Review: Sony HDRAS100V/W Video Camera

Sony HDRAS100V/W Video Camera
When smartphones came along, many people thought they would make action cameras such as this one obsolete. Instead, Sony has developed a way to combine the convenience of a smart phone with a video camera that is capable of shooting professional looking video on the fly.

The camera comes with a waterproof case that has a tripod fitting on it. So you can mount the camera anywhere, then watch the feed through your smartphone and see precisely what the camera is recording. The camera also has a built-in GPS, so you can keep track of where you were shooting without having to use any secondary GPS unit. Both the camera and the wrist display charge through a standard Android charger, making it much easier to charge on the go. The camera also has a serious set of built-in stereo mikes, which ensures that your sound will be just as impressive as your video.

And it's easy to record impressive video with this camera. It's SteadyShot image stabilization means the video you shoot will have a steady look that's free of all the herky-jerkiness you often see from handheld cameras. The Sony camera also has dynamic bright and darkness settings, that adjust the image quickly to ensure the best possible video.

If you're a professional videomaker, you'll appreciate the fact the camera can shoot in XAVC format (if you have a memory stick to store the video. The XAVC format is proprietary, but it's Adobe compatible and used in most professional video settings. Until now, it was only available with much high-end cameras, so having it available in a mid-range consumer product is a real gamechanger.

The camera also has a number of settings that allow you to fine-tune your footage to fit your needs. You can change the settings to shoot at either 170 degrees of view or a smaller 120 for close-up shots. If you're interested in shooting slow-motion, there are settings for 240 FPS/480p and 120FPS/720p. And if you're looking towards the future, the camera can shoot in 4K, which will eventually be the broadcast TV standard in a few years. While 4K is overkill for YouTube or other streaming video options, having it available for more traditional uses is a great bonus.

The camera does have a few challenges. The battery life isn't great and if you're wanting to use the Android smartphone interface, you'll need the latest version of Android's operating system to make it work. But for most people in most situations, the Sony HDRAS100V/W Video Camera is a great deal at a very affordable price.