Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 Camcorder Reviewby Jeremy StamasPublished on Nov 12, 2008 4:30 PM
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (7.00)
Sony has branded itself as the choice for those who want the simplest possible shooting experience. While we think the design and menu navigation have strayed from that promise, Sony camcorders typically continue to perform well in Auto mode. If you choose to completely eschew menus and manual controls, you can go forward secure in the knowledge that the DCR-SR85 can handle changes in light and focus without your help. Just point – the camcorder will do the rest.
The exposure shifts are smooth, especially when panning slowly across areas of high contrast (like the horizon). The auto white balance was fine, but tended to yellow a bit much under some incandescent lights and bluish under fluorescent lights, rather than correcting for these.
Like all Sonys, the DCR-SR85 has two very good one-touch correction controls – Spot Meter and Spot Focus – that allow users to aid in the focus and exposure without requiring a great deal of camera knowledge from them. When either feature is activated, a frame appears around the LCD screen. You simply touch the area of the screen that you want focus or exposed properly.
There are a number of Scene modes, as well, to help you with troublesome shooting situations. They include: Auto, Twilight, Candle, Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Sports, Beach, and Snow.
Overall Manual Control (3.25)
The Sony DCR-SR85 is a limited choice for users that crave a lot of manual controls. It's not so much that it lacks critical controls so much as their implementation is quite lackluster. In most instances, the problem is the touch screen interface. For tasks like white balance adjustments, the touch screen makes sense and works reasonably well. But for more subtle controls like focusing, the experience is nigh on impossible, because Sony crams so much graphical junk onto the screen that it's impossible to see the subject of the shot.
Many of Sony's HD camcorders side-step this problem by adding a dial to the front of the camcorder that allows for easy, less intrusive adjustments, but alas, you'll find no such option here. For those desiring a tally, the SR85 includes the following controls: zoom, manual exposure, manual focus, manual white balance, and two slow shutter presets. There is no aperture control, no real shutter speed control, and no manual gain.
Zoom (5.50)
The zoom control of the Sony DCR-SR85 is quite good. We were able to achieve a very slow, controlled crawl. Of course, it can also go fast, as well. We could get about 3-4 zoom speeds in all. The zoom toggle falls neatly under the index finger. There's also a set of zoom buttons on the left side of the LCD door frame—good for performing zooms if you're holding the camcorder in a non-traditional manner.
Zoom Power Ratio (25.00)
The Sony DCR-SR85 has a 25x optical zoom. This is probably enough power for most types of shooters. If you need more, Sony offers a 40x zoom on the step-down DCR-SR45.
The digital zoom can be extended to either 50x, or all the way out to 2000x, a setting that guarantees atrocious quality.
Focus (5.50)
As we mentioned earlier on this page, the manual focus is poorly implemented on the Sony DCR-SR85, and any Sony camcorder that doesn't have the little "Cam Control" dial on the front (found only on select HD models). When manual focus is activated, the following graphics are on the screen: 1) an "away" focus button, 2) a "toward" focus button, 3) text in the middling detailing where in the zoom range you are, 4) an Auto button to return to auto focus, 5) a Manual button to... what? Confirm the fact that you're still in manual focus mode? 6) a huge bar graphic at the bottom that explains the concept and application of a manual focus adjustment.
Yes, it's a bit crowded. In many cases, you can't even see your subject that needs the focus.
Focusing with the touchscreen is a cluttered experience.
Exposure & Aperture (5.00)
The exposure adjustment is very easy. It's essentially the same interface we just described above, though the frustration levels are lower. In a typical shot, it's easier to adjust exposure with part of the image obscured than it is to adjust focus. Don't get us wrong, this is about as far from pro-level as you can get, but at least it's simple.
Manual exposure on the DCR-SR85
A scale appears in the middle of the screen. Push the plus or minus buttons to adjust. There are 33 increments in all. The camcorder does not provide any information about what these adjustments are doing to the aperture and shutter speeds.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
There is no shutter speed control on the Sony DCR-SR85. Sony is the only manufacturer that omits this control. Canon and JVC both offer shutter priority modes, and Panasonic has independent shutter and aperture.
White Balance (5.50)
The white balance options on the Sony DCR-SR85 are minimal, but standard for a camcorder in this price range. Inside, you'll find Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and One Push (Manual). Making a manual white balance is easy – simply select the One Push option, point your camcorder at a white or neutral grey target, then tap the white balance icon button. The adjustment takes about one to two seconds.
Gain (0.0)
There is no manual gain control on any Sony consumer camcorder. Only Panasonic offers this option.
Other Manual Controls (3.00)
Auto Slow Shutter - This option drops the slowest shutter speed from 1/60th of a second to 1/30th of a second, when the camcorder senses that the available light has dropped.
Color Slow Shutter - This option is a jacked-up version of the Auto Slow Shutter described above. Rather than dropping the auto shutter down to 1/30th of a second, it drops down about as low as a half a second.
Guide Frames – This feature puts up grid lines on the LCD to help you frame your shot. The lines only appear on the display and will not be present in your recorded footage.
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