News

• The Good: Has the best image quality of any hard disk camcorder on the market; makes the overall experience of capturing and managing video files much more attractive than either MiniDV or recordable DVD; four-way directional microphone delivers surprisingly high quality 5.1-channel surround sound.
• The Bad: Other video recording technologies offer the same or slightly better image quality at a much cheaper price; too big and bulky to be easily pocketable; can take a while to drill down to the desired functionality using the touch screen menu.
• The Verdict: Sony's first hard disk Handycam may well be remembered as the camcorder that sparked a revolution in home video.
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REVIEW:

The future of home video is hard-disk camcorders.

I write that with as much conviction as I've ever written anything. Having spent a week experimenting with Sony's first hard-disk camcorder, the $1,200 (Cdn.) DCR-SR100, I never want to go back to tape or DVD. That's not to say the SR100 is perfect — far from it. But it handily demonstrates that hard disk recording has the potential to make digital video as simple and accessible as digital photography.

The most obvious advantage of hard disk video recording is that there is no need to lug around and swap out removable storage like MiniDV tapes or recordable DVDs. Sony's 30GB disk records between seven and 20 hours of footage, depending on the image quality setting chosen, which ought to be more than enough for any wedding, vacation, or family event.

And while surfing through 20 hours of video to find the clips you're looking for on MiniDV tapes or DVDs would be a daunting, time consuming task, it takes mere seconds on the SR100's hard disk. Simply call up a menu with video thumbnails, much like you would on a digital camera, and scroll through them until you find the one you want.

Another great feature of hard disk recording is the ease with which users can transfer video to a computer. Simply connect the camcorder to a PC via a USB 2.0 port and either drag and drop files — the SR100 encodes video to MPEG2 — or use the ImageMixer software bundled with the camcorder to burn files to DVD or archive video to your computer in just a couple of clicks. Needless to say, it beats the heck out of the MiniDV video transfer process, a time-consuming ordeal that involves recording the tape to your hard drive as it plays.

In short, managing your recorded video has never been simpler.

But hard disk video recording technology is new (besides Sony, the only other manufacturer in the market is JVC), and still has some bugs that need ironing out.

For starters, the form factor of early hard disk camcorders is too big to make them pocketable. The SR100 has the same sexy curves and lines found in other Sony Handycams, but everything is bigger and heavier. JVC's Everio HDD camcorders suffer a similar problem.

The funny thing is, I can't figure out why they're so much bigger. I'm no engineer, but it seems to me that the 60GB hard disks found in MP3 players are a lot smaller than the hulking side compartment that houses the SR100's hard disk. I'd have thought getting rid of a MiniDV or DVD recording assembly could only make a camcorder smaller.

Another problem is price versus image quality. The Sony SR100 employs a 5.9 millimeter, 3-megapixel image sensor (slightly larger than that of JVC's top-of-the-line Everio GZ-MG505) that produces sharp video with good colour reproduction, thanks in part to Carl Zeiss lens glass and excellent auto-focus functionality. But you can achieve the same quality video with a MiniDV or DVD camcorder for a lot less money.

Also, the best image resolution achievable in a hard disk camcorder is currently standard definition 480p. By contrast, several high definition 1080i MiniDV camcorders now exist, and they aren't all that much more expensive than the SR100.

It's worth noting, though, that the SR100 does make a significant leap forward in hard disk video stability by introducing buffering and shock absorption technologies to help ensure stutter free recording. There wasn't a single skip in the more than four hours of video I shot, and some of my footage was taken while jogging.

Hard disk features aside, the SR100 comes with pretty much all of same bells and whistles typically found on most of Sony's mid- to high-end Handycams, including spot focus functionality, onboard editing features for things like fades and wipes, and digital effects which, among other things, can make your video look like an old-time movie.

Like other recent Sony Handycams, the SR100 has very few buttons. Instead, a 2.7-inch touch sensitive wide angle LCD is used to access a well-designed menu system that contains most of the camcorder's functionality. That means it's pretty easy to find what you're looking for, though sometimes it takes a while to drill down to the desired function.

The few external controls that do exist are for frequently used functions, like Sony's nifty military-style infrared nightshot feature, and a back light mode that brightens subjects in the foreground. The SR-100 also has a prominent button labelled 'Easy'; press it and the camcorder basically looks after all recording settings on its own — and does a pretty good job of it, too.

Controls for manipulating the SR100's 10x optical zoom, initiating video recording, switching modes, and taking stills are, as usual, located on the top right of the camcorder under the right index finger.

On the subject of still photography, the SR100's three megapixel still camera isn't great. I was annoyed by a slightly delayed shutter, and most of the pictures I shot looked pretty grainy. Still, it's important to keep in mind that poor still camera functionality isn't all that critical; if you're willing to spend a thousand bucks or more on a video camera, chances are you probably own a pretty decent still camera already.

Sony says that typical SR100 usage — switching back and forth from the video and still functionality, turning the camcorder on and off, and surfing the menu system — will result in a little less than an hour's worth of operating time on a fully charged battery, though that number can be nearly doubled if you just shoot continuous video and use the viewfinder as opposed to the display. My tests found those numbers to be about accurate. However, the SR100's versatile battery compartment supports larger and more powerful batteries should you decide to upgrade your power source.

Other physical upgrades make use of the SR100's accessory shoe, which supports a variety of add-ons, such as video lights, a shotgun microphone, and Sony's coolest Handycam peripheral of all: a Bluetooth wireless microphone.

But if you're forced to rely on the SR100's embedded audio hardware you won't be disappointed. It supports full 5.1-channel surround sound via a relatively large microphone that picks up sound from four directions. I didn't think much of this perk until I actually heard it for myself. A short video I recorded of my daughter in the park included the sound of birds chirping. Their tweets and twitters came from all directions in my living room, adding a sense of depth to the A/V experience I wasn't expecting.

As the first hard disk camcorders on the market, JVC's Everio line marked an important milestone in the home video industry. However, it seems to me that Sony's DCR-SR100 will end up having an even greater impact with consumers thanks to its superior image quality and more accessible design. It is proof of two things: that hard disk camcorders can deliver image quality that's more than acceptable, and, more importantly, that hard disk camcorders represent a significant and immediate threat to both MiniDV and DVD video cameras.

Make no mistake; hard disk video is here to stay