Sony Handycam HDR-TD10

Ease of Use

By some accounts, the 3D mode on the HDR-TD10 is easy to use. There’s no lens calibration or special 3D settings that need to be turned on—you simply flick the switch on the back of the camcorder from 2D to 3D. This is a far easier setup than we saw on the Panasonic HDC-SDT750, which required lots of setup with its 3D conversion lens.

That being said, the HDR-TD10 can be a terribly difficult camcorder for recording 2D. It’s gigantic frame and extra features (because of 3D mode) make for a more confusing camcorder. It’s not terribly difficult, but it is definitely far more daunting than a regular camcorder that doesn’t offer a 3D record mode.

Handling

The HDR-TD10 does not handle like your every-day consumer camcorder. For starters, it’s roughly twice the size and twice the weight as a normal consumer camcorder—and you notice this difference right away. It’s not that the camcorder feels uncomfortable in your hand, it’s just that it doesn’t really feel right. It is impossible to wrap your fingers all the way around the TD10’s sprawling top, which means you can never get a perfect grip on the device. However, we do give Sony kudos for including a good, padded handstrap with the TD10.

The problem with the HDR-TD10 is that you would never want a camcorder this large unless you’re entirely dedicated to shooting 3D video and only 3D video. The camcorder is far to large as a regular 2D recording device, especially when you consider how small most HD camcorders have become. For this reason, we actually like the setup on Panasonic’s 3D camcorders (like the new HDC-TM900 or last year’s HDC-SDT750). With Panasonic’s models, you can record regular footage easily because the 3D conversion lens is removable. With the Sony HDR-TD10 you are always stuck with a big, bulky camcorder whether you’re shooting 3D or not.

We do like the large LCD on the HDR-TD10, and the camcorder’s touchscreen interface works fairly well, but the glasses-free 3D on the LCD isn’t very effective. We should note, however, that the TD10 models we played with at CES were still pre-production models. It is possible that some of the issues we had with the LCD will be fixed by the time the camcorder is available to consumers.

Stabilization

The HDR-TD10 has an optical image stabilization mode (OIS) with an additional active mode setting. The feature works with both 2D and 3D recording.

Portability

Since the TD10 has two lenses and two image sensors, the camcorder is by no means a slender or compact device. In fact, it is one of the largest consumer camcorders on the market it terms of weight and size. Still, the HDR-TD10 isn’t nearly as bulky as camcorders from days of yore, and it is roughly the same size as some of the compact professional camcorders that have been announced by a number of manufacturers. The question is: will consumers be okay with sacrificing portability in sake of having 3D recording? We’re not so sure about this, especially when you have far more compact options available from Panasonic. The HDR-TD10’s 3D performance is going to have to be stellar in order for the camcorder to make up for its large and heavy design.

Weight & Size
Weight	740g (1.63 lbs) with battery pack
Size	74 x 86 x 148mm (2.9 x 3.4 x 5.8 inches)

Battery

The camcorder comes with a 7.2-volt battery pack with the model number NP-FV70. This provided battery is fairly large and it does add some significant weight to the camcorder. There’s a smaller battery pack, the NP-FV50, as well as a larger pack, the NP-FV100, that can both be used with the HDR-TD10.

LCD & Viewfinder

The LCD on the HDR-TD10 is not only large (3.5-inches), but it also offers glasses-free 3D capability. Unfortunately, we were not impressed with the ability of the LCD to display 3D content. Viewing short clips on the screen while we were at CES, we consistently noticed blur and ghosting on recorded 3D content. However, for viewing 2D video the screen looked great, and its touchscreen interface worked well for the most part.

The HDR-TD10 does not have an electronic viewfinder, which is actually somewhat of a surprise considering the camcorder’s large frame and high cost. Sony does have viewfinders on some of its high-end consumer camcorders, but the feature is not found on its mid-range options (this is the case for most manufacturers).

Given the issues we had with the camcorder’s LCD, we wonder if a 3D viewfinder would have been a possibility on the HDR-TD10. Perhaps the tiny screen size and constrained viewing angle that are required by viewfinders would have made for a better 3D-viewing experience than the glasses-free LCD. Not that you would want to watch all your 3D content on a tiny viewfinder… we just think it sounds like an option worth exploring.

Menus

Sony appeared to redesign its menu system slightly on its new crop of camcorders, and you can see what we’re talking about in the images below. The main menu has a more “icon” focus, which may be a trend due to the popularity of app-based products like the iPhone. These larger icons do make it easier to find specific functions, especially when you compare it to Sony’s long list of menu options that was featured on previous models.