No comments about Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder.

1 comments about Sony DCR-SX44 Flash memory Handycam Camcorder.

1. The software Sony includes does not even recognize its own video format. I set up the video camera to record to an SD card. The software (PMB) installed without issue. I put the SD card into the PC and try to get PMB to import the files. I get an error message that it can't import because it doesn't recognize the format (.mpg)!?!?! Okay, I copy the files to the PC and try again...same error?
   
   An additional pain point is that there was no USB cable included. Hence the SD card.
   
   Now I remember why I've avoided Sony in the past...DON'T BUY SONY

1 comments about Sony HDR-CX150 16GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Red).

1. I just bought this from amazon (at a good price) and so far so good. i haven't really had a chance to make any good videos but from so far the quality seems good. good stabilization and low light. check youtube for sample videos, that's what sold me on this camera.

3 comments about Sony DCR-SR68 80GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder.

1. I bought this at a store, not Amazon. I read good reviews about earlier models, and was a bit hesitant to buy this camera because a few people said the video quality was bad. I took the risk, but they were right. The video (and digital picture) quality are unacceptable. Even in decent lighting, the pictures are very dark and grainy, as if they were taken by an old webcam. Even at high quality, there was no improvement. Also, the autofocus was very poor and did not adjust to fast-moving subjects. Don't be fooled if you try it in a store; the LCD screen has great resolution (better than an iPod) but when you see the video on a computer screen (even when not blown to full size) or on a projection screen, the video quality is so bad. It looks average on a traditional TV. And the zoom mic also does not capture sound effectively. I was going to use this for business videography, but it would have been embarrassing to use this camcorder. I suspect similar camcorders (i.e. 1/6 CCD) may have similar inferior quality. The size, zoom quality, and touch screen might be nice features, but my Canon A570 digital camera from four years ago took better video.



2. I purchased this camera at a store, believing the SONY brand name and previous good reviews about similar Sony camcorders. There are several flaws to this product.
   Cons
   1. Picture quality is very poor, Indoor and outdoor pictures in good light appear with a bluish tint all over. If you wear a white /gray cloth it appears bluish on video. Like wise the sunlight coming inside your house through window /blinds all appears light blue!! Even with good lighting the quality of images are very bad, lacks sharpness, This in comparison to my old Panasonic PV GS120 is not even close to true color. If you view the pictures on a TV screen it will definitely appear lacking the sharpness. If you are transferring the video to computer using the supplied software it appears very blurry and grainy.
   2. There is no way you can charge the battery when camcorder is in use even if there is a spare battery because the battery charging is done hooking up the AC adapter to the camcorder! This seems really stupid. Sony could have made a battery slot on the AC adapter to do this.
   3. There is no separate viewfinder. So if the LCD is broken- everything is gone.
   4. Audio quality does not seem to be that good but average.
   5. I can not find the resolution of the camera for still shots, nothing is mentioned in the manual either. You can not shoot a still picture while recording the video, you have to capture it from the video shots already made. Yea the resolution does not matter in that case.
   6. Battery life approximately less than an hour
   7. The LED for lighting seems silly
   
   
   Pros
   1. Small size, you can carry in Pants pocket
   2. Provision to use SDHC card instead of the "Sony's own" memory stick duo only. I have not used one yet though.
   3. LCD is very clear and sharp (good resolution), and it responds well to the touch.
   4. Video transfer is quick and easy once the basic Sony software is installed. I would use some other software to edit it though.
   5. 80 GB storage space is great
   6. The Sony software has a calendar to see events on a chronological order, that looks great if you are time conscious about the video
   Overall I am not satisfied with this camcorder. I will return it soon.



3. I love this camcorder, small but powerful. I first used this camcorder for a singing competion, and the quality was awsome. As I reviewed the video on my computer I felt like I was right there. Great video and pictures in low light and the face Detection technology is great. Easy to download to the computer.

2 comments about Sony HDR-XR150 120GB High Definition HDD Handycam Camcorder.

