Sony HDR-UX1 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Sep 29, 2006 1:00 AM
|
Advertisement
|
||||||||||||
Still Features (8.5)
The Sony HDR-UX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $729.95) can record stills to MemoryStick Duo cards only (not to DVD). A MemoryStick card does not come included. Stills are saved in the JPEG format in four resolutions when in still mode: 2304 x 1736 (4MP), 2304 x 1296 (3MP), 1600 x 1200 (1.9MP), and 640 x 480 (0.3MP VGA). When in video mode, it is possible to take two other still resolutions – 2016 x 1134 (2.3MP widescreen) and 1512 x 1134 (1.7MP 4:3 aspect) – and have them save to MemoryStick while recording video to DVD. You can also choose a Fine or Standard quality for each still. All of these selections are made in the Camera Settings sub-section of the Home menu.
.jpg)
The MemoryStick Duo slot in the LCD cavity.
Switching from Still mode to Movie mode is done either by toggling the mode dial on the top of the body, or by the first page of the Home menu.
All of the manual controls available in the video mode are also available here, and are found in the same places in the Camera menu. The additional options include Flash Level (set to High, Normal, or Low) and red eye reduction. The flash is located in above the lens, and contained within the lens barrel. This is the same design found on the DCR-DVD505 (Review, Specs, $664) and HDR-HC3 (Review, Specs, $969.99).
The HDR-UX 1 does not offer a burst mode, which is just as well. This is a camcorder, and a wide array of still camera features are not needed if it does a good enough job in its primary task: video.
Still playback is found by pushing the play icon in the lower left corner of the LCD screen. The UX1 has options for PictBridge printing, creating a slide show, and deleting.
The Photo Settings sub-menu in the Home Menu
Still Resolution (14.6)
We tested the Sony HDR-UX1 for its still resolution by shooting a standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. Shooting at 1600x 1200, we found a resolution of 954288.0. Shooting at 2304 x 1728, we found a resolution of 1463706.75. Finally, the widescreen still of 2304 x 1296 gave a resolution of 645210.52.
The chart below shows that these were sharp stills, but not unprecedented.
Still Performance (9.35)
The HDR-UX1 produces fairly large stills for a camcorder, up to 4MP (2304 x 1736), but a good resolution is only a small part of the puzzle in overall still performance. There are a lot of things to consider, and camcorders simply don’t have the means to do them justice most of the time when compared to digital cameras. The HDR-UX1 is no exception to this rule. Yes, the stills are large. They look sharp, too, with crisp lines and satisfactory apparent resolution and they look very good when compared to stills of other camcorders, but the color performance is just not there when you look at a similar still from maybe a $150 digital still camera. Compared to the video, the colors just look dull. There was no pop, no vivacity, and most importantly, a lack of accuracy.
Sadly, the HDR-HC3 and DCR-DVD505 produced almost identical pictures. These may be great for recording continuity and record-keeping, but a dedicated still camera will serve the purpose a lot better.
The Canon HV10 was only a little better, but couldn’t seem to report a decent green. The JVC GZ-MG505 was better than all of them. It also failed to give a decent green, but every other color looked pretty good.
The conclusion: buy a still camera if you want good stills. Yes, the score is high, but that score is only relative to other camcorders, which have come such a tremendously long way in this category in the last year that scores have continued to rise. That said, great still performance from a camcorder still pales in comparison to a dedicated still camera.
|
Advertisement
|