instead of reviewing this camera the way other sites do, by testing it, comparing specs, and so on, I'll just stick with describing my experience as a real-life user.
OK, it's my first time at the track with this camera, and I'm glad I brought my backup SD camera (Song DCR-TRV80) because the battery that came with the camera didn't have enough life in it to get me through even one tape. (I hadn't had time to purchase extra batteries, plus they were pretty expensive.) So that was a short day for the camera.
Second time out, with extra batteries, things went much better at the track, but it wasn't until I got home and got a chance to download and start editing the video that I saw how nice the results were. The image was so clear, and the wide format even let me capture my speedometer and tachometer and the image was sharp enough that I could easily follow the engine's RPM. The colors were beautiful, and it didn't hurt that this was one of those beautiful spring days in California when the sky was bright blue and the grass was still green. Here's the view from the cockpit. Click it to see it full sized, and keep in mind that there was a lot of action in this shot (0.6 G's lateral).
The video this frame is from is on Vimeo, in case you want to see it in action.
When at the track the camera is mounted on my harness bar using an IOPort mount. I do not use the built-in mic, instead I have two lapel mics mounted under the hood, although sometimes I put them on the rear bumper. I also use a polarizer to reduce the glare on the dash, windshield and the other cars. It is also very helpful late in the day when the sun is low. Focus is set to manual and the camera is focused at infinity and I zoom all the way out (40 mm focal length).
To start and stop recording I cannot use the LANC cable I use with my SD camera because, again, this camera does not provide A/V input so it cannot function as a VCR from this port. Instead, I either start recording before I buckle up or I use the IR remote.
One very nice feature, one which is apparently a departure from the norm for consumer video cameras, is that the tapes load and unload from the top. This means that I don't have to remove the camera from the mount to do this, so I am very happy about this. The battery does load/unload from the bottom but I can usually manage to do this without dismounting the camera. It also helps to have a high-capacity battery. So far, when using the high-capacity battery, I haven't had to swap batteries during the day. Most track events give each driver about two hours of track time and this battery will give me about six hours of continuous recording time.
Back at home I'm transferring the video to my computer via the camera's Firewire (iLink) port. This has been working flawlessly with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. When I use the A/V port to play the tapes on my SD analog TV the image quality is good, or at least as good as that of my 12 year old TV, but I had to change the "TV Type" setting to DV because otherwise the image was distorted, compressed horizontally to fit the screen.
For off-track projects I have used the camera with Sony's nice little tripod that has a remote control handle. The HC9 and higher end cameras work with this tripod and control is via the mini-D style connector. That project was an indoor shoot of a metals casting event and while I got some great shots of people and glowing liquid metal the low-light limitations of this camera made themselves known. It was acceptable in this case as the videos will be played mainly online, but it is just a little reminder of why higher-spec cameras are used by the pros. Here's a sample, the short version, from this event.
I noted above that I cannot record from bullet cams, but this camera can actually record from other devices, but only from the iLink (Firewire) port. This camera has an HDMI port but as far as I can tell it is for output-only.
This camera has a number of other features that I am just starting to explore and which may be useful in an upcoming project.
Mic Levels - The sound levels recorded by the built-in or external microphones can be set to manual. (The default is auto.) This could be very useful in noisy situations such as motorsports.
DV Format - In an upcoming event I may use this camera to record DV video. This camera can do this and I am very interested in seeing that the quality of the images is, coming from a sensor that has a 5X the pixel count required for DV video. (Note - when in DV mode the LCD will still display the wide screen image, but it will darken the areas that are out of the DV frame.)
Scene Select - This camera includes a number of convenient presets for exposure and focus, named things like Twilight, Candle, and Sunrise, but the one that might be interesting to try out is Landscape. This appears to be an autofucus mode that avoid focusing on near objects, such as reflections on the window looking out at the landscape.
Auto Shutoff - Normally, when powered by the battery, this camera will turn itself off after a period of inactivity. This feature can be turned off, and I will probably use this in an upcoming project where I need the camera to stay on all day. I'm using the camera as an imaging and audio input device-only and will pass everything on to a digital video recorder. I plan to power the camera using the car's electrical system and when the car is turned off, or when the battery switch is turned off (Race cars have a master switch that rescue teams can use to turn off all electrical power on the car.) I want to camera to stay on. Doing a little testing I just found out that if Auto Shutoff is turned off, and I power the camera from the charger, then I plug the charger, the camera will turn off. But, this is momentary. The camera will turn itself right back on. I might be able to live with that, especially since I can tell the DVR to start recording as soon as it is turned on. I just need to figure out how to keep the DVR running. (Note: the camera must be running on battery power to be able to change the Auto Shutoff setting.)
Histogram - You can have a histogram of the brightness displayed in the lower right corner of the LCD display. This can be useful when setting the exposure manually.
Guideframe - Turn this on to display a 3 x 3 grid on the LCD display. This helps you frame a subject and make sure the camera is horizontal. Or, use the Center Marker to place a cross in the center of the screen, an aid in helping you aim the camera.
Time Lapse - Put the camera in memory/photography mode and you'll find this nice feature, called Int. Rec-STL, for interval recording. You can set the intervals to 1, 5 or 10 minutes. It will keep running until you stop it. Normally for a good time lapse sequence you also have to set the camera's exposure to about half the interval time, but you don't really have this kind of control here. Still, the memory stick I have in this camera can hold over 2,500 photos (2,500 minutes = 41.7 hours!), so this could be fun to play with.
Zebra - If you turn this feature on the camera will display diagonal lines over the region of the image where the brightness is greater than a selected level (70 or 100%). This will help let you know that you are over-exposing the scene, much like many DSLRs do.
I guess a product review wouldn't be complete without listing a few complaints, not that that makes me feel superior or anything, but it means I might have something to contribute.
I noted above that I wish it was possible to keep the camera running when AC/external power was turned off. This camera almost does this. It turns itself off momentarily when external power is removed. But when it comes back on it is no longer recording. In one of my applications the camera will be powered by a car's electrical system, but the car may get turned off, possibly momentarily, but could ruin the rest of the recording session. I guess I need to find a UPS-type solution.
Second, there are so many great features on this camera, and not only can taking it all in be difficult, but for someone new to all this it can be pretty intimidating, and confusing. Sony should create short tutorials, similar in duration and style as the Lynda tutorials that Adobe provides for some of its software. Or maybe I should do it, and Sony can pay me.
Third, there seems to be a trend in the software and other technology industries to present their products to the user in a way that pretty much hides all of the technical details. That might be nice for technophobes and Mac users, but for people that have a handle on the issues, people like me, actually have a difficult time figuring out exactly what the gizmo is supposed to be able to do. I recently returned all of my Norton software and have sworn off Norton's products for just this reason. I just could not figure out what the stuff was doing, so I felt I couldn't count on it, so it is gone. Everything about the product was presented in reassuring dumbed down language that to me said nothing useful. I guess that's how many people feel when they take their car in for repairs. You just nod yes to everything the mechanic says and you pay, not having any idea what just happened, but the car seems to be working again, so it's all good. Now, my complaint here is not so severe as to loose faith in the product, but the descriptions of the Scene Select features, for example, are similarly vague. The manual just says use such and such setting for some situation and so on, but it doesn't tell you what it actually does. I'll probably just try them out and maybe they will work, but what they hell is the camera actually doing? If someone asks me how I got that shot, what do I say? Duh, I just pushed this button and it just happened.
Well, that's about it. I may be back with additional comments after this next race.
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