Sony NEX-VG10

Although it shares some components with Sony's NEX range of digital cameras, the VG10 marks something of a return to a video camera look for camcorders.  That's a big change, because for the past ten years, manufacturers have slowly transformed camcorders into simple tubes with the lens built into the frame to save as much space as possible. 

It's a development that didn't meet with universal approval, and real fans always preferred something that has a focus ring in place of a simple wheel, a real handle instead of a velcro strap and physical buttons rather than a touchscreen interface.  Sony, which pioneered the CCD camcorder back in the 80s is leading this symbolic return to first principles.

Handling

The VG10 looks like a camcorder.  That might seem obvious, but it's a form factor that has all but disappeared over the past ten years.  At first sight, you could be forgiving for mistaking it for one of Sony's professional cameras.  The magneisum frame and glossy black finish make a very different look from the plastic aimed at the wider public.  The VG10 makes a clear statement: this is a high-end camcorder.

The most striking element is the inclusion of interchangeable lenses.  A 18-200 m Sony lens with an E mount comes with the VG10, along with a lens cap and hood.  It sets you back £699 on its own, so it represents nearly half the total cost of the camera.  It takes up half the length of the camcorder too, which is almost 30 cm from end to end.  The whole thing is pretty bulky and somewhat top-heavy towards the front, but a large lateral handle in grainy plastic makes it easy to grip the camera comfortably while filming.  There's an additional carry handle for taking shots from a low angle using the fold-out screen.  It's also useful for carrying the camera from place to place.

The LCD screen displays the same menu as Sony's digital cameras.  The built-in mic is composed of four unidirectional units, and even includes a cover to protect it from the wind.

For once, Sony has had the sense to include an electronic viewfinder that's more than just for show.  Its 1 cm display has an astonishingly good 1.4 Megapixels, while its flexibility ensures it's comfortable to use.

Setting the switch to On brings the camcorder to life.  The 3'' wide LCD screen display has a great resolution of 921 000 pixels, but isn't touch-sensitive.  It doesn't show the same menu as Sony's other camcorders, either, but instead the six-mode system found on its digital cameras: Programme Auto (P), Handheld Twilight, Anti-Motion Blur, Manual Exposure (M), Speed Priority (S) and Aperture Priority (A).  If you've ever used a point-and-shoot camera from Sony, you'll know what you're doing.

The lens offers the advantages of a metal casing with manual rings.  The focus is controlled by a ring that turns continuously, covered by a very progressive rubber.  It's a world apart from the tiny scroll wheels found on most  Sony and Canon camcorders.  The zoom dial, meanwhile, is gradated, and turns less freely.  Although the VG10 does have autofocus, unlike other camcorders, it doesn't have an automatic zoom, which is the real disadvantage of using a photography lens.  It has a wide-angle that starts at 32.5 mm and the optical zoom goes as far as 11x, which certainly leaves room for manoeuvre while filming.

You can play clips back by pressing on a rubber button on the side, which brings them up on the LCD screen.  They're saved on a memory card, which isn't included, although fortunately, both Class 6 SD cards and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards are supported.  You can slip the card of your choice into a slot on the side of the camcorder.

Image Quality

Sony's aim with this camcorder was to offer limited depth of field.  This distinctive visual style was inspired by the success of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II with film-makers, and allows anybody to blur out the background and really bring the foreground into sharp focus, just like at the movies. The job is nicely done, as you can see in these clips we shot on a recent day out.  You can adjust the depth of field even more in mode A (exposure priority) where the blur becomes more pronounced as you decrease the aperture (f/3.5-6.3).

You can click on these photos to download them in native resolution.

Interestingly, the VG10 shoots in 1920 x 1080 pixel HD with an interlaced 50i scan, despite having a progressive 25p CMOS sensor.  A 50i scan can produce 'stripes' across moving scenes when they're played back on a computer screen.  Sony has attempted to justify this paradox by invoking the limited bitrate, saying that the 'powerful' BIONZ processor can't handle 1080p video.  Despite this evasiveness, this twittering effect isn't visible in video shot by the VG10 as you can see in this video, which we encoded straight from the original 1080i.  That's beacause it's captured natively using a progerssive scan.

Colours are reproduced quite accurately, although some shades are sometimes a little dull.  The level of detail is excellent, and the VG10 easily beat the CX550 with our test card.  We were a little disappointed by sensitivity, and found a lot of noise in low light levels for a CMOS sensor using Exmor R, which should be 19 times more sensitive than conventional sensors.  Stability, on the other hand, is great, thanks to the active stabilisation system that irons out both shakes and jerkier movements.  We like it a lot.

Sony has paid a lot of attention to the audio quality, which is worth focusing on.  There's a mini-jack input for use with an external mic, but also a new built-in mic with an innovative design.  It's composed of four unidirectional units that are combined to produce a stereo signal.  That means there's no 5.1 audio like on the CX550, but the results are more or less the same, because the VG10's two channels do a good job of capturing 360° of sound.

Finally, the VG10 has two hotshoes for accessories, one of which can take a Sony flash, which is useful as the VG10 can also capture 14 Megapixel still photos.