1. 25 X Zoom in 1080p! Where else you get gonna get that? 300 X digital zoom! Now those ufo pics will be indisputable! Minus 1 star because no way to attach an infrared light or flash. :(



2. i ordered this product off Amazon around a year ago so i know its ups and downs quiet well, i used this camera for my multi-media classes to make short movies and advertisements, it was a great experience, the bottom line is the camera is great outdoors but needs alot of lighting indoors, just a few light bulbs won't do the job of decent lighting, the camera's zoom with 1080p is amazing, the best thing about this camera is the sound quality it records without attaching any attachments like a shotgun mic to it, i was extremely impressed with how clear the sound was as oppose to other brands, even when the person is pretty far it wasn't a problem, it also have a zoom-mic option that can come in handy.
   
   the main reason i gave it a 3/5 which is also the reason that gave me a really hard time shooting was it had no microphone jack, so i couldn't install a boom mic or a shotgun mic or any type of mic that will give me smooth crystal clear sound. What also really annoyed me is you could ONLY install sony accessories because the way accessories were installed in the camera was different from other camera's, i had alot of stuff i wanted to use with the camera that i didn't simply because it won't install on the camera.
   
   having a camera with an HDD was a great idea, but out of every (approx) 50 video's i recorded i had one that was corrupted and wouldn't open. Not sure if its just my camera.

3 comments about Sony HDR-CX110 High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Red).

1. I was looking to replace my JVC Everio, that had a 60GB hard drive in it. I loved the convenience of the hard drive, since that replaced an older unit I had that used the small tape cartridges. But the prices for the HD capable units are more than I was willing to pay for a camcorder, so looked at the units that just used memory sticks.
   
   I have the Sony DSC-TX1 digital camera and was blown away by its optical quality, and it even took 720p movies which were just insanely clearer than my 1 year old JVC camcorder. That was when I realized I needed to lose the JVC. Almost all the movies I do are of my son, now 6 years old, so the better the quality the happier I would be. Too many artifacts with the low definition JVC, panning was just ugly ugly ugly, and while it had a great response in low light, the picture quality was just not what I wanted considering how good everything else with my TV and still camera.
   
   I was initially going to get the 100 version of this, since it was so insanely cheap for a 1080 capable camcorder, but the bad low light capability put me off, since most of what I record is in my house. And the very low numbers for optical zoom also concerned me. But amazon conveniently puts little links under the initial product listing if there's a new version, so I saw the 110 and the price was good. I did some digging on Sony's site, somewhat confused that the cheap little 100 had 16GB built in but the higher end had none, but when I saw the rest of the specs in comparison, I felt it was a very good unit to give a test run with. My local brick and mortars didn't have it in stock, so I ordered it from Amazon and got the Saturday delivery early on Saturday, plenty of time to charge it up and try it out.
   
   I left all settings at default except for the quality setting. That was easy to find, and the touchscreen on this unit makes it very easy to operate. As with my sony still camera, it has a "user" screen too where you can pin the six most used functions to save you from having to navigate into submenus. I love this feature, as it made my touchscreen still camera so simple and quick to use.
   
   So I did four test movies, all of the same thing (my 6 year old playing with a huge Geotrax set), at all four of the options for 1080p resolution. The camera is smaller than I had expected, very light and fits well in the hand. The only real buttons to deal with in normal operation are the zoom and the start/stop recording, which are placed well despite the small size of the unit. If you want to grab a still as well, which you can do while recording, that button is on top right behind the zoom, so it's easy to get at. So use is great, no problems.
   
   As I said, touch screen menu is great, so changing settings as I went was a piece of cake.
   
   Started with the highest 24Mbps, then the next down (I think it was 17Mbps), then the "default" one they start you out at, 9Mbps, then the lowest. When I was done, I pulled the card out (nice, quick access on the bottom with a great, sturdy, hinged door). Went into my macbook pro just fine, and i started playback.
   
   I have a 13" macbook pro, the aluminum unibody, that I got about four months ago. So new core2 duo processor, nvidia 9400 graphics... And it could not play the highest or second highest quality movies raw... Which told me that they were going to be great on my windows 7 media center. The third and fourth files played, but since the laptop is not a 1080 screen, it didn't look that good. So I went ahead and pulled the memory card out of the laptop, put it in my Dell Zino that runs my beautiful 46" Samsung HDTV, and played them all.
   
