The Sony DCR-SR100 runs on by a 1/3-inch Advanced HAD CCD sensor with an effective resolution of 2.05 megapixels when recording videos in normal mode (4:3 aspect ratio).  The camcorder can also record in widescreen mode (16:9 aspect ratio) at about 2.05 megapixels.  The DVD405 and the DCR-HC96, Sony’s top MiniDV camcorders, used the same imaging sensor.

Digital videos record in MPEG-2 format.  The camcorder can record in three qualities with its HQ, SP and LP settings.  Storage is thru the huge 30 GB internal Hard Disk Drive.  The camcorder also provides the option of recording to an SD card.  In HQ mode, the internal HDD can hold approximately 7 hours of videos, 10 hours in SP and approximately 20 hours in LP mode.  The only available scan rate for this camcorder is 60 fields per second.

Video performance in bright light environments (3000 lux) is comparable to the performance of entry-level miniDVs.  It has a great and even balance to the colors and videos are very crisp.  The camcorder retains the same performance down to about 60 lux, where most camcorder performance would already show significant amount of noise.  Below that, there is noticeable red and blue noise.  At about 15 lux, the DCR-SR100’s performance drastically drops, producing dark and barely recognizable images.  It seems that 15 lux is the breaking point for camcorders with the same imager size.

The DCR-SR100 can also capture still images.  Images are stored in JPEG format.  There are four sizes to choose from and each has two quality settings.  Sizes are 2016×1512 (3MP), 1600×1200 (1.9MP), 2016×1152 (2.3MP) and 640×480 (0.3MP).  All sizes record in two quality settings, namely Fine and Standard.

The DCR-SR100 also has a burst function that records still photographs in succession.  There is also an available exposure bracketing function where the camcorder captures three images in succession in three exposure settings so you can choose which still photograph is the best.  There is also a built-in flash mounted just above the lens.  The flash can be set to high, normal and low with an added red-eye reduction capability.

Video monitoring for the DCR-SR100 is thru the viewfinder and the LCD.  The camcorder is equipped with a 2.7-inch widescreen passive matrix color LCD with a touch screen display.  The LCD has an effective resolution of about 0.123 megapixels.  One disadvantage of the LCD design is the absence of a locking mechanism to hold the LCD in a close position.  Make sure the LCD doesn’t accidentally open and catch in any material that might break or damage it.

In addition, an electronic color viewfinder has an effective resolution of 0.123 megapixels.  The viewfinder only works when the LCD is closed.  A diopter dial sits at the right side of the viewfinder.  The viewfinder can extend backward but doesn’t have the ability to pivot upwards.

Also mounted at the top front is the built-in mic that records in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.  There is no microphone jack available for this camcorder; however, external mics can connect to the accessory shoe that only caters to Sony proprietary accessories.

The camcorder’s VCR mode will allow users to browse thru the video recordings and still images that are stored in the HDD based on thumbnails.  There is a 5x zoom available when viewing videos and stills in playback mode, and the zoom toggle on the top of the camcorder controls it.

Available ports for the DCR-SR100 sit in the left and at the rear of the camcorder.  The ports on the left are the DC input, USB 2.0 and the A/V in/out port.  There is also a single port located in the right side of the camcorder where users can connect the remote control.

The DCR-SR100 excels in the auto mode, like most Sony camcorders.  The Easy mode is easily the best auto mode in the market.  With a simple push of the Easy button inside the LCD cavity, the camcorder goes into full automatic mode making it perfect for point-and-shoot applications.  The Easy mode limits the user’s access to almost all manual controls.

The camcorder has a Carl Zeiss 5.1mm – 51mm zoom lens with 10x optical zoom and an added 120x digital zoom.  It has a f/1.9 to f/2.9 aperture range and a shutter speed range of 1/4sec to 1/4000sec.  The 10x optical zoom is not as impressive as what other camcorders can offer.  The small optical zoom, however, works well with Sony’s SteadyShot electronic image stabilization system.  Any greater zoom will cause evident image shake in the output video as evident in some of Sony’s camcorders.

The camcorder ships with the NP-FP60 Li-ion rechargeable battery.  The battery can hold a charge of approximately 1.5 hours of extensive use.  The battery on the DCR-SR100 loads sideways.

There are also available White Balance settings in the DCR-SR100 with its Auto, Preset (Indoor, Outdoor) and Manual.  Special Effects available are Sepia, Mosaic, Pastel, Old Movie and Luminance Key.  Shooting Programs include Landscape, Spotlight, Beach & Ski, Portrait Mode, Sports Lesson, Sunset & Moon and Super Night Mode.  Manual Focus operates thru the LCD touch screen display; there is no focal ring around the camcorder’s lens.  Manual Exposure adjustments are available thru the camcorder’s P-Menu function – where most manual controls sit.

