Sony has done some interesting work with its HDR-CX160 Camcorder as it features an oversquare focal length - 29.8 mm - versus the 28 mm lens which means better and broader overall perspective and it uses two zoom lengths together - 30X mechanical and 42X optical - for very long shots that are steadied by an interesting autostabilizer.
Sony always seems to come up with something interesting and just a tad different in its camcorders. It was one of the first major manufacturers to make personal camcorder equipment, although it was large at the time - 1985. By 1995, though the great-grandfather of today's HDR-CX160 Handycam Camcorder was already setting standards for the industry as does the CX160.
For example, the CX160 is a true high-definition handycam, running at 1920 by 1080 resolution. This is also the native resolution. This means it will interface directly with a high-definition display in your home or you can use the built-in USB cable to upload up to six hours of videography to your PC. The base memory of the CX160 is 16 GB. It is standard SDHC memory so it is available from just about any vendor. Interestingly, though, the CX160 will also accept a 32 GB memory module so you can store as much as 12 hours of video for upload to your PC.
The CX160 video is enhanced by having an optical zoom, which uses the mechanical zoom as well, that gives a total of 42x zoom so that long distance videography is an easy chore that, believe it or not, can be handheld. If you look at the construction of the CX160, you should notice that there is a huge hand/wrist strap. When you combine this tight-fitting strap with a VGA resolution (235K pixels) that swings through 270 degrees, you effectively have a natural tripod - your body - as one hand can steady the base of the handycam while the other is tightly held to the handycam by the strap and using these two points, plus your legs and back braced against a building or using a fence means you just have to watch the three-inch display for your framing and you then zoom out as far as you can.
Normally at long distances, you encounter handshake, but the CX160 has a three-way autostablization system built in that keeps images rock steady even at maximum extension.
Another great feature of this handycam the Exmor R CMOS low-light sensor. With this sensor in place the CX160 has fine low-light sensitivity so that you can handhold and continue shooting good imagery even as daylight is fading to evening. There's more to the Exmor R system than just good low-light photography, though, as it also helps to improve image clarity and helps to reduce graininess for clearer imagery. This is accomplished by moving the photo diodes above the camcorder's support circuitry. This positioning enables the photo diodes to maximize light-gathering, even at low light levels and enhances low-light videography.
Actually, the number of things this camcorder can do is amazing. For example, not only can you view the video directly but you can also have up to 90 separate image modes for maximum flexibility. Normally, the CX160 feature known as Intelligent Auto Mode takes the 10 built-in modes - landscape, backlight, sunlight, low light, spot light, macro, portrait, baby, walk and tripod - and taking a little from each gives you as many as 90 different potential automatic videographic modes to use.
Further, the CX160 offers Tracking focus that works with Sony's Facial Recognition algorithm that allows you to select an object or person with the touch of the LCD display and the camera will then automatically follow that object or person whether it moves into or out of the frame.
If you want to do some quick editing, you can use the Highlight Playback mode which creates scenes out of key sequences that you have already shot and then lets you look at them and edit and then look at other scenes and pinpoint the key scenes you want and then you can put them together and identify other key sequences.
One could go on and on with all of the features available with this handycam. Just try one out for a few days and check how useful it is, right down to the Golf mode that allows you to take 22 ultrafast images of your golf swing (or tennis) and then look at them in sequence to see what you are doing right or wrong. And, if you need still images, the CX-160 also offers you up to three 3MP stills, which is a nice feature.
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