   One thing I hadn't realized is that when it creates the files, it creates them in a native bluray playback format, the folder structure and all. So that should make it easy for people who will want to burn to Bluray.
   
   Anyway, on the media center, i played the highest quality one first. And my jaw dropped, and I nearly had to go buy some adult diapers. WOW. That was all I could say or think. WOW. It was just outstanding, WAY better than I had expected. And it's not like I'm so unfamiliar with HD that even bad HD was impressive to me - my first HDTV was purchased back in 1999, a huge 60" Mitsubishi diamond line TV. So I've been using HD for over 10 years now. And this just knocked my socks off.
   
   I had nearly no artifacting or blurring or anything with the movement of the camera as I've come to expect from camcorders. Even the blurring was minimal. And the shots of things were just crystal clear. I had a 1080p version of the movie BOLT running on the TV as he played with his geotrax, so I zoomed in so that filled the viewfinder, and recorded some of the movie. During playback at that scene, I couldn't even tell it wasn't the original playing back, that it was a recording of the TV from earlier, it was that clear.
   
   I was indoors, in Wisconsin on a winter day with snow falling, so there was no direct sunlight, just all clouds. Only one window's curtains open, and no lights turned on inside. And the clarity and lighting was excellent. Every bit I could hope for.
   
   So I tried the next down quality, and it blew me away. As did the third and then the lowest quality. All looked stunning. When I got down to the lowest, I could see some difference between it and the highest, but for what I was, and will be, shooting (my son), I think I'll end up using the default third lowest setting because it was still jaw droppingly good on my HDTV.
   
   I got the 16GB card since the 32GB card was still in the three digit price range, and i have a habit of transferring the files to my computer as soon as I'm done shooting anyway. And at the third quality setting, the default 9Mbps one, a 25 minute clip used just 1.9GB, so I should get about 3 1/2 hours on this card at this rate, so I'll not have to worry about running out of media for my normal use.
   
   The display is crisp and clear, widescreen format, and not cluttered when recording. Response to touch was very good, only once when selecting something from a bottom of a menu did I have to touch it twice, since the first didn't register. Didn't take any pressure to get it to see my pressing.
   
   The still picture while shooting video worked easily enough, but they're not great quality, so it won't replace your digital camera if you have a good one. But it may give you a decent still shot of something you would have missed otherwise...
   
   All in all, this is waaaayyyyy better than I had expected, and more than I had even hoped for. 100% satisfied with the unit.
   
   I can't attest to battery usage yet, since I have only had it for five hours, and only ran about 40 or 45 minutes of recording through it so far. In a few days I'll pop back in here and edit this with the results I've seen with regards to the battery life, since this is evidently the first review of this model.



2. I just received my Sony Camera HDR-CX110. The main problem is that this camera has not an internal memoryt, so you have to expend additional USD 100 for a decent flash card 32G memory, despite the fact the camera has good image quality, it only have 3.1Megapixel for still images, what a disapointment. For only additional USD40 you can buy a Sony HDR-CX150, 25x optical zoom with internal memory of 16G; even the older version of Sony HDR-CX 100 is better, internal memory of 8G and 4 Megapixel still images. I felt robbed by Sony with this "new version videocamera of HDR-CX100" DON'T BUY IT, SONY SCAMS YOU WITH THIS MODEL, I will go for a CANON, at least they don't scam you!!



3. Video quality on this camcorder is fantastic. I did many research and debated between Canon and Sony. I didn't like the model CX100 because of the fact that the poor quality in low light condition. I almost decided to buy canon HF200. I went to bestbuy to buy this canon. I saw this new model CX110 and bestbuy representative explained the features. This CX-110 is a major upgrade from CX100. New sensor Emos "R" and 25X optical zoom were the best one. I then decided to buy this Sony new model instead of Canon.
   
   I am very happy about my decision. I took shots in day light and also in low night, the video is excellent. Amazon.com is very good and i got it within 4 days after placing the order.
   
   I read the review comment of the person who rated 2 for this camcorder. I am surprised to note the reason for the low rating. Even though the specification of this camcorder clearly says no internal memory, i don't understand why people buy and rate low for their mistake.
   
