Sony HDR-CX150 HD Camcorder

 

July 5, 2011 8:32 am / Posted by Jack Fisher to Camcorder Tips
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Sony HDR-CX150 16GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder

Do you have a Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 High Definition Handycam Camcorder? How much do you know about it? This article will introduce it to you and help you solve some common problem about it.

First, Sony HDR-CX150 HD camcorder review

Sony Handycam CX150 has always been one of the favorite camcorders, especially for those who like a mini camera with affordable price and have good picture quality.

Key features:
9 scene modes.
25x optical zoom.
1920 x 1080 full HD video resolution.
3.0-megapixel still images.
16GB of embedded Flash memory.
HD playback up to 395 minutes.
HDMI playback and direct transfer.
Packed with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 25x optical zoom lens.
Back-illuminated EXMOR R low-light image sensor.
Dolby Digital 2-channel sound recording.
New exmor r cmos with superior low-light performance in an extra-small size.
Face Detection, Smile Shutter technology, 9 distinct scene modes, Intelligent Auto Mode

Pros: Compact; lens focuses relatively fast; nice video quality; good buttery life; quick and easy to use; excellent picture quality regardless of recording mode (1080i); adjustable microphone; small and compact; zoom is smooth and steady; has touch focus.

Cons: Worse-than-expected lens flare problems in bright sunlight; no viewfinder; not having 1080p; no optical image stabilization; No night shot, no external light, no remote; impossible to navagate in menue.

Second, How to import HDR-CX150 video to Mac or Windows?

"I just bought the Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 and I have been having some troubles with importing the HD video files onto my computer that my computer can actually read. I have also tried to import straight into Pinnacle 14 (which is the editing software that I am using), but it cannot read the formats either."

We always like to use the PMB thing that came with the camcorder to import, when HDR-CX150 video saves the files onto our computer it leaves folders name like this... 20100202203912.m2ts. It is true, HDR-CX150 record video in AVCHD video format, .m2ts is the extension.

For Mac user, MOV, DV, MP4, MPEG-2 are the most suitable formats. So if you want to import your HDR-CX150 AVCHD, MTS, M2TS files to Mac iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, iDVD, Quicktime, iTunes, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Pinnacle 14, Premiere Pro CS5 etc, you need to convert HDR-CX150 video to MOV, DV, MP4, MPEG-2 etc using Sony Handycam CX150 AVCHD.m2ts converter Mac.

For Windows user, WMV, AVI, MPG are always the most common formats to play, edit and burn dvds. So if you like to import Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 movie to Windows Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, WMP, Mobile Phone etc, you can convert HDR-CX150 M2TS, MTS video to WMV, AVI, MPG etc using Sony Handycam CX150 MTS/M2TS video converter.

How to make the video quality look better on youtube?

"I upload my first youtube video today, and it came out in bad quality even though my camcorder is HD(avchd formats) and when I check before I upload it on my computer it look amazing, but it look like crap on youtube, why?"

You'd better convert your videos to right profile and format/codec then upload onto youtube, that wont loss any quality, so you could follow me to use iorgsoft AVCHD video converter, it can auto convert any videos to right profile and format/codec youtube videos, like FLV, then upload onto Youtube without lossing any quality.

Third, Sony Handycam CX150 memory is full, but it's really empty?

"When I try to record a video in HD it says that there's only 2 minutes available, but my intern memory is all empty! I also tried with an empty 8 gb, SD card, but it didn't work. I tried reseting it but it also din't worked. Any advice please?"

Your Sony can record to 3 different media: internal 16Gb flash memory, external Sony MemStick, and external SD card. So you can go into the menu system to select which one to record to. You might also have either a lot of still photos stored into the default memory (which would not show up in the video folder), or "protected" video clips that someone else took and flagged to prevent erasure. you'd better make sure your SD card was formatted with the Handycam, not fresh out of the package or formatted in another device or computer.

Finally, What is the difference between 1080p and 1080i and what does "MP" stand for?

"Sony bloggie MHS-CM5 Camcorder - 1080p - 5.0 MP - 5 x optical zoom ($150)
Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 Camcorder - 1080i - 4.2 MP - 25 x optical zoom ($400)"

Video resolution is "rated" using horizontal line count. Standard definition video is 480 horizontal lines. High definition is 720 or 1080 horizontal lines.

In 1080i, the "i" stands for "interlaced," which means each frame of the video contains half of the picture information (the following frame has the other half). This is not too noticeable, unless you have a very good TV, or if there is a lot of action going on, which may get a little blurred.

In 1080p, the "p" stands for "progressive scan," which means each frame of the video contains a complete picture. However, the 1080p is really good at recording, but doesnt have much zoom.

MP stands for Mega-pixels. This is a measurement more commonly associated with the resolution (and quality) of digital still images, not video. It tell us how large a still picture will be.