Sony Handycam DCR-HC46 review

It's hard to tell Sony's line of MiniDV camcorders apart just by looking at them. That's because the entry-level Sony Handycam DCR-HC26, the step-up Handycam DCR-HC36 and the mid-level Handycam DCR-HC46 all have the same basic shell and extremely similar feature sets. But inside, each has a different CCD sensor, which means there should be some difference in performance.

We found that the difference between the DCR-HC26 and DCR-HC36 was minor, and unless you feel you need its low-quality still images, we saw no need to step up to the DCR-HC36. However, the DCR-HC46 offers a more significant boost in video and still imaging for a modest increase in price, making it a decent value for the money.

Design
Like its siblings, the Handycam DCR-HC46 is small and lightweight and will easily find a spot in a backpack or other bag. The layout is essentially the same as the DCR-HC36's. The main difference is the HC46's slightly-larger widescreen 69mm (2.7-inch) LCD touchscreen. If you dislike Sony's touchscreen interface, this modest increase in size isn't likely to change your mind, especially since the HC46's widescreen LCD is not as tall as the HC36's 4:3 display, but the increased size is nice for 16:9 shooting.

Features
For shooters willing to venture out of Easy mode, the DCR-HC46 has a decent amount of control, including some autoexposure presets, manual exposure and both manual and autofocus. As usual, Sony's NightShot plus did a fine job of capturing footage, even at extremely low light levels. The results are greenish, monotone images, but that's still more enjoyable than the grainy or blurry shots you'll get from most camcorders in this price range.

Another major difference between the DCR-HC46 and its less-expensive cousins is its connectivity. While the HC36 has FireWire and USB jacks built into the camera, the HC46 and the more-expensive HC96 come with a dock that includes AV output (via a breakout cable), as well as USB and FireWire connections. The camera itself includes an AV output -- again via a breakout cable -- so you can still hook the camera up to your TV and watch video directly from the camera. The HC46 doesn't include an analogue-to-digital converter, so if you plan on digitising your analogue video, you'll need to part with more money for the Handycam DCR-HC96 or another similarly equipped camcorder.

Performance
We were pleased with the Sony Handycam DCR-HC46's performance. Autofocus and autoexposure both responded quickly and yielded accurate results. Image stabilisation was effective through most of the camera's 12x optical zoom range. Sony rates the included rechargeable lithium-ion battery to provide about 55 to 65 minutes of typical recording time on one charge. That's enough to fill a tape, but a little more headroom would've been nice. To its credit, Sony offers optional larger capacity batteries, so it might be a good idea to get an extra, especially if you plan to bring this Handycam on holiday.

Image quality
Video from the DCR-HC46 is slightly above average. It was noticeably sharper than the video we got from the DCR-HC36, which shouldn't be a surprise, given the HC46's larger sensor, which captures footage with about twice as many pixels as the HC36's. Colours were slightly over saturated, but not absurdly so. Still images also showed more detail than those captured by the HC36 and had fairly accurate colour for a camcorder, though at 1 megapixel, you still won't get high-quality prints from them.

While it was hard to make the case to step up from the DCR-HC26 to the DCR-HC36, the Sony Handycam DCR-HC46 is a logical improvement, with a noticeable bump in video quality for your extra cash. Casual videographers who care about video quality but don't want to break the bank on a camcorder should keep the Handycam DCR-HC46 on their short list.

Edited by Jim Hoffman
Additional editing by Kate Macefield