   Bottomline, my prediction is Sony will break-through and out beat other competitor in 2010 in camcorder.

1 comments about Sony HDR-CX150 16GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder.

1. I just bought this from amazon (at a good price) and so far so good. i haven't really had a chance to make any good videos but from so far the quality seems good. good stabilization and low light. check youtube for sample videos, that's what sold me on this camera.

5 comments about Sony MHS-PM5 bloggie HD Video Camera (White) NEWEST MODEL.

1. This is my first foray into the pocket HD market. I just bought this cam about a week ago because I wanted something small to stick in my pocket. I have a 2 year old and I don't always feel like carrying my miniDV cam with me everywhere along with my digital cam. In going around the stores browsing and testing, I chose this cam because of the swivel lens (which does prove helpful in shooting) because I felt better about it in my pocket as opposed to the exposed lens on most of the other cams. Also, the removable lithium rechargeable battery pack (those of you who have ever had a digital cam that runs on AA's know what I'm talking about). And lastly the fact that theres no built in storage. Sure 120 mins or the like is nice, but what if you need more space?
   
   The size of the cam is great. Its about the size of my cell phone!!! It feels very comfortable in my hands. Easy to get started using: flip out the lens and start shooting. navigation and playback buttons towards the bottom and zoom and capture buttons on the side. I do think they could have seperated the 2 capture buttons(separate vid and still) a little farther apart. I have not used the software that came with it yet.
   
   It takes great video outdoors nice and bright and crisp. Stills outdoors also come out very nice. Indoors in lower light isn't quite good. Video gets dark and grainy, and photos tend to have some motion blur due to auto exposure settings I guess. The mic is fairly sensitive to ambient sounds in the immediate are (ie: sound of grass or leaves crunching as u walk through it). I'm getting 45 mins video on a 2 gig memory card at the moment until the bigger card i bought arrives.
   
   Built in USB with extension cable for PC transfer and battery charging, and A/V cables for TV playback. An HDMI would have served better for tv playback of an HD cam though.
   
   My final verdict is this: I will be keeping this cam. It is a great cam to shove in your pocket/purse and go. Its an entry level cam thats simple to use with good video. If you are looking for something to be 0 lux, something to plug external mics, lights, and other accessories into that you are doing more advanced shooting with, then you are looking at the wrong category all together you are looking for a traditional form HD cam. Take it for what it is for the price.



2. Hi, I bought this item because i thought it will be an esay way to take pictures. I love the bloggie camera design but my pictures are YELLOW!!!! if i take pictures in the day, they turn a bit yellow but in the night is TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , I live in Peru so its very difficult to return this item. I took my camera to a sony store but they couldnt help me yet because this camera its not available yet here.
   Please can someone help me....why my pictures are all yellow????
   
   Thanks a lot!



3. Summary: A pocket sized camcorder which can't decide between being a "point and shoot" and a more fully featured model - some very nice features but overall too many functions and features make it harder and less enjoyable to use. Definitely not for everybody.
   
   I'm a certifiable gadget geek and several years ago bought a first generation Flip Video camera to supplement our regular MiniDV and 3CCD MiniDV camcorders. I also have a mini "spy" cam for rockets and such so this is actually our FIFTH camcorder
   
   I was intrigued by the swiveling lens. This is by far the best feature. It protects the lens and also acts as an on-off switch (there is another on off switch in case you want to view images with the lens closed) or turn it off with the lens open.
   
   There are other features which are nice (still images, etc) but by loading this camcorder up with functions it actually becomes more confusing and harder to use. I won't list them all as an example, you can select between five resolutions (1080@30FPS,720@60FPS,720@30FPS,640x460)
   
   This camcorder is pocketable but the size is nothing to write home about - it's as big as a typical smart phone but definitely bigger than today's cell phones. (nearly identical to my HTC touch pro, same size as the first generation flip without the bulge, noticibly larger than a Motorola RAZR or Samsung A900).
   
   Then there is the record button location. It's thin, narrow, and on one side. More than once I've found myself having to hit the button again because it didn't register. Ergonomically this sucks, plus you get an extra shake at the start and finish of each video you shoot unless you're really careful.
   
