Sony HDR-CX150 Review
Ranked #6,054 in Computers & Electronics, #115,055 overall
Having Fun With My HDR-CX150 Handycam
My wife and I have been looking at digital camcorders for awhile, but until we saw the Sony HDR-CX150 Handycam
we couldn't find one that worked well in low light and priced within our budget. We also wanted one that would be easy to use and had a good reputation for quality. When I saw "Low Light Excellence" in the advertisements, we decided to give the Sony HDR-CX150 a try. So far it has worked great for us. It really does shoot good video in low light, and the custom programmable touch screen menus make it really easy to set up and use. If you're looking for a low light camcorder that is moderately priced and easy to use, take a look at the Sony HDR-CX150 Handycam - I think you'll like it.
we couldn't find one that worked well in low light and priced within our budget. We also wanted one that would be easy to use and had a good reputation for quality. When I saw "Low Light Excellence" in the advertisements, we decided to give the Sony HDR-CX150 a try. So far it has worked great for us. It really does shoot good video in low light, and the custom programmable touch screen menus make it really easy to set up and use. If you're looking for a low light camcorder that is moderately priced and easy to use, take a look at the Sony HDR-CX150 Handycam - I think you'll like it.Sony HDR-CX150 is Discontinued
Unfortunately the HDR-CX150 has been discontinued and replaced by the HDR-CX300 Handycam. The HDR-CX300 is a nice camcorder, but it doesn't beat the "bang for the buck" of the HDR-CX150. It has some really cool features though so it's definitely worth checking out.
Sony HDR-CX150 Handycam
An overview of the Sony HDR-CX150 Handycam Camcorder
The Sony HDR-CX150 Handycam is small, light weight, and simple to use. There are only 7 buttons and you only need to use one of them to shoot video. All other functions of the HDR-CX150 are accessed by menus on the touch screen. The touch screen is a 2.7" LCD that is bright and very responsive to a light touch of your fingers. The best part is that you can build your own custom menu so you don't have to dig through the factory menu.
The HDR-C150 in Low Light
"Low Light Excellence"
In my opinion, the HDR-CX150 is a very good low light camcorder. This video was shot about 8:00 am inside my house on a cloudy day with no lights on. The trains are sitting on a shelf with another shelf about 9" above them. Not exactly "dark," but considering that my Coolpix camera won't even auto focus in these light conditions, I was very happy with the quality of the video produced by the HDR-CX150 Handycam. The trains are HO scale and you can see the detail on them (including the dust on top:) ) very clearly.
curated content from YouTube
Batteries for the Sony HDR-C150
Extra batteries are a HUGE convenience...
The NPFV50 Rechargeable Battery
that comes with the Sony HDR-C150 camcorder gives about 2 hours recording time, which is about half the memory capacity of the internal ,e,ory. It only takes s a few minutes to download the video form the camera, but it takes at least 2 hours to charge the battery. If you don't want to have to wait, you'll need extra batteries. I just bought an extra NPFV50 battery but if you prefer more shooting time per charge, the Sony NPFV70 Rechargeable Battery
offers twice the capacity of the NPFV50, so it should also give twice the recording time.
that comes with the Sony HDR-C150 camcorder gives about 2 hours recording time, which is about half the memory capacity of the internal ,e,ory. It only takes s a few minutes to download the video form the camera, but it takes at least 2 hours to charge the battery. If you don't want to have to wait, you'll need extra batteries. I just bought an extra NPFV50 battery but if you prefer more shooting time per charge, the Sony NPFV70 Rechargeable Battery offers twice the capacity of the NPFV50, so it should also give twice the recording time.
Software Included With the HDR-CX150
Uploading to YouTube, basic cropping, etc...
The software included with the HDR-CX150 Handycam is a program called PMB. Officially, PMB stands for Picture Motion Browser but it could just as easily stand for "Pretty Much Basic." PMB is useful for importing video from your Handycam to your PC (I don't know if it works on a Mac), viewing videos, and converting them from the HDR-CX150's native format to MPEGs that can be played on just about any computer with a media player. PMB also provides for organizing your videos. One feature I really like is a button that will automatically upload your video to YouTube and other online video sites. One thing I don't like is that PMB can't automatically delete the videos from your Camcorder when you import them - you have to manually delete them from the camera. Not a big deal, but it would be nice if the software could take care of it for you. Beyond the basic functions, PMB doesn't offer much. If you want to edit your videos, you'll need to get a video editing program like Nero Multimedia Suite 10.
Sony HDR-CX150 Technical Specifications
I hate it when reviews leave out this info...
- Internal Memory 16GB, enough to record 3h, 50m in [HD HQ] mode
- Memory Card 64GB The HDR-CX150 will accept SD memory cards up to 64GB.
- Image device: 4.5mm CMOS
- Image size: 3.1 megapixel (2048 x 1536)
- Lens: Carl Ziess, 25X optical zoom
- Aperture: F1.8 ~ 3.2
- Focal length: 2.5 ~ 62.5 mm
- LCD screen: 2.7", 960 x 240 pixels
Please Sign my Guest Book
What features to you look for in a camcorder?
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LoKackl
Jan 6, 2011 @ 8:38 am | delete
- Thanks for the help with this handycam.
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awelldressedbullet
Jan 5, 2011 @ 9:45 pm | delete
- I can't believe how small these are now, compared to our old Camcorder, how things change!
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aesta1
Dec 23, 2010 @ 12:46 am | delete
- Was looking at this last summer but I hesitated getting it...now that I have read you review, I will have to give this a second look.
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aesta1
Dec 23, 2010 @ 12:45 am | delete
- Was looking at this last summer but I hesitated getting it...now that I have read you review, I will have to give this a second look.
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vallain Dec 16, 2010 @ 3:52 pm | delete
- Sounds lovely!
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by glockr
I love planes, (toy) trains, and automobiles. Also enjoy hiking and camping with my family, fishing, and hunting. These days I do most of my hunting w... more »
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