Why I buy this one ?
- Records and plays back both high-definition (1080i resolution) and standard-definition video on MiniDV
- 2.1-megapixel ClearVid CMOS image sensor; 1.43K effective
- Variable-speed Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 10x optical zoom lens; digital zoom to 80x
- 2.7-inch widescreen touch-panel LCD
- Super SteadyShot image stabilization

Toys 'N' Tech offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $999.99 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

superior_quality_electronics from NJ, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $1,029.99 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

PCMONDE offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $1,499.99 Usually ships in 6-10 business days

Wall Street Photo offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $1,908.11 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

TVPATAM offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $2,500.00 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

What our customer's say!

"Met Buyer's Expectations", The product showed on time and well shipped. I suspect the product box was opened. However, all materials were enclosed and were in "Like New" condition. The is an older model so I expected it. Thank you for the smooth and good transaction. Yes I would buy from this seller again. - John

"HI DEF SONY CAMCORDER", I love this camcorder. I used in during my vacation in Hawaii. I still can't believe how amazing it looks on the screen. Most of my guests who started watching the video thought that we were watching a discovery channel broadcast. It works it's best outside especially with great lighting. Lighting really is the key. The more the light, the better the image. I just use the component video cables on my HDTV LCD. I'd recommend it to anyone who's really into image quality.

"BEWARE of ieee PORT!", The Sony HDR-HC3 worked well. However the great drawback of Sony camcorders is shown in my recent experience with my HDR-HC3 which I purchased here on Amazon.

We went as a family on a cross-country trip this past summer, filming hours worth of video. When we finally arrived home I plugged my camera into the DV port of my computer. In the past I have had no problem uploading video and making DVDs of family adventures, using our old Canon DV camcorder. We liked that the HDR-HC3 had the option of normal DV or HDV output.

However, unlike with my Canon, my computer (and subsequent computers) could not recognize my camera. After much research online, I found that the problem was that I had assumed the ieee was similar to firewire in that it was hot-swappable. In fact, it was not. Both the camera and computer must be off when attaching them, or the port will fry.

It takes a lot of concentration to remember how to connect the camera. According to other Sony users on various webcam boards, this is a common problem for the general public who are used to USB hot-swappable devices.

The repair fee for this "misuse" is from Sony about $350, according to what they said. One person mentioned that they had been able to open up the camera and purchase a $75 fuse and connected that to the camera hardware....a complicated vs expensive choice of options for a general user like me. Sony acknowledges the fact that the port is extremely sensitive, but still considers it a user-mistake and the fried port is not covered under warranty.

Consequently, I am in the market for a new camcorder that I will only use connected to my computer.

Use of tapes filmed on my Sony HDR-HC3-- Oh, the clincher is this: I tried to use my Canon as a conduit for uploading my footage to computer, but because it was HDV, my Canon could not read it--and this goes for trying to use my Canon to watch the video footage on television. Also, you cannot plug the camera into the TV with a normal 3 to 1 composite DV cable, it requires a camera-specific cable, so tough luck if you forgot to pack it!

This all said, I am pleased enough with the camera that having experienced all of the above, I have learned from my mistakes and probably will purchase another one on ebay for my computer uploads.

I hope that you will learn from my mistakes if you decide to purchase this camera.

"Decent HD Camcorder", I purchased my HC3 several weeks ago to film a family wedding. I didn't really intend on purchasing an HD camcorder, but I got a really good deal on a closeout and went for it.

Having shot quite a bit of VHS and 8mm tape in the past, the images from this camcorder are unbelievable. Even downgraded to DV format, I'm amazed at what this little camera can do. I'm also very impressed with the auto focus and white balance. I reprogrammed the small "manual" button to do AE-shift and it worked perfectly. Even in very strong backlight or high contrast shots I was able to quickly dial in the exposure. Very very good.

I also used the still image capture feature quite a bit. Despite being a camcorder, the images I got were almost as good as those taken with my small Casio EX-Z. However, they weren't nearly as good as the shots from my Canon G. My only complaint on the still imaging is a significant release delay between pushing the button and capturing the shot.

The only thing I don't like about the camcorder is the steadyshot feature. I was hoping for more. Long-zoom shots were not nearly as corrected as I had hoped. I don't have expereince with the Canon or other steadyshot models, so I can't compare. Still, I was hoping for more. If you're going to do a lot of long-zoom video with this camera, because of its size and low mass, you'll need a tripod or steadicam.

Low-light performance is average. I've seen better.

Also. I purchased the Sony Bluetooth wireless mic and videolight. These were great. I can't say enough good thinga about the wireless mic. It worked perfectly. The videolight is terrific for its size and weight. It won't give enough light to fill a room, but it does a great job for what it is.



"Mini DV is Nearly R.I.P.", I must agree with an earlier reviewer, that this camcorder is not worth the asking price ..... especially now, since Mini DV seems to be a dying technology. Don't get me wrong; for what it is, the HC3 does a great job, with quality video and relatively easy operation. But the tape mechanism, as I've had to discover the hard way, is very delicate and it is getting harder to find people to service these machines ..... unless you want to send it directly to Sony and spend over $500. Ouch.

What happened in my case was, at one point the camera prompted me to insert a cleaning cassette for dirty heads. Never do this. I got one, it became stuck, and caused damage to the camera's tape eject mechanism. It ended up in the repair shop for nearly three months because, as they informed me, it is getting harder to acquire parts for these cameras, despite their being only 1.5 years old! One of the reasons for this, I believe, is the popularity of the newer DVD and hard drive recorders that are replacing Mini DV camcorders. Though the downside of that is compatibility issues with standard editing software, at least for now .... that's the technology race for you.

