Review on Sony HDR-CX100 HD Camcorder, AVCHD Format, 10x Optical Zoom, Smile Shutter, Black (Discontinued by Manufacturer) by Leandro Gray

I read all the negative reviews before ordering the camcorder. While I appreciate that they warned me about poor image quality in low light, I was a bit surprised that the camera was recording in low light at all. Mind you, I'm upgrading a huge Sony VHS camcorder I bought in 1998 that just couldn't record without the lamp on in a dimly lit room (which also drained the battery three times faster than normal use), so my expectations of it easily , much lower than most when shooting in low light. As soon as I got the camera I started checking the light requirements for the shot. I started indoors on a normal HD on a cloudy day and found myself in a 20 x 14 foot room with 3 x 60w bulbs and all but one blind closed on 3 windows with moderate grain but more surprising Quality compared to my old video camera. on the same terms. I moved into my garage which had a small north window for a 20x20 garage and a 60 watt light bulb. The grain increased, but surprisingly I could even see objects in dark parts of the garage that were otherwise in shadow. I went outside on a cloudy day and the quality was amazing. As night fell I recorded my wife in our 14 x 14 foot kitchen lit by two 75 watt light bulbs and one 60 watt light bulb and again the quality was very impressive. I'm talking about seeing the fabric on her shirt from 11 feet away with a little magnification. Note that all of the lighting was fluorescent, which in my experience tends to wash out the color, and the power I've listed for each shot is the maximum. corresponds to incandescent lamps, not the actual incandescent lamp power, which is significantly lower. Operating the camera was very easy for me. It seemed intuitive to me, the record and zoom buttons were very similar to my old camera. What I really liked was the size and the weight. Man, try carrying my other Sony camera on your shoulder for an hour! This fits in the palm of your hand and the lens cap is built in. This is good because I lost my other camera lens cap a month after buying it and I had to buy another one and it was lost too. The software is quite simple. for installation and use. I will not connect microphones and lights to the camera. I've done this a few times with an old video camera I have and found they were just a big headache in my back so I don't care either. I really wish the instruction manuals were written a little better, but other than that I love it! Though I didn't like messing with Ace Digital Photo. I paid for 1 day and they shipped 3 days. It barely got here before I left town and they never contacted me for a refund of my money for a shipping option that I never got. Oh yes, and it should have come with an HDMIC cable instead of a component.