   In addition, I was appalled by the low light performance for 720P @ 60 FPS. Even at 30 FPS 1080 or 720, the low light performance was not as good as our first gen Flip Video.
   
   
   Likes
   - Swivel lens
   - Charge via USB cable
   - Removable battery (allows spare battery capability)
   - Standard tripod socket on bottom
   - Large playback screen
   
   Dislikes
   - Proprietary Sony Memory card
   - Low light performance
   - Off axis on/off button not ergonomic
   - Larger than you would expect
   
   
   If you've found this review helpful, or have questions / comments, please let me know!



4. To be completely honest, except for the lame name, the terrible color selection, and I dished out $200 bucks less than a year ago for the webbie only to have this come out now...this is a great camera. I see a lot of people complaining about the quality....for a $180 buck camcorder/camera you can't beat it. I don't know what people are expecting for a pocket fit inexpensive camera.
   
   The swivel lens is what sold me the most, but size and how good it looks outdoors is great. I used it as a helmet cam when I rode my motorcycle around, but like most inexpensive cameras the indoors it not top shelf.
   
   For an action sports/outdoors camcorder its better than the GoPro or anything like it. If you wanna be the next George Lucas than I suggest go drop a few K on a camcorder.



5. I bought the Sony Bloggie from Amazon along with a high speed Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX 8 GB Flash Memory Card with USB Reader MSHX8G for a 3 week trip to Bermuda. The camera is very compact so it was easy to carry in my pocket in an old cell phone case. It's actually smaller than an iPhone or a G1.
   
   It was easy to quickly take a photo or a video. The built-in software also makes it simple to upload videos and photos to the Internet. There are several sites programmed into the software but I just used Picasa for photos and YouTube for videos.
   
   I shot all my videos in 720p and was very pleased with the quality of the video and sound. I only took a dozen or so photos with the Bloggie but they were acceptable. It was so much fun and so easy to take videos that I didn't even think about taking photos.
   
   The Bloggie is not without its drawbacks. A jack for an external microphone would have been a nice feature but I found the built-in mic to be fine. Oddly the most irritating thing about the Bloggie is sliding the USB connector back into the camera. I always felt like either it would never go back in or that it might break. The USB extender cord that comes with the Bloggie is about 6.5" long; a longer one would have been more convenient. The screen is way too reflective and washes out in daylight so an anti-glare screen protector will be my next purchase for this camera. Documentation, once you have set the camera up is pretty much non-existent, so it's a learning experience as you use the camera. The will be some shake to your videos if you aren't firmly holding the camera or not using a tripod but that is true of all video cameras regardless of size unless one has a Steadicam or other camera stabilizer.
   
   My bottom line is I really love this camera. It met all of my expectations; not too cold, not too hot but just right. I highly recommend it and would buy it again without hesitation.

5 comments about Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie HD Video Camera (Violet) NEWEST MODEL.

1. Let me start by saying that this camera doesn't cost $200. It costs more like $250 when you have to buy an 8gb Sony Pro Duo Memory Card and unless you already have a mini-HDMI to HDMI cord, you'll have to shell out extra for that as well (if you want to connect it to your HDTV). As far as being Mac compatible ...not really. The box says Mac on it yet the CD that comes with the camera has NO MAC SOFTWARE ON IT!!! WTF Sony??? I had to use Quicktime to get my files off the camera in MPEG-4 and then drop those into iMovie to be edited. Very lame. But, I was using iMovie '08 and so that may be the reason. Perhaps iMovie '09 works properly, I don't know.
   
   Regarding the camera...
   
   I found it okay to hold until I wanted to use my thumb to press a button. There is just no way to hold this camera with one hand and operate the zoom or the record button without a lot of shaking going on. This is just a poor design, especially for the zoom. If you want a stable shot while zooming, you'll need to put two hands on the camera. The same can be said when you want to snap a picture. The menu is very basic and limited. There are very few options you can control. Apparently, the camera automates just about everything, which is disappointing. Picture quality is the only saving grace of this camera. It is exceptionally good for the price. However, if you want to video your kids' sporting events, it better be a bright day or a bright gym. The low-light performance of this camera is terrible. And, the only way to shoot at 60 fps (frames per second) is by dropping down to 720P - which is still good quality, but it's not full HD. Also, the low-light performance gets even worse at 60 fps (as with all camcorders) so for dimly lit gyms, this camera just flat out doesn't work.
   
