Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 – Catchy Bare-Bones Camcorder
Thumbs Up:
The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 is a compact camcorder with relatively fast focusing capability.
Thumbs Down:
The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150’s video quality is just OK and the lens flare problem is way worse than expected, especially in bright sunlight.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Manufacturer: Sony
Part Number: HDR-CX150
Price: $499.95 – $549.99
Product Type: Camcorder – 1080i
Weight: 7.4 oz
Dimensions (W x D x H) in inches: 2 x 4.5 x 2.2 inches
Optical Sensor Type: Exmor R CMOS
Operating System Support: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP SP3 and Microsoft Windows Vista
Shooting Modes: Digital photo mode
White balance: Automatic, Presets and Custom
White Balance Presets: Outdoor and Indoor
Exposure Modes: Automatic and Program
Peripheral Devices: USB port and CD-ROM drive
Software: Sony Picture Motion Browser and Drivers & Utilities
Cables Included: USB cable, A/V cable and Component video cable
Connector Type: Composite audio/video output, Component video output, USB, S-Video output, HDMI output and Remote control
Additional Features: USB 2.0 compatibility , Face detection , Scene Detection Technology , Dynamic Range Optimizer , Takes photos while movie recording , Smile Detection technology and Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording
Shooting Programs: Beach, Snow, Sunset, Candle, Fireworks, Sunrise, Spotlight, Landscape, Twilight mode and Portrait mode
Focus: Manual, Automatic
Search Modes: Face index search and Index search
Supported Battery: Sony NP-FV50
Battery Type: Sony NP-FV50 Li-ion rechargeable
Razzle Dazzle:
The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 fits easily in a jacket pocket or in a pants pocket, like the CX100 and CX110. But there are quite a number of features that are missing from this costly and bigger than mini-camcorder, and the one that we missed here was the 25x zoom lens and camcorders ability to capture 3 megapixel stills. Though, in terms of build and design the HDR-CX150 and HDR-CX110 are way more attractive than the XR150, which had a strange upward projection placed in its right side. But this strange projection also becomes an advantage for XR150, as it provides extra grip on the camera which clearly is missing from its rather smaller siblings. Like most of the other ultracompact camcorders that we’ve seen, the HDR-CX150 also is optimized for shooting under the eye level.
Inside Dope:
The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150, HDR-CX110 and XR150 they all belongs to Sony’s budget-priced HD triumvirate. All the aforementioned camcorder models differs by their storage media and color, the HDR-CX110 doesn’t have any en suite memory, while the HDR-CX150 comes with an integrated 16GB memory and the XR150 comes with a humongous 120GB hard disk. Apart from this the HDR-CX150 and the other models mentioned above belongs to the first generation of Sony’s camcorder to support approximately all SD cards. While the HDR-CX150 comes in red and black, the only color choice for XR150 is black and the same for CX110 is blue choice.
The screen in Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 is almost the same that we saw CX100, and as a matter of fact we think it’s the same from that camera, but it works well here considering the size of the camera. But using it under direct sunlight is a real tricky job. The button set used here is pretty common with buttons including direct DVD burn through software when it is connected to a PC, Power, iAuto and playback buttons. In spite of giving physical buttons for virtual zoom and record buttons, the HDR-CX150 has virtual record and zoom buttons on the touch screen. Though, the virtual record button is not a problem here, but we don’t like using touch screen for zoom. The camera also has the traditional touch-screen minutiae, like the spot focus and spot metering.
Situated under a door are the mini-HDMI and USB connectors; the proprietary AV jack and charging connector, on the body of the camcorder. A lens for in-built lens cover is given on the right side of the camera lens. Positioned next to the tripod mount of The SD/Memory Stick Duo slot sits in a door right next to the tripod mount is HDR-CX150, so if you are about to do plenty of tripod shooting it can be a problem for you and for that you can go for the hard-disk-based XR150.
The performance delivered by Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 is the biggest disappointment we had with this system. Though, the performance is satisfactory in the uppermost quality, the 24 megabit-per-second mode, but once to turn off this mode you will find yourself wondering why I have paid HD prices to get the performance just a tad better than the standard-definition quality. The video shot from the camcorder, regardless of the output device is a bit soft and has plethora of artifacts. The video quality worsens in dim video light, and hence its better you expect nothing exceptional from the camcorder considering the price of the camcorder.
Nitty Gritty:
The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150’s catchy price and appealing design might fetch your attention, but this fundamental camcorder barely delivers on the HD quality promise.
