In a category of camcorders that have relatively little to distinguish one from another, the Sony Handycam DCR-SR87 is genuinely remarkable. Few users will ever require more storage than is available on its massive hard drive. It has exceptional optics and recording flexibility and provides still photo capabilities well beyond those seen in a typical video camera. It even offers some intriguing audio capabilities, a consideration often left as an afterthought among camcorders. Among standard definition camcorders it offers an amazing array of features and qualities at a very attractive price.
Hard disc drive camcorders are a great choice for consumers who want the convenience of recording for a very long time without changing video cassettes, DVDs or memory cards. The Sony Handycam DCR-SR-87 comes with an 80GB integrated hard drive…not the biggest available but larger than most. In practical terms, that translates to nearly 20 hours of recording time in the highest resolution, HQ mode, 29 hours in standard play mode and a whopping 56 hours in LP mode. Clearly, image quality suffers as available recording time increases but it’s a great set of options for many people. In addition to the hard drive, the camcorder has a slot that accommodates a Memory Stick PRO Duo of up to 16GB capacity. Memory sticks are removable media that are roughly equivalent to SD/SDHC cards but are proprietary to Sony.
Not only does the memory stick offer additional capacity, but perhaps more importantly, sections of content recorded on the hard drive can be transferred to the stick and then removed and subsequently transferred to a PC, printer or DVD burner. The more typical way of transferring content from the integrated hard drive is via the high speed USB 2.0 interface. Direct burning of content recorded on the camcorder can be accomplished using the One Touch Disc Burn function and the supplied Picture Motion Browser software. DVDs can also be created directly using Sony’s VRD-P1 DVDirect DVD burner which is sold separately. Multiple output options also allow for transfer to Blu-ray discs and offer one click uploading to photo and video sharing web sites.
The Sony Handycam DCR-SR87 features a high precision Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens as the front end of its top quality image capture chain. It has a powerful 25x optical zoom capability for bring distant subjects closer and boasts Sony’s SteadyShot optical image stabilization function to increase image clarity by effectively reducing the effects of camera shake. It also has 2,000x digital zoom. While digital zoom generally, and especially at this extreme magnification, will inevitably result in loss of resolution, Sony claims that its Digital Zoom Interpolation system reduces the distortion that is typical of digital zoom.
Optical information from the lens is captured by a 1/6-inch Advanced HAD CCD video sensor. HAD stands for Hole-Accumulation Diode and is a Sony exclusive. They say that it provides better performance than the CMOS CCDs that are the industry standard. The sensor has 1070K gross pixels and video resolution is 720 x 480. Still photo resolution is one-megapixel. Low light shooting is a weak point for this device in that minimum required illumination is 8 lux and there is neither a video light nor hot shoe for adding one.
Standard definition camcorders aren’t well known for their emphasis on audio recording so the DCR-SR87 stands out in this regard. It’s equipped with Dolby Digital 5.1 channel recording capability for more realistic sound. It also has an integrated Zoom Mic which focuses audio recording on subjects in coordination with the zoom lens.
There’s no viewfinder on the DCR-SR87 so shot framing is left to the 2.7-inch touchscreen LCD. It has 123K pixel display resolution for a bright, clear image and rotates 270-degrees to accommodate multiple shooting and playback angles. The touchscreen allows access to the camera’s menus and several specific functions including record, zoom and spot focus and metering. Opening the LCD screen turns the camera on while closing it shuts the camera down.
Face detection is available to enhance shooting results as are scene modes including auto, twilight, twilight portrait, candle, sunrise and sunset, fireworks, landscape, portrait, spotlight, sports, beach and snow. Still photos can be captured from video footage and there’s a slide show mode as well. In addition to the USB connection, there are also video, audio and S-Video interfaces.
The Sony DCR-SR87 is at the high end of standard definition camcorders that record to an integrated hard disc drive rather than the removable media used in other categories. It offers remarkable video quality and is one of a very few such units that places an emphasis on audio quality as well. It goes without saying that, as a standard definition camera, it won’t provide the spectacular results of a high definition camcorder but the images are outstanding by any other measure. It’s a superb choice and a great value.
