CES: Last year, Sony put much effort into bulking up its high-end still camera selection; this year they concentrated on consumer-oriented video cameras. Sony today refreshed its video capture lineup, including a new action cam with a dramatically simplified interface, a 4K Handycam with improved optics and image quality, and an HD camcorder with surround sound audio.
Sony HD-AS50 Action Camera
With the Sony HD-AS50, the consumer electronics giant seriously re-thought the way users use the camera. Gone is the confusing old menu system, which only let you view one option at a time. The new system displays all options at once so you can see all the possibilities at a glance. The camera also comes with a wearable Live View remote control which lets you operate all of the camera’s functions from a distance.
The camera has an ultra-wide-angle lens, supports 120fps slow-motion video, 4K time-lapse, and has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It offers high bitrate recording in XAVC S format, and lets you record time codes and user bit data.
Features include 4K time-lapse effects, underwater shooting down to 60 meters below the surface (when used with the included underwater housing). The Sony HD-AS50 is expected by mid-February for around 350.
Sony FDR-AX53 Handycam Camcorder
The new top-line Sony Handycam is the FDR-AX53, which offers 4K resolution and a new 20x optical zoom backed up by five-axis image stabilization (Sony calls it Balanced Optical SteadyShot). The lens includes an advanced aspherical element, and Sony brags that the camera has a new “Fast Intelligent AF” system thanks to an improved AF algorithm that Sony says is 40 percent faster than its predecessor. There’s a built-in multidirectional microphone, and the camera can record slow motion video at 120fps.
The FDR-AX53’s sensor, a 1/2.5-inch sensor with a 16:9 aspect ratio, uses the entire 8-megapixel sensor, and the pixels themselves are larger, indicating improved video quality when shooting in low-light situations. The zoom lens starts at 26.8mm (35mm equivalent) and focuses to approximately half an inch from the front of the lens at wide angle setting. The 3-inch LCD monitor offers 921,600 dot resolution in 16:9 aspect ratio.
Other features include manual exposure settings, white balance, a 1,555k dot resolution electronic viewfinder, touch-panel focusing, 1080 resolution at 120p, XAVC-S, MPEG-4 formats. Accessory shoe, NFC, Wi-Fi. Trimming playback lets you select a portion of the 4K image and play it back in HD.
The Sony FDR-AX53 is expected to be available from Adorama in March for approximately $1,000.
Sony HDR CX675 HD Handycam Camcorder
The Sony HDR CX675 records full HD video, with 5-axis image stabilization that Sony says will even smooth out footage shot while running. The camcorder boasts fast autofocus, and 5.1 channel surround sound captured by the on-board microphone.
The camera has a built-in 30x optical zoom lens that starts at 26.8mm (35mm equivalent) and focuses as close as half an inch from the surface of the lens at the widest setting. It uses a 1/5.6 BSI CMOS sensor, and has a 3-inch LCD monitor with 460,800 dot resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio.
Other features include manual iris and shutter speed control, live streaming via Ustream, built-in Wi-Fi with one-touch remote via a smart phone or tablet, multi-camera control, lock-on autofocus, and 9MP still image capture.
A similar camcorder, the HDR-CX455, offers a similar feature set, but the camera shake is not as sophisticated as the 675.
The Sony HDR CX675 will be available from Adorama in February for $600, while the CX455 will cost around $400.
