Sony Handycam HDR-FX1000

Summary: I am a video production student and this camera is perfect for me. This camera is just amazing. I use it for class projects and my wife uses it for all of her internship projects as well. If you really know cameras you will not be disappointed with it. On the other hand a novice could not operate this to it's full potential. While it does a good job in manual mode you really need to use manual controls and play with the picture profiles to utilize it to it's full potential.

I have heard a few people grumbling over some small things that really come down to amateur mistakes. The lack of XLR for example. Firstly I have had no trouble with the on board mic. It all sounds great and can even pic up very small noises. If you are using audio that is recorded onto a tape then why get hung up on XLR anyway If you are truly that concerned about Pro level production then you would record to a separate audio device and not use tape audio. That's why I don't get hung up on XLR on a camcorder.

The other complaint I had heard from other reviews is that the picture is grainy. The only time I have experienced that is when I experimented with using gain to compensate for low light as opposed to Iris or Shutter. I never use gain because it is an artificial boost. now if you are lazy and just want to hit the gain switch as opposed to the to extra button presses it takes to use the other two options then you might end up with a bit of grain depending on how high you have the gain boosted.

Well enough of me ranting in defense of the camera. I love mine and the only regret I have is the money I had to spend on it.

Well enough

Summary: I had the FX1 for years and upgraded to this one for a few of the key features. The low light is a big help. The screen is a decent amount smaller but is really nice. The peaking and histogram is a huge help! The new iris ring is amazing, helping with exposure on the fly. Seems to be about the same size and weight as the FX1. I have seen some footage and it looks amazing, I know I was always happy with my FX1 footage, too. I go to NYU for film school so I've used all other competing cameras including EX1, HVX, XL-H1 and so on and while I know the others have features that the FX1000 doesn't have but the camera is so solid and technology is at the point where it doesn't make that big of a difference. I have seen a lot of footage from all the other cameras and while it looks great, so does the FX1000. Even when I show footage in class, classmates are impressed and ask what I shot it on. Plus the HDV workflow is amazing and extremely simple and has very few issues. Overall, it's a great camera, it has great features, an easy layout and is a steal at $3200!!!!!