Because of the control limitations discussed in the previous section, this camcorder seems optimised for use in its fully automated Easy mode. To get slightly more control without fishing for advanced settings in the menus, you can switch to plain programmed automatic shooting and have access to the Backlight mode, automatic scene modes -- Spotlight, Portrait, Beach & Ski, Sunset & Moon, Sports Lesson and Landscape -- and a variety of digital effects. Spot Focus lets you use the touch screen to select the part of the frame that should be in focus. The only common consumer-oriented feature missing here is an infrared mode for no-light recording.
One area that Sony thought out well -- and that can be very conveniently controlled via an actual button -- is aspect ratio. The DCR-PC1000 can not only record both 16:9 and 4:3 images, but it can output either aspect ratio with appropriate letterboxing for any type of television.
More advanced videomakers can control most camera functions manually through the menu system, with the notable exceptions of shutter speed and gain. Two noteworthy aids to manual focusing are a focus-distance display in the viewfinder and an Expanded Focus feature that enlarges the centre of the viewfinder to make critical focusing easier.
Surprisingly, several professional-level features are hidden away in the menus, including a spot meter, a histogram, frame and interval recording and user-settable zebra stripes to aid exposure. The DCR-PC1000 also offers surprisingly sophisticated image-customisation controls, such as sharpness, saturation and white-balance shift. And although it doesn't offer true progressive capture, its progressive shutter system approximates the look of 30-frame footage reasonably well and Cinematic mode creates a filmlike 24-frame look.
The DCR-PC1000 also offers a useful range of photo functions, including burst and flash modes, PictBridge compatibility for direct printing, special effects and a variety of output resolutions up to 1,920x1,440 pixels. You can record MPEG-1 for online display to the Memory Stick Duo or use the camcorder as a Webcam. Analogue-to-digital conversion with pass-through lets you digitise your old analogue footage with the PC1000.
Performance
The Sony Handycam DCR-PC1000 offers superb automation. Autofocus, autoexposure and automatic white balance operate quickly, subtly and accurately -- and with a minimum of hunting. However, the zoom toggles make controlling focal length somewhat challenging.
For a camera of this size, its LCD is big and bright. It's viewable even in direct sunlight. We found the viewfinder less impressive, primarily because it is completely fixed in position.
Unusually for a Sony camera, the DCR-PC1000 has mediocre battery life. The stock battery lasts only 1.5 hours at best. Though you can purchase a longer-lasting battery, runtime is limited by the dimensions of the batteries, which must be small enough to fit into the camera's internal compartment.
The stereo microphone is subject to the usual limitations of built-in mics: it picks up a fair amount of camera and handling noise and is not at all directional. Audio performance can no doubt be improved with one of Sony's optional accessory mikes, which mount on the hotshoe.
Image quality
Sony's implementation of CMOS chips instead of the usual CCDs has succeeded in producing excellent video quality and decent photo quality from the Handycam DCR-PC1000. The crisp, contrasty and accurate video looks noticeably superior to that of many similar-size one-chip camcorders, especially in terms of colour quality. In addition, you can customise the image's look via menu controls for sharpness, saturation and colour.
One downside to the CMOS technology appears to be low-light performance, which in this camcorder is mediocre by contemporary standards. However, the sensors' high pixel counts allow them to achieve full video resolution in both 4:3 and 16:9 shooting modes.
Although the DCR-PC1000 provides electronic image stabilisation instead of an optical system, it effectively eliminated shake without noticeably degrading the image.
Edited by Aimee Baldridge
Additional editing by Nick Hide
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters