Sony HDR-UX1 AVCHD 4MP High-Definition DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

Picked up one of these about a year after it's release and at a substantial savings vs. when it was first released. Looked at it's replacements the ux5 and ux7 and decided that this model probably fit in between them as the ux5 seemed to have lost features and the ux7 gained. As the price was far cheaper then either, I decided to take the plunge.





Pros:





Very solidly made. This may be a con if you are looking for something light as it is fairly heavy, but the solid feel I think is nice.





Shoots great SD footage and HD footage converts to SD with the included software. Far better picture then the entry and mid level SD camcorders. Nice if you are going to be sending something to someone else, who may not be set up to view the disks in their native format.





In the proper light the HD footage is very nice. Not broadcast quality nice, but still much better then SD footage. Both my parents remarked seperately on how clear the picture was when they first saw it playing on a HD set.





Large 3.5" screen.





Can be edited somewhat with included software, but is very basic.





A hotshoe for adding a light.





Straight to DVD can be nice if you have the means to play the new format (ie blu-ray player or very powerful computer)





Sound is very clear. I'm not an audiophile, but even I noticed the crystal clear sound and lack of any internal noise when I played back my recordings.





Cons:





Digital image stabilizer good but not great, optical would have been nicer.





You need a very fast processor (duo core). I have a P4 3.0ghz, seperate video card, with 2mb of ram and it cannot handle the format well at all. The ram is not the limiting factor, but the processor is. In checking my system utilities, my CPU is maxed out at 100%, with only about 400MB of ram being used. Hence I am getting dropped frames in playback. Also if you wish to take advantage of the DL disks (DVD+R DL's only) you need a DVD drive capable of reading DL disks, which again would limit a lot of computers over 1 1/2 - 2 years old.





Indoor shots full of noticeable noise. Again outdoor well lit video is very nice. Indoors is still nicer then SD, but the noise is noticeable. I'm adding the sony light that goes on the hotshoe which should help.





For the price this is offered at now, It shoots as nice an SD picture as the SD only camcorders priced at or above this model. That you pick up HD is a nice bonus, and in the right conditions you can get great video and audio. Sony HDR-UX1 AVCHD 4MP High-Definition DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom