Sony HDR-XR200V

The Sony HDR-XR200V is another high definition camcorder to hit the shelves and comes with a sub $1000 price tag, and is yet another camcorder to be released from Sony. We are beginning to wonder if this really isn’t a bit of overkill. There just seems to be at least 5 or 6 all within a couple hundred dollars that seem to do the same, so what is the point and how are you supposed to know which one to choose? The spotlight is on the Sony HDR-XR200V today, and this is the seventh we have had from Sony this week. We love playing with the shiny brand new kit, but do wonder whether we can really cope with anymore from them, especially another in this price range. However, we put it through the same standard tests as the others and these are our findings.

Sony HDR-XR200V Camcorder

Design

It’s black and it is dinky, and it looks good. This is another of their small and ultra portable camcorders and is 2.75″ x 2.75″ x 5.12″ in size and weighs in at 13 ounces, which again makes this a super little camcorder to slip into your pocket or purse and take wherever you need to take it. There is rather a lot of sign writing on the case, which we have said before gives a more professional look, and it has the standard pull out screen on the left, the hand strap on the right, and all the connectivity options including the tripod stand hole, and the memory stick Pro Duo card slot on the bottom. It didn’t really surprise us that this is a good looking unit. Sony rarely makes any goods that aren’t aesthetically pleasing. It just seems to be ingrained with them, and you know that the build quality is equally good. The Sony HDR-XR200V is pretty much guaranteed to see the life of its warranty out problem free, which is always reassuring.

Actual user review:
“I bought this HD camera after buying (and returning) a Sony DCR-SR47 SD camcorder. Differences are notorious (as well as the prices). The DCR-SR47 camera simply didn’t meet my expectations in terms of video quality. However, the HDR-XR200V did. I used the camera outdoors, where video quality is just awesome. No pixeling, full colors, full of light in videos. The “not that good performance” will be in indoors under low light condition, or outdoors at night. Wherever there is low light, the cam will not perform as well as where there is full natural light. It is a $700 camera, not a professional $1500 one. I won’t say the quality in low light conditions is as bad as an SD camera, but it decreases a little bit. You will see some kind of “points” appearing here and there, and the definition of the shapes won’t be as clear as in sunlight, but it is still VERY respectful quality. I would suggest buying this camera for home use, for going for vacations, enjoying with family and keeping VERY GOOD quality memories.” – G.Buscemi (Argentina)

Functionality

Most of the top of the range Sony camcorder technology looks to be present on the tech spec sheet that we were sent. We were unsurprised to see a Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® Lens, but our hearts fell a little as this is their lower quality lens, but again you have to remember the price. It is still a lower end camera. Whilst we are on the moan, we will get the bad out of the way in one hit and then move onto the good. Sadly the still camera can only provide 4 megapixel pictures, which is disappointing as we know they have 12 mega pixel as standard on their other cameras that are just above this one and wonder whether it really would have been so costly to add this in here too.

On with the test. We haven’t seen anything else to cause us a gripe yet, so we will push on. From the sublime to the ridiculous the Sony HDR-XR200V has a huge and simply massive 120GB internal storage which is more than several of their higher spec cameras, so we are a little confused with the logic here. However, this is obviously very good and can be extended further with the Pro Duo memory stick.

In terms of picture quality, the results were good both in low level light and ultra bright conditions, and this is helped again by the inclusion of the 1/5” Exmor™ CMOS sensor with ClearVid™ array which is clever internal wizardry that enhances the picture in so many ways in terms of clarity and resolution and really is excellent, so we are pleased to see it here.

This is also another one that has Geotagging as standard which we know you will either love or see as completely pointless and really is of little significance if this is just a home based camera and you are not the sort of person who travels extensively, as this is all about global positioning.

Conclusion

There is nothing wrong with the Sony HDR-XR200V, but we were a little confused by the combinations of technology used. The lens quality and mega pixel count are low, yet the internal memory stunningly high. It seems to be a bit of an eclectic gathering of technology that was thrown together without a huge amount of thought. Global positioning is lovely, but with the stills being of such a low quality we wouldn’t think a true jet setter would be interested in this. It means they will also have to carry a digital camera which sort of defeats the object, so it is more likely to be picked up by a home user who probably won’t leave the country with it, rendering GPS a bit useless really.

Average User Rating:

• “I purchased this camera at Christmas and really like the picture quality and ease of use. It doesn’t give top performance in normal room lighting so my next purchase will be a video light. Outdoors it is very good, and the steadyhot feature allows handheld operation without any shake. I was not happy that Sony sells a HD camera but doesn’t provide an HDMI mini-cable in the box, since one is required to get the best output quality for TV viewing, and the A/V cables they provide won’t provide HD quality.” – J.E.Paciga (USA)
• “I am well pleased with the Sony HD handy cam. I have only used it a few times and the picture quality is great. I have an older model Sony SD handy cam and there is no comparsion. My only complaint is it is very hard to aim camera in bright sunshine as you cannot see the display. Had the same problem with older model.” – F.W.Shaw (NC,USA)

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