Written on October 22, 2009 – 4:22 am | by CoolGadgetConcept |
Everybody wants the latest gadgets and devices because basically their new and shinny. However, there are a few people out there that always buy the products on the last life cycle, cards, camcorders, phones, and computers and get them for a bargain. Not a bad policy for someone who doesn't live in the "new" shadow obsession. One of these bargains is the 80 GB HD Handycam camcorder from Sony.



It looks a little older than the rest of the models, but is sure brings enough key features such as the 1920 x 1080 high definition video recording, the face detection technology, 2.7 inches touch panel, smile shutter, 4 megapixel still images, excellent digital and optical zoom. In terms of design, this camcorder is a little big, but its body is made out of metallic look alike plastic with three colors, silver, grey and black. You are probably going to enjoy this design since at touch it really feels quite nice.


The materials used look nice, and brings a good style to the design, while the quality of build is more than solid. I can easily make an almost general rule. Beware of new designs with the thinnest and lightest form factors since they are the most dangerous. You don't really know how durable these designs are. However, (just like the angular design of the laptops) this bulkier body of this camcorder will provide you with a safe construction for the hardware specs.

With a height of 69 mm (or 2 ¾ inches), wide of 68 mm (or 2 ¾ inches), deep of 129 mm (or 5 1/8 inches), this Sony camcorder weights about 410 grams (or 14.5 oz) with the battery included or 330 grams (or 11 oz) without the battery. The battery included into this camcorder is a Lithium Ion battery with the Accu Power Meter System.


When using the camcorder the power consumption will be about 3.9 Watt. In the input and output department you are going to get several ports, slots, and jacks. First of all, the audio and video remote terminal is present as an audio, video, and S video. Also, you get the audio and video output (analog), the digital audio and video output (also known as HDMI), one 2.0 USB port, the component video, and the s video output. An important feature of the 80 GB HD Handycam camcorder from Sony is the 80 GB internal memory, enough for 32 hours of video recording in high definition format.

Therefore, in high definition format you can record up to 580 minutes in FH, up to 1180 minutes in HQ, 1440 minutes in SP, and 1920 minutes in LP. While in the standard definition format you can save about 1180 minutes in HQ, 1750 minutes in SP, and 3360 minutes in LP. Also, if you need more memory space you can easily expand this value by using a memory card, Memory Stick PRO Duo Media.


This camcorder includes a 2.7 inches wide touch display, with the Clear Photo technology and a sufficient resolution, 210000 pixels. Also the display can easily rotate 270 degrees, and render great images or videos, thanks to the vibrant colors, excellent brightness, and good viewing angles. Also, the LCD panel sports the power on and off function. All the recorded videos are saved when using the high definition format in MPEG4 AVC / H.264, and when using the standard definition in MPEG2 format.

The maximum video resolution used is 1920 x 1080 pixels, with two different aspect ratio, 16 to 9 and 4 to 3. All the recorded videos will be completed with the proper audio sounds, since Sony added into this camcorder the Dolby Digital 5 in 1 channels audio recording format. The maximum resolution for still pictures is 4 megapixels. All the pictures taken are saved in JPEG file format.


This device uses the 1 / 5 inches Exmor CMOS sensor (including the Clear Video array technology), and the BIONZ image processor. If we are in the hardware department I should remind one or two things about the optics. This camcorder sports the Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar lenses, with the 35 mm equivalent of 42 mm to 467 mm in the 16 to 9 aspect ratio, and 52 mm to 608 mm in the 6 to 3 aspect ratio. The aperture is varying from F1.8 to F2.2. The total digital zoom has a value of 120x, while the optical zoom provides a value of 10x.


The focal distance can vary between 3.2 mm to 32 mm, with a full range auto focus in hand (or if needed a manual focus also). An excellent feature is the dual record with 2.3 megapixel still image capture. Therefore, while video recording you can easily take pictures without interrupting the video capture (but only with the maximum resolution of 2.3 megapixels). Other excellent features include the face detection, the Steady Shot image stabilization, the Dynamic Range Optimizer, Smile Shutter technology, and several scene modes such as landscape, portrait, snow, beach, candle, sunrise, twilight, auto and others.


Other features are also available and include several settings for both movie and pictures editing. The most important connection on this camcorder is the 2.0 USB connections (which will provide a fast transfer of files between your camcorder and computer), and HDMI connection (easy use it to connect your camcorder to your BRAVIA powered LCD for an excellent user experience). In order to connect this Sony camcorder to your computer, you must use one of the following operating systems, Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4, Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 both 32 bit and 64 bit version. However, a connection will never be established between your camcorder and computer if you are using any Mac operating system.


Therefore, mount Boot Camp on your Mac computer and install one of the previous mentioned Windows operating systems. Sony included in the retail box, beside the actual camcorder  and the battery pack, the AC adaptor, the audio and video connecting cable, the CD Software, the USB cable, and the audio and video component. Overall, the 80 GB HD Handycam camcorder from Sony still packs enough features to provide excellent performances. Even more its $749.99 price tag is much smaller than the $1299.99 of the 120 GB Handycam camcorder.