Sony HDR-CX160

This Full HD camcorder retails for less than £350, and given its performance, is great value for money.  The quality of the video it produces, the usability and the advanced features all give it a clear advantage over using either a pocket camcorder or the video mode on digital camera.

Handling

The CX160 is Sony's cheapest AVCHD camcorder, and has 16 GB of flash memory, leaving room for one and a quarter hours of video at the best possible 50p quality.  If that's not enough, there's a memory card slot, which takes either SD or Memory Stick cards, underneath to add more storage.  As it is, you can get going straight away: once the battery has charged, you open the screen, press the red button and start recording.  The autofocus is incredibly fast, and also offers face detection, a progressive zoom which speeds up in response to pressure from your finger and an active image stabilisation system which cancels out all movement, even when you're filming while walking. 

The mini USB cable	The photo, video and mode buttons

An automatic cover protects the lens.  There's no viewfinder, meaning you have to use the reasonably bright 3'' LCD display with just 230 000 pixels instead; it is, however, visible from every angle.  That's one area where camcorders in this segment have shown real improvements over the past five years, both in terms of resolution and brightness.  Like Sony's other camcorders, the CX160 uses the same touchscreen menus as the firm's NEX range of digital cameras.  The homescreen contains the various scene modes (photo, video, slow-motion or golf for example); the main settings (white balance, focus and exposure); the quality to be used (50p, 50i, 25p, SD and HD); playback mode; editing mode and the choice of memory (the internal memory or an external card).  There's no more endless searching through the menus for these important settings.

Looking at video on the 3'' LCD touchscreen	The memory card slot underneath the camcorder

Another common feature on Sony camcorders—this time borrowed from pocket camcorders—is the presence of a mini USB cable that hides inside the carry handle.  It means you'll never be caught short without a cable and can plug your camcorder in anywhere.  The CX160 also has a line in for a mic, something pretty rare at this price point, but bizarrely, no corresponding headphone jack.  That's a real shame as it is the best way to check the audio quality during an interview.  There's also a mini-HDMI output, an analogue composite output and a battery charger, which provides around an hour's recording time.

Using the CX150 is a real treat, mostly because it's small, light and very smooth, but also because the controls are ideally placed within easy reach.  It's easy to handle and doesn't feel out of place in a jacket pocket.  A real camcorder is definitely much nicer to film with than a digital camera.

Video Quality

If you're in any doubt as to whether the video from a pocket cam or a smartphone is just as good as what you'd expect from a AVCHD camcorder like the CX160, just try playing the results back on a Full HD TV.  The real camcorder produces excellent quality video, with plenty of colour, lots of detail and smooth movements.  What's more, the CX160 uses what is currently the gold standard in HD video, 1080/50p.  That means it records 1920 x 1080 pixel frames fifty times a second in progressive mode (capturing a full frame each time) with a bandwidth of 28 Mbps.  That captures more detail than the 50i (interlaced frames) used by rival camcorder manufacturers like Canon and Samsung or the 25p used by digital cameras.  The lab test results speak for themselves.

30 cm macro mode indoors	30x zoom with the active image stabilisation

The CX160's 1/4'' CMOS Exmor sensor is also capable of great video indoors, as long as there is a little bit of light.  Sony's exclusive Exmor technology removes much of the electronic noise without having an adverse impact on colour reproduction, which is a considerable achievement.  When light levels are low—in a candle-lit room for instance—the quality is obviously less impressive but the resulting video is still usable.

The CX160 has a 37 mm Sony G lens (f/1.8-3.4) which opens as far as 39.8 mm, which is wide enough to fit two people in the frame without having to be three metres back.  It also has a very powerful 30x zoom.  That might seem a little excessive, but the image stabilisation is so powerful that there's no shake whatsoever even when you're in full telephoto mode.  However wide the shot, the resulting video is clear and steady, even if the camera is moving.  That's something of a rarity and real advantage given that ordinary digital cameras don't manage the same, even if they do have stabilised lenses.

The CX160 has a fun (and fashionable) 'slow-motion mode' which is turned on using the touchscreen menu.  It boosts the framerate to capture hundreds of images per second for just three seconds, reducing the resolution to 1440 x 1080 at 50i to cope with the extra bandwidth.  Colours also look a little washed out in this mode, which is only rarely worth it.

If your budget really is tight, then the Sony CX130 is even cheaper, but it it doesn't have any internal memory, so you'll have to pay extra to add either a Class 6 Memory Stick or SD card.  The lens and CMOS Exmor sensor, however, are both the same as on this CX160.