Even I was unable to acquire my own digital video camera, I was very privileged enough to have the chance to review Sony’s newest baby in the Philippine market: the Sony DCR-PC55 Mini DV digital camcorder.

When the Technews editor told me that the DCR-PC55 is the unit I was going to review, I immediately did my homework.  As I browsed through pictures of the DCR-PC55, I have to say that I didn't like the way it looked.  But as they say, looks can be deceiving most of the time.  When the unit arrived, I knew then that the DCR-PC55 looked better in the flesh.

General Features

The DCR-PC55 features a flip-out 3" Touch Panel Hybrid LCD monitor with 560 x 220 pixels.  The LCD display doubles as an "on-screen" touch panel, which allows navigation through the menu system by touching the LCD screen.  The flip-out panel opens to a 90-degree angle from the left side of the camcorder.  Once open, it can rotate up to 270 degrees.  It can be rotated forward 180 degrees; then closed with the LCD screen facing outward.  When rotated beyond 180 degrees the image inverts so it can be accurately seen from the front of the camcorder.

The camcorder has a 10x Optical Zoom for bringing a subject up close. It also features a 12x Precision Digital Zoom, to give a total zoom capability of 120x.  The digital zoom can be set to 20x or 120x (combined optical and digital).  Using Digital Zoom Interpolation technology, the extreme digital zooming is clearer and has less distortion than previous types of digital zoom.  The power zoom lever can be moved slightly for a slow zoom, or moved further for a faster zoom.

The unit has a unique Handycam Station that provides quick and easy connections to a TV for viewing, to a VCR for recording, or to a PC for editing and sharing video.  The Handycam Station has a DC input to charge the camcorder's battery.  The unit also has i.Link, USB, and analog A/V jacks for connecting to other components.

The DCR-PC55 can record video in a MiniDV tape that delivers three times the color bandwidth.  It can also take JPEG digital still images as well as moving images in MPEG and store the images in a Memory Stick. A 16MB Memory Stick Duo is included in the package, but MiniDV tapes are sold separately.

Camcorder Features

The unit can record and play back in SP or LP mode, with LP records running at 2/3 the speed of SP.  Picture quality is the same at the lower speed, and this makes recording time longer.  It can record and play audio in 12-bit and 16-bit PCM digital stereo modes.  In 12-bit mode, there are two stereo audio tracks (stereo 1 and stereo 2) which enable audio dubbing and audio mixing.  Tapes recorded in 16-bit mode are of higher audio quality.

The DCR-PC55 has a Super SteadyShot picture stabilization system that uses motion sensors to detect and compensate for unwanted camera vibration without compromising picture quality.

After recording and playing back a tape, just press the End Search button to have the camcorder fast forward; or rewind the tape and play the last 5 seconds of what has just been recorded.  This feature makes it easy to find the end of the last scene that was recorded, and the user can start recording from where he left off.

The DCR-PC55 has a Picture Effect feature that allows digitally processed images during recording or playback to produce special effects.  A user may choose from the following effects: Negative Art (the color of the picture is reversed), Sepia, Black and White, Solarize, Pastel (picture looks like a pastel drawing), and Mosaic.

And if a user, especially newbies, finds the functions too complicated there is always an Easy Handycam feature where most of the camera settings are automatically optimized.  This allows even first time users to shoot great video footage.

Digital Still Camera Features

Aside from the standard MiniDV camcorder features, the DCR-PC55 includes a slot that accepts a Memory Stick Duo (a 16MB Memory Stick Duo is included in the package) to capture Digital Still photos in JPEG format and short video clips in MPEG format.

Still images are recorded in 640 x 480 pixels.  You can select from two image quality modes, Standard and Fine.  The number of storable images for a 16MB Memory Stick Duo is 240 images for Standard mode and 96 images for Fine mode.

Moving images are stored in the Memory Stick Duo in MPEG format, either in 320 x 240 or 160 x 112 image sizes.  Unlike earlier MPEG1 compression that limits the length of the moving image "clip", Sony's MPEG Movie feature allows uninterrupted recording of MPEG movies up to the capacity of the available Memory Stick.  The total recording time for moving pictures for a 16MB Memory Stick Duo is 10 minutes 40 seconds for images with sizes of 160 x 112; and 2 minutes 40 seconds for images with sizes of 320 x 240.

The pictures on the Memory Stick Duo can be played back one at a time or 6 images can be shown simultaneously by selecting the index screen. The moving picture clips stored in a Memory Stick are played back one at a time.  It can also automatically play back images from the Memory Stick in sequence if the user chooses to play back all of the files, or files from a selected folder.  The Slide Show Plus feature offers several enhancements to a standard slide show such as motion effect, fade from slide to slide, and Monotone (black and white).

The DCR-PC55 has PictBridge Printing capability.  Using the USB cable and Handycam Station, it can connect the unit directly to a PictBridge compliant printer.  PictBridge is a new standard that allows you to connect a PictBridge compliant camera directly to a PictBridge compliant printer and make prints.

The unit’s battery

The DCR-PC55 comes with a NP-FA50 InfoLithium battery.  The battery can be charged at any time because unlike other types of batteries, Sony's rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries are not subject to a life shortening "memory effect".  At the touch of a button, battery information is displayed on the LCD screen during charging.  The display will also show the remaining battery charge and the recording time left.

What we can say about it

The DCR-PC55 is in a class by itself! It slips easily into a pocket and uses its Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® lens to capture digital video footage. Plus, it can be used to shoot digital photos and video clips sized for e-mail.

All in all, Technews finds Sony’s new baby, a great little camera.  The small size means you can bring it with you wherever you go.  It's great for the occasional user or for people who bring it with them to record interesting things as they happen.  With its cool looks and small size, the DCR-PC55 is the perfect accessory for filming on the go!