   Charging this camera sucks. It charges via USB only and DOES NOT INCLUDE A USB TO WALL OUTLET ADAPTER!!! Therefore, you have to connect it to your computer and leave it on. In this day and age of eco-friendliness, that's really lame. Also, the USB connection on the camera is a male plug, not female. Therefore, you need a special cord for that as well (they give you one that is about 6" long- which is awkward). For such a small camera, this is dumb design. I think they are trying to appeal to being "cord free" like the Flip but there are better ways to accomplish this.
   
   One last thing... every time I charge or connect the USB, the next time I go to use the camera it says "error formatting memory card". I take the battery out and put it back in, problem solved. Not sure what that means but obviously there is some kind of glitch. I'm curious if others are having the same issue.
   
   All in all, I was disappointed with this camera and do not recommend buying one. Sony's crappy return policy means I'm stuck trying to sell mine on craigslist.



2. I bought the CM5 after trying out a couple of other HD camcorders. I just wanted a basic, easy-to-use camcorder that films in 1080p and was easy to upload to YouTube, Facebook, etc. This camera met all those requirements. It is very easy to use, takes great quality video and uploading to YouTube was a snap with the included software. I've never been a BIG fan of Sony's imaging products because they use the Memory sticks but this camcorder will accept either the Memory sticks OR SD cards. It was easy to setup. The camera has software built-in (like the Flip does) but it also comes with a more feature filled version that you can install on your computer. It transfers and uploads easily. The only drawback is that it won't stand up on its own whereas, based on the location of the flip-out USB connection, you would "think" that it should. It has froze a couple of times but not while recording, only when trying to turn it off. I had to pop the battery out and back in and it worked fine again. Certainly not a deal-breaker for me. The mic is good also despite being a mono mic. The camera has an image stabilization feature but it is NOT available at 1080p. That being said, I did not encounter too much shaking (that wasn't my fault) when filming in 1080p. Nice things about this camera vs the Flip (as that is obviously what it's trying to compete with): it films in 1080p/30fps (no Flip does that), it has removable memory (SD or Memory sticks)so you can bring along extra memory, and it has a removable battery (so you can bring along an extra battery without having to recharge it). The view screen is a little hard to see unless it's angled right at you. Other than that, I really like the camera. If you are a non-techie that wants an easy to use camera that films in 1080p, you should get this camera.



3. The Bloggie has its video quirks that you can find in the other reviews, but quality has been fine if you work within the limitations/quirks (remembering that this is a pocket camera). It works fine on both my Mac Mini and Powerbook via usb SD card reader and usually from the built-in USB on the Bloggie. You can either drag the files off the SD card or grab the video through iMovie (v8.0.5)
   
   The major bone I have to pick with the camera is the still picture imaging. Everything looks fine on the screen, but as soon as it takes a still photo the image turns overly yellow. It must be a internal software issue as this doesn't happen with video. It doesn't seem to matter much what kind of light the still is shot in or how much light there is (although it is more pronounced in low light settings it seems). Clarity seems fine for a 5mp camera, but the color shift makes the ability for stills useless.
   
   This may be a deal breaker unless Sony fixes this software/firmware issue.
   
   I should note that my camera is the MHS-PM5 not the CM5



4. For those of you that think $200 will get you results of a $1500 video camera, you can forget that! For the price, this is an excellent camera. It's small, easy to use, starts up quickly, and takes great video. It does struggle in low light, but most cameras do. The picture looks great on my Sony 1080P TV.
   A great feature the camera has is the ability to zoom while recording. Many point and shoot cameras do not allow.
   As for it being 1080P. Of course it's not Blue Ray quality 1080P. But the resolution is there. It does have a sharper picture than the 720P Sony DSC-W290.
   This camera is worth every penny. And this is coming from someone who installs home theaters for a living.
   As for the review about the 1080P complaint. You need to learn that it's more marketing than anything. There is a difference between low cost 1080 sensors and expensive 1080 sensors. Yes it shoots great videos. No it's not as good as a high end $125,000 piece of equipment. And yes you will get better video if you spend $1500.
   As for taking still images, it's your average camera phone quality. But that's what the DSLR is for.



