Sony Handycam HDR-XR100 review

The SR100 records in the AVCHD format at 1,920x1,080/60i. At its highest quality, the 16Mbps mode, you can record a little over 7 minutes of video per gigabyte of storage. That's about 9 hours and 40 minutes on the hard drive. If you drop to 9Mbps mode, that increases to about 15 minutes per gigabyte.

It seems like the autofocus system has more trouble than usual distinguishing subject from background, which slows it down a tad. And the LCD simply isn't very sharp; it's nearly impossible to tell if something's in focus or not. Furthermore, the battery doesn't last very long; it's rated for less than an hour under typical usage, which jibes with my experience. On the other hand, the XR100 starts up surprisingly quickly for a hard-disk-based unit.

Despite using the same sensor and lens as the CX100, I find the video quality less impressive. Overall, it's slightly soft, even when not scaled up on a large TV; as you'd expect, even more so in dim light and less so in closeups. Outdoor shots look a bit low contrast with blown-out highlights, though most colors--except for some blues, which is not uncommon--are relatively accurate. Video in living-room level light is acceptable if somewhat desaturated. On the upside, the XR100 doesn't have the CX100's lens flare problems, but it does frequently display fringing on high-contrast edges. The 4-megapixel interpolated stills look somewhat overprocessed, as you'd expect, and the native-resolution shots have edge artifacts like fringing and halos.

If you're looking to spend $600 on an HD camcorder, there are a lot of decent alternatives you might want to consider before shelling out for the just-OK Sony Handycam HDR-XR100.