Awesome high-definition video quality, particularly in good lighting, and for an unbelievably reasonable price

Quibbles aside, the HC1 represents a great leap forward – both for knocking down the price of Hi-Def capture and for cramming it into a compact, easy-to-use product.

The HDR-HC1E is too expensive to appeal to even the top end of mainstream camcorder users. But, then again, if you fancy shooting HD right now, the only other options are at least twice the price. Considering the price isn’t far off a decent three-CCD semi-professional model, the HDR-HC1E’s price is actually quite amazing. And the video it shoots is absolutely stunning.

If you have any intention to do high definition recordings in the future, I think this model is a no-brainer of a choice. For some, the price point might be a bit high, but it is coming down all the time and it is currently unmatched for features in this price range.

The design and usability of the camcorder are excellent. It has an image stabiliser and a 10x optical zoom with excellent controls. The large 16:9 LCD is bright and has excellent viewing angles, though it cannot live up to the HD footage being recorded. Therefore for manual focus, the viewfinder is essential. Other manual controls include exposure, backlight and nightshot mode.

Don’t be fooled by the disguise; the HDR-HC1 is the first consumer high-definition (HD) camcorder, and this is a watershed moment in home video. Sony still has some kinks to work out, but the video quality is absolutely breathtaking and dramatically better than any other consumer camcorder we’ve seen.

The Sony Handycam HDR-HC1 is a good first effort at a consumer HD camcorder, but only HD fanatics should consider it.

The HC1 is undoubtedly an impressive camera – ignore its HDV capabilities and it’s still an excellent performer for the price. But is now the time to invest in HD? Unlike PAL, HD covers a range of formats, and it’s possible that Sony’s choice of 1080i (to use its technical name) could fall out of favour compared to the 720p and 1080p formats used elsewhere. As such, if you’re thinking of upgrading, it might be worth waiting a year to see if prices fall and standards settle down. However, if you can’t wait that long, the HC1 is at worst an extremely impressive MiniDV camera and at best, a ground-breaking HDV camera.