One of DCR100’s top competitors is JVC’s GZ-MG77 at the same price range.  Sony actually edges JVC in video sharpness and color vividness.  Low light performance definitely goes to Sony’s favour, with the JVC camcorder performing badly in lowlight environments (below 60 lux).

Dimensions for the camcorder are 3.2in x 5.9in x 2.7in (W x D x H).  Weighing 1.3 lbs, the HDD can be a little heavy for an all-day event camcorder.  However, its great automatic modes make up for this disadvantage.  This camcorder will not impress the manual freaks but overall, the DCR-SR100 has a solid video performance that will fit well with the point-and-shoot crowd as well as beginners.

Best Prices on the Web

Technical Specifications

LENS / ZOOM

Carl Zeiss® Vario Sonnar® T* lens
Zoom Key (Lever/Button on LCD frame)
Zoom / Zoom Speed (Optical):
With Lever during Standby: 10x, variable (0.9-24.4 sec)
With Lever during recording: 10x, variable (0.9-24.4 sec)
With Button on LCD frame: 10x, 5.8sec
Digital Zoom1:20x (120x)
Selection of Digital Zoom Ratio (2 steps) (20x/120x)(Setup)
Precision Digital Zoom2
F: 1.8 – 2.9
f (Focal distance): 5.1 – 51mm
f (35mm conversion)(in “MOVIE” position): (16:9 MODE)3: 42.8 – 495mm; (4:3 MODE): 45 – 450mm
f (35mm conversion)(in “STILL” position)(16:9 MODE): 40.6 – 406mm; (4:3 MODE): 37 – 370mm
Filter Diameter: 30mm
NightShot (SW)
Auto Lens Cover
Super NightShot (“MOVIE” position)

CAMERA

Focus System: Full Range Auto/Manual
Manual Focus (Panel), Spot Focus (Touch Panel)
Auto Focus: Linear Mach AF
Interlace CCD Sensor with Advanced HAD™ Technology: 1/3″ (5.9mm) 2,144H
Number of pixels: Gross: Approx. 3,310K Gross pixels
Number of pixels in “MOVIE” Rec position: 16:9 MODE: 2,057.3K Actual pixels; 4:3 MODE: 2,048K Actual pixels
Number of pixels in “STILL” Rec position: 16:9 MODE: 2,286.1K Actual pixels; 4:3 MODE: 3,048K Actual pixels.
Minimum Illumination: 5 lux; (without NightShot) 0 lux
White Balance: Auto / Outdoor / Indoor / One-Push (Setup)
One-Push Auto
Shutter Speed: 1/4 – 1/4000 sec (Colour Slow Shutter, Program AE, Super NightShot)
Auto: 1/60 – 1/250 sec
Manual: 1/4 – 1/10000 sec
Program AE: 1/60 – 1/4000 sec
Colour Slow Shutter: 1/4 – 1/100 sec
Super NightShot: 1/4 – 1/250 sec, Off (Menu)
Auto Shutter (Setup)
Colour Slow Shutter (Touch Panel)
Program AE4 (Setup): Portrait, Beach & Ski, Sports Lesson, Landscape, Spotlight, Sunset & Moon
14-bit DXP
Auto Non Flicker
Exposure Control (Touch Panel, 24 steps)
Backlight Compensation (Button)
Spot Meter
Iris Control / Gain Control (Auto Only / Auto Only)
Review
Self Timer
Fader5 (Touch Panel): Black, White, Overlap, Wipe
Camera Noise Reduction
16:9 Wide (High Quality)
16:9 Default
Clock Setting (Setup): World Clock (Area or Country SET); DST or Summer Time
Date/Time Auto Indication
SteadyShot (“MOVIE” position only): Electronic, Super SteadyShot
SteadyShot ON/OFF (Setup)

VIEWFINDER

Colour
Size: 0.3”
123K dots
Backlight Select6 (Normal/Bright; Setup)

AUDIO

Dolby Digital 2ch Recording (with Optional Mic)
Dolby Digital 2ch Playback
Dolby Digital 5.1ch Recording
Dolby Digital 2ch Down Mix Playback
Built-in 4ch Stereo Electric Condenser Microphone with Auto Wind Position
5.1ch Centre Mic Ready (with Optional Microphone)
Speaker
Speaker Volume Control (+/-; Touch Panel)
MIC Reference Level (Normal/Low)
External Surround MIC Setting (Stereo/4ch MIC)
Surround Monitor
Multi Sound Switch (HiFi Sound/Bilingual Switch/Setup)

