Sony DCR-SR300 First Impressions Review

by Matt Culler
Published on Jan 16, 2007 12:00 PM

Intro Performance
Format Tour
Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features
Handling and Use Audio / Playback / Connectivity
Other Features Comparisons / Conclusion
Specs/Ratings  
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Still Features    
One of the main selling points of the DCR-SR300 (Review, Specs, $761.95) is the camcorder’s ability to capture 6.1MP stills (the sensor has 3040K effective pixels (4:3) in still capture mode. This is made possible using the camcorder’s large imager (a 1/2.9" ClearVid CMOS Sensor)—the same as on the HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56) and the HDR-UX7. You'll notice that the maximum still size is about twice the the pixels of the effective pixel count that means that the chip is effecting some kind of interpolation which artificially increases the number of pixels. This does not mean that the picture is losing resolution; it just means that there is no additional information in those new pixels - the resolution will be identical. Along with 6.1MP stills, the camcorder can capture 3.1MP and 0.3MP stills. Unfortunately, the DCR-SR300 doesn’t offer the widescreen 4.6MP stills like other Sony camcorders with the same CMOS.





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