Anyway, I know this isn't really the best example of a product review. I was very happy with the little I was actually able to accomplish with this machine, but if you're going to spend this kind of money on a camcorder, I'd have to recommend one that captures to disc; it makes for better backup, and compared to the high maintenance of a tape transport-based unit, would definitely spare the user enormous expense and headaches on a device that will probably prove unreliable (not to mention obsolete) a year from now. Especially once the capture formats become compatible with non-linear editors.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"Very Nice HiDef Camcorder", Sony did it again.

This is my third Sony from D8 to MiniDV and now Hidef. I usually do lot of research before buying anything and for camcorder typically Sony is always the winner. I have been using this for over 3 months now.

Good: Compact, almost no noise as in it does not record the motor noise along with sound as some of competitors do, terrific colors and clarity. Worth the price for every cent

Bad or not so good: being too light shakes a lot or should I say you need to be careful. Low light is not good which is always the case with Sony consumer or as a matter of fact almost all the consumer camcorders.

Overall I am satisfied with this camcorder and recommend it. Now HC5 and HC7 are also out and price for HC3 has gone down as well.

Do your research and see what fits your needs and go for it. Save your memories in Hidef, the way to go - all the best.

"Simply an outstanding hi-definition video camera!", Bought this in October for a trip to Ireland with my family and I could not be more pleased. I understand that the HC5 and HC7 versions are coming soon which offer 4 and 6 MP still capabilities and if you're in no hurry you've certainly nothing to loose by waiting, but get a high definition video camera! It will turn your video experience on its head.

This camera has a ton of features - all the features that I could possibly desire in fact. One of the features I like best is the ability to place whatever menu item you use most on the first screen so it is readily accessible. I did this with exposure compensation for instance and it works great.

The picture quality is simply beyond belief! The Wow factor is amazing. Everyone who has seen the videos this produces is amazed at the quality and you will be too. It does suffer from image degradation with less light, but come on! This is to be expected. I actually thought it did quite well.

If you take nothing else from this review take this: get yourself a high definition video camera as soon as you can. You will never even consider standard definition again. Don't let another memorable occassion pass by without recording it to hi-def.

I highly recommend this camera or one of its siblings!

"Great Camera but new ones are on the way", I bought this May of 2006 and absolutely love it. But check out HDR-HC5 and HDR-HC7 that just came out on preorder. If you can wait until March, I say go ahead and get the HC-7 unless you get a steal price for the HC3.

"Crack in the HD dam", Have high end HD video camera. Images from this little tyke compare well. Lens is OK. The suggested additional wide angle lens is, in proportion to the very small camera, kind of bulky. A trade off. Maybe a wider built-in lens might compromise elsewhere. So indoors be prepared to do a lot of panning. Then be prepared to be sick when you view how hard it is to pan smoothly with such a small camera. You learn to body prop and pelvis turn - feet wide.

The BIG question is whether, given the nature of who will use it and how they will ultimately view, is whether to get the DV Tape version (my choice) or the Hard Drive version. Think that through carefully. If you plan to use a computer for viewing primarily then you can avoid the very big step of computer capture from tape.

Also consider that if you don't have a tape player that can play HD tapes, then your camera becomes the player (generally not a good idea).

A huge use for this camera is as a SECOND HD for those back shots, or tight to B roll or use with a more professional camera and not be lugging a zillion pounds extra nor the bulk of another pro camera. Some on air has done this with this camera (I know for a fact) and nobody has noticed.

Some news people are also using this camera when they want to be discrete about video taping.

"Great camera from Amazon!", Bought this camera 11/06 as "refurb" from Amazon for great price. Other than a few fingerprints, camera was in new condition. I have a Sony FX1 HDV camera ($3000) and wanted a second HDV camera that I could intercut with on 2-camera shoots. The BabyCam, as I call it, fits the bill perfectly. Great video, close color match to its bigger brother, incredibly tiny and light--just a wonderful all-around camera. Stills are what you would expect from a 4-megapixel camera--not state-of-the-art, but good enough for pretty much anything. The still flash is unbelievably strong.

Only negatives:

(1) No audio headset monitor out (don't care--not needed)

(2) No audio in, unless you buy special Sony microphone (again, don't care)

(3) Still tape-based, when long-term trend will be to flash memory or hard disk memory. But that's a ways off.

EDIT: 26 January 07--
Camera hardware malfunction after a few days, sent back to Amazon, credited only $400!!! As of today, I am assured by customer service ((800) 201-7575) that full refund will be coming soon.

Bought another identical HC3 from eBay, so I guess that shows I love the camera. Hey, these things are complicated inside, and sometimes something breaks, but I've had exceptional success with Sony video gear for many years, and no worries. Besides, I bought it as a "refurb" and I suspect it had this problem from day one (intermittent playback failure).

BTW there are two new cameras out to replace this one. If you need a mic in and headphone out, go for the more expensive one, but if you want a knockabout camera that works really, really well, this one is terrific. Maybe you can find one for a steal, now that it's being replaced...

EDIT 13 Feb 07--
Good old Amazon sent me a full refund after all.

Again, this is a great camera. NOTE: One of the hits against it was the lack of a microphone-in port. Apparently that issue has been laid to rest--look on eBay or elsewhere for Sony's "VMC-K100" adapter, $20. It's a little pillbox that sits on the Sony hotshoe and has a mic-in port on the side.