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| product review: fish’n’tip 0634 written for the week of wed 2/5/2012 by rob paxevanos |
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Dated: 7 May, 2012
 | | Sony HDRPJ50V 220GB Hard Disk Drive Video Camera (image courtesy: www.videopro.com.au) |
FISH’N’TIP 0634 New Age Projector Cameras
Projector, that’s right a built in projector has been mastered by the Sony’s video camera team. It is super cool feature that allows the camera to project a large quality image up on a wall and before you know it the group of friends you started showing your vision too swells as others gather round and marvel at this amazing new product.
However I was also interested in the capabilities of these new Cameras in other areas because I stumbled across Sony’s Projector Range while researching cameras and deciding whether to get a big new SLR or get a new Video Handycam.
Yes SLR or Handycam, for those looking for a high end consumer Camera that can be a big question these days. But let me tell you, I have re-examined all the brands and options available nothing has changed: if stills are your priority get an SLR, if Video is your thing get a Handycam.
Sounds simple, but many people have actually brought SLR’s because many brands shoot HD Video these days; they think they are getting the best of both still and video worlds-wrong! In brief SLR’s are typically good for specific Video of a set scenic shot at a set distance. Outside this they will often disappoint in some of many areas such as being able to auto focus quickly, moving shots or fast pans, zooming, playback features and audio just to name a few. I’ve been burnt in many scenarios thinking that I can get high end Handy Cam quality video from my latest SLR’s…too many instances to detail here.
If you can only afford, fit or want just one Camera I would go for Video every time. A pic of your biggest fish, or your kids doing something funny is great, but nothing beats moving vision where you see more of what happened, and hear the comments. And I am not talking about an Iphone video like some people think is good enough. Proper quality video is gold and something you can look back at in years to come and see/hear all the details. I have stills covered with various SLR’s and compact cameras, super clear vibrant gob smacking new age video vision was what I was after.
So I researched and played with what is available and then to give readers a full appreciation I loaned my favorite choice the Sony HDR-PJ760VE off my contacts for a full month. No one day review, this is a full test.
While Sony has brought in projector Cameras starting at $500 AU, the PJ 760 as it is referred to is the top of the range in the Sonys Projector Series and retails for about $1,850 AU (at the time of writing).
While it takes quality of vision unheard of in this price range straight out of the box it also has long list of features that will have you like a kid in a lolly shop each spare moment you get to play with it. You can talk to your camera shop or research these features on line, I will focus on several key features that really make this camera sing for me.
It has a larger than usual Ziess wide angle lens which means when you’re in a small boat or kayak you can fit in the whole picture. There is plenty of oomph in the zoom department too, but wide angle by nature is great in boats or while moving because it naturally helps steady the shot.
But the PJ 760 takes ‘smooth’ a quantum leap forward with a brilliant Balanced Optical Steady Shot. Get this: the lens actually floats inside the camera. It was by accident I ran after my kids to get a shot and later played back the vision (looking for the bit where I stopped moving to film properly) that I noticed the shots taken while I was running were amazing.
The level of steadiness and overall effect immediately reminded me of the stuff taken by my very best TV camera men with their car priced cameras. WOW! Wait till you see the kayak mounted fishing vision on Fishing Australia later this year and you’ll see what I mean.
Lowlight is prime time for fishing and the Camera performs here too. The recorded audio is also brilliant, and there are lots of extended capabilities on this front such as stereo and surround sound. Easy to plug in blue tooth mics and zoom mics too.
From down loading to computers to up loading to you tube the way you can do what you need with your footage is very user friendly via the practical touch screen display.
I have been using the camera to document very hard to catch fish, and that means rolling for hours on end, days on end until I find what I am after. Such is the thought put into this Camera that it is very easy to divide the video thumbnail clips up, throw out the hours of vision I don’t need and keep the good bits, all while the Camera is in my lap.
The Camera sorts the clips and how you can view them like a good Personal Assistant, and the quality GPS tagging feature can bring up a map of exactly where you hooked the big ones. Mind you it is easy to turn this off if you don’t want to give your spots away…
And if you need a quality still image, the PJ does this too-a sparkling 24.1 meg res one through a quality lens. There are lots of features on the still front too, including a flash powerful enough to light up a whole room and a sensor / chip built to cope with it!
And if you ask my family, the best feature of all is the highlight function. At the press of a button it grabs a selection of vision and stills from the day and automatically edits them together to a selected sound track. Pop this up on the projector at the end of your outing and you will find that it is not just us oldies that remember and are enchanted by watching projector vision, today’s kids find it just as magical.
In typical fashion Sony have been modest about how revolutionary this camera is-trust me it’s a rock star! I’m buying one straight after I hand the loan model back.
See you on the water.
Rob Paxevanos
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| Rob Paxevanos
Fishnet Pro Angler
Report brought to you by fishingaustralia.tv
Email : robpax@netspeed.com.au
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