5. I bought this Camera last week and get it pretty fast as usual with items bought at Amazon.
   
   started to use it, and went to check the videos on my laptop, TV, editing software. I noticed that the video had some strange strobe, so I paid more attention to it, and checked the video frame by frame.
   
   What a surprise, I realize that the camera does some stretching/distortion of the image from frame to frame, so straight buildings looks like they're bending during the shooting just like plastic.
   
   Hell weird, then I did more tests, and checked that when you zoom in, to your full 5x optical, the issue gets bigger, it looks ridiculous.
   
   I contacted the Sony support service, and they really don't know if this is an isolated incident or a problem with the camera model itself.
   
   my advice, don't buy a product that doesn't deliver what it says it should.
   
   My best guess is: The camera can't get the full 1080p to work when you are moving the camera around, so it tries to compensate.

3 comments about Sony HDR-CX110 High Definition Handycam Camcorder.

1. I was looking to replace my JVC Everio, that had a 60GB hard drive in it. I loved the convenience of the hard drive, since that replaced an older unit I had that used the small tape cartridges. But the prices for the HD capable units are more than I was willing to pay for a camcorder, so looked at the units that just used memory sticks.
   
   I have the Sony DSC-TX1 digital camera and was blown away by its optical quality, and it even took 720p movies which were just insanely clearer than my 1 year old JVC camcorder. That was when I realized I needed to lose the JVC. Almost all the movies I do are of my son, now 6 years old, so the better the quality the happier I would be. Too many artifacts with the low definition JVC, panning was just ugly ugly ugly, and while it had a great response in low light, the picture quality was just not what I wanted considering how good everything else with my TV and still camera.
   
   I was initially going to get the 100 version of this, since it was so insanely cheap for a 1080 capable camcorder, but the bad low light capability put me off, since most of what I record is in my house. And the very low numbers for optical zoom also concerned me. But amazon conveniently puts little links under the initial product listing if there's a new version, so I saw the 110 and the price was good. I did some digging on Sony's site, somewhat confused that the cheap little 100 had 16GB built in but the higher end had none, but when I saw the rest of the specs in comparison, I felt it was a very good unit to give a test run with. My local brick and mortars didn't have it in stock, so I ordered it from Amazon and got the Saturday delivery early on Saturday, plenty of time to charge it up and try it out.
   
   I left all settings at default except for the quality setting. That was easy to find, and the touchscreen on this unit makes it very easy to operate. As with my sony still camera, it has a "user" screen too where you can pin the six most used functions to save you from having to navigate into submenus. I love this feature, as it made my touchscreen still camera so simple and quick to use.
   
   So I did four test movies, all of the same thing (my 6 year old playing with a huge Geotrax set), at all four of the options for 1080p resolution. The camera is smaller than I had expected, very light and fits well in the hand. The only real buttons to deal with in normal operation are the zoom and the start/stop recording, which are placed well despite the small size of the unit. If you want to grab a still as well, which you can do while recording, that button is on top right behind the zoom, so it's easy to get at. So use is great, no problems.
   
   As I said, touch screen menu is great, so changing settings as I went was a piece of cake.
   
   Started with the highest 24Mbps, then the next down (I think it was 17Mbps), then the "default" one they start you out at, 9Mbps, then the lowest. When I was done, I pulled the card out (nice, quick access on the bottom with a great, sturdy, hinged door). Went into my macbook pro just fine, and i started playback.
   
   I have a 13" macbook pro, the aluminum unibody, that I got about four months ago. So new core2 duo processor, nvidia 9400 graphics... And it could not play the highest or second highest quality movies raw... Which told me that they were going to be great on my windows 7 media center. The third and fourth files played, but since the laptop is not a 1080 screen, it didn't look that good. So I went ahead and pulled the memory card out of the laptop, put it in my Dell Zino that runs my beautiful 46" Samsung HDTV, and played them all.
   