RECORDER/PLAYER

Video Recording Format: MPEG2-PS
Line-In REC
Scan (+/-)
Next
Previous
Slow Playback
Visual Index
Selectable Number of Index (6/12; Zoom/Setup)
Date Index
Movie Quality: HQ (Average 9MBps): VBR; SP (Average 6Mbps): VBR; LP (Average: 3 Mbps): VBR
Linear Time Counter
Data Code (Rec Date/Time, Camera Information)
OSD On/Off Button
OSD Output (Line Out/LCD/Viewfinder)
TV Type Select
Playlist Edit: Add, Delete, Move
Original Edit: Delete
Playback Zoom (x1.1-5; Touch Panel + Zoom Lever)

INPUTS/OUTPUTS

Multi AV (Video In/Out / S Video In/ Out / Audio In/Out)
Remote (Stereo Mini/Mini)
USB Terminal (mini b/Hi-Speed)
DC IN

LCD SCREEN

Size: 2.7” WIDE (16;9 ratio)
Number of Pixels: 123,200 dots (560 x 220)
Hybrid LCD Monitor
Touch Panel
LCD On/Off7 (LCD Open/Closed Related)
Backlight On/Off (Button – Press & Hold)
Backlight Brightness Select8: Normal/Bright (Setup)
Upside Down/Mirror
Opening Angle: 90°
Turning Angles: Counter clockwise: 180°; Clockwise: 90°, For Monitoring:0°
Anti-glare treatment
Anti-Fingerprint Treatment
EVF ON with reversed LCD (Mirror Mode)

REMOTE COMMANDER® CONTROL

Model: RMT-835
“MOVIE/STILL” Common: REC Start/Stop; Zoom
“MOVIE/STILL/PLAY/EDIT” Common: Cursor Key (4-Directional); Enter; Display
“STILL” Position: Photo
“PLAY/EDIT” Position: Playback; Stop; Next; Prev; Step (+/-); Scan/Slow; Pause; Visual Index; Data Code
Mode: DVD2

MULTI-LANGUAGE OPERATION

Menu/Warning Messages: English, Simplified English, Traditional Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French, Latin American Spanish, Korean
Default Language: English

OTHERS

Charge on Camcorder
One-Touch DVD Burn
Setup (Active Menu)
Start/Stop Button on LCD Frame
Zoom Button on LCD Frame
Wide Select Button
Auto Shut Off
Remote Sensor
Remote On/Off (Setup)
Beep Sound (On/Off; Setup)
Warning Message
Front Tally (On/Off; Setup)
InfoLITHIUM System
Disc/Battery Remaining Indicator
Battery Information
Demonstration Mode (Setup)
Easy Handycam
Weight (without Tape, Battery, etc.): 535g
Weight (with Battery)9: NP-FP50: 580g; NP-FP60: 615g; NP-FP70: 620g; NP-FP90: 670g; NP-FP71: 630g
Power Consumption: 3.9W (with Viewfinder); 4.3W (with LCD); 4.5W (with Viewfinder + LCD)
Power Requirements: 8.4V (AC Adapter); 7.2V (Battery)
Charge Time for 1-Hour Shooting (Floating Charge): 55 min.
Charge Time for 1-Hour Shooting (with AC-VQP10 AC Adapter): 36 min.
Dimensions (W x H x D): 82 x 69 x 149mm
Active Interface Shoe
Calibration (Setup)
Digital Picture Effects (Setup)10: Luminance Key; Old Movie;
Picture Effects (Setup)10: Mosaic, Monotone*, Sepia*, Pastel

DIGITAL STILL PICTURES

Default Recording Media: Hard Disk Drive
Recording Mode: Fine (1/4); Standard (1/10)
Recording Method: Progressive Shutter System; Frame REC
Image Sizes: 16:9 (2016 x 1134); 4:3 (2016 x 1512; 1600 x 1200; 640 x 480)
Compression: JPEG
DCF Compatible (Memory Stick® media)
Exif2.2
PictBridge™ Compatible
Date/Time
Continuous File Number REC
Image Delete (One/All/Date)
Burst REC: Normal (2016 x 1512: max3 / 1600 x 1200: max4 / VGA: max21); Auto Exposure Bracketing (3 Images)
Review
Playback Zoom: x.1.1-5 (Touch Panel + Zoom Lever)
Slideshow (Touch Panel)
Image Protect (One/Date)

DISC TOOLS

Format
Erase All Data (Full Format)

HDD DROP PROTECTION

Shock Absorber
3G Sensor
Video Stream Buffering
Drop Detection Sensor ON/OFF (Setup)

HARD DISK DRIVE

Capacity: 30G¹¹
Size: 45.72mm (1.8”)

FLASH LIGHT

Flash Modes: Auto, Forced, Prohibited (Button; with Menu, Anti-Red Eye On/Anti-Red Eye Off)
Red Eye Reduction (Setup)
Flash Level (High, Normal, Low)
Recommended Distance (in “STILL” Position): 0.3 – 2.7m