VIDEO. The Sony FDR-AX100 takes excellent video, higher quality than most models. Pictures were very sharp, which means you can see even tiny details and very subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations, the video was excellent: bright, sharp and largely free from any graininess. It captures full HD video at 1920x1080.
AUDIO. It captures very good audio in stereo and surround, better quality than most models.
PHOTO QUALITY. This model captures still photos with excellent quality, which is unusual for a camcorder.
LENS. This camcorder includes a 12x zoom lens, which is a bit more zoom than a standard 10x. The lens also has a wide-angle (29mm) capability that's useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZER. This is an important feature with a long zoom lens; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to slight movement of your hands. Shooting in well-lit scenes, this model did a very good job of minimizing the effects of camcorder shake.
SPEED. It's fast at waking up from standby mode.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. It has an eyepiece viewfinder, a rarity for camcorders, which we found to be excellent. It has a large 3.4-inch touchscreen LCD, which has excellent quality that lets you very easily compose your shots and has superb playback of photos and video. It has a hot shoe for attaching an external lamp, flash or directional microphone (generally sold separately). It's relatively big and it's much heavier than most camcorders. Even though it's a large camcorder, this model is easy to hold and includes a handstrap that helps you hold and balance the camcorder.