   One thing I hadn't realized is that when it creates the files, it creates them in a native bluray playback format, the folder structure and all. So that should make it easy for people who will want to burn to Bluray.
   
   Anyway, on the media center, i played the highest quality one first. And my jaw dropped, and I nearly had to go buy some adult diapers. WOW. That was all I could say or think. WOW. It was just outstanding, WAY better than I had expected. And it's not like I'm so unfamiliar with HD that even bad HD was impressive to me - my first HDTV was purchased back in 1999, a huge 60" Mitsubishi diamond line TV. So I've been using HD for over 10 years now. And this just knocked my socks off.
   
   I had nearly no artifacting or blurring or anything with the movement of the camera as I've come to expect from camcorders. Even the blurring was minimal. And the shots of things were just crystal clear. I had a 1080p version of the movie BOLT running on the TV as he played with his geotrax, so I zoomed in so that filled the viewfinder, and recorded some of the movie. During playback at that scene, I couldn't even tell it wasn't the original playing back, that it was a recording of the TV from earlier, it was that clear.
   
   I was indoors, in Wisconsin on a winter day with snow falling, so there was no direct sunlight, just all clouds. Only one window's curtains open, and no lights turned on inside. And the clarity and lighting was excellent. Every bit I could hope for.
   
   So I tried the next down quality, and it blew me away. As did the third and then the lowest quality. All looked stunning. When I got down to the lowest, I could see some difference between it and the highest, but for what I was, and will be, shooting (my son), I think I'll end up using the default third lowest setting because it was still jaw droppingly good on my HDTV.
   
   I got the 16GB card since the 32GB card was still in the three digit price range, and i have a habit of transferring the files to my computer as soon as I'm done shooting anyway. And at the third quality setting, the default 9Mbps one, a 25 minute clip used just 1.9GB, so I should get about 3 1/2 hours on this card at this rate, so I'll not have to worry about running out of media for my normal use.
   
   The display is crisp and clear, widescreen format, and not cluttered when recording. Response to touch was very good, only once when selecting something from a bottom of a menu did I have to touch it twice, since the first didn't register. Didn't take any pressure to get it to see my pressing.
   
   The still picture while shooting video worked easily enough, but they're not great quality, so it won't replace your digital camera if you have a good one. But it may give you a decent still shot of something you would have missed otherwise...
   
   All in all, this is waaaayyyyy better than I had expected, and more than I had even hoped for. 100% satisfied with the unit.
   
   I can't attest to battery usage yet, since I have only had it for five hours, and only ran about 40 or 45 minutes of recording through it so far. In a few days I'll pop back in here and edit this with the results I've seen with regards to the battery life, since this is evidently the first review of this model.



2. I just received my Sony Camera HDR-CX110. The main problem is that this camera has not an internal memoryt, so you have to expend additional USD 100 for a decent flash card 32G memory, despite the fact the camera has good image quality, it only have 3.1Megapixel for still images, what a disapointment. For only additional USD40 you can buy a Sony HDR-CX150, 25x optical zoom with internal memory of 16G; even the older version of Sony HDR-CX 100 is better, internal memory of 8G and 4 Megapixel still images. I felt robbed by Sony with this "new version videocamera of HDR-CX100" DON'T BUY IT, SONY SCAMS YOU WITH THIS MODEL, I will go for a CANON, at least they don't scam you!!



3. Video quality on this camcorder is fantastic. I did many research and debated between Canon and Sony. I didn't like the model CX100 because of the fact that the poor quality in low light condition. I almost decided to buy canon HF200. I went to bestbuy to buy this canon. I saw this new model CX110 and bestbuy representative explained the features. This CX-110 is a major upgrade from CX100. New sensor Emos "R" and 25X optical zoom were the best one. I then decided to buy this Sony new model instead of Canon.
   
   I am very happy about my decision. I took shots in day light and also in low night, the video is excellent. Amazon.com is very good and i got it within 4 days after placing the order.
   
   I read the review comment of the person who rated 2 for this camcorder. I am surprised to note the reason for the low rating. Even though the specification of this camcorder clearly says no internal memory, i don't understand why people buy and rate low for their mistake.
   
   Bottomline, my prediction is Sony will break-through and out beat other competitor in 2010 in camcorder.