The HVR-SR1E is also equipped with Sony’s EIP or Enhanced Image Processor, which is also found on the new Sony HVR-V1E, a Sony Broadcast/Professional model.

What Sony has obviously decided to do here is give the market a consumer priced HDV camcorder with a 'DR-60 HDD' (The DR-60 HDD is a hard drive unit meant for the Sony Broadcast models) built in a consumer range camcorder. However, Sony has also added to its range the HDR-UX1E which is really the twin brother of the SR1E except that it records directly on the 8mm DVD.

All of Sony's new consumer camcorders, the HDR-UX1E, HDR-SR1E & HDR-HC3 are equipped with the HDMI output. This simple connectivity that allows you transmission of both video and audio signals using only one cable. This of course is only for the transmission of HD signals.

The SR1E built in Hard Drive (HDD) is the exact engineering adopted by SONY for their high-end DR60 HDD. Incorporating the 3G sensor which ensures data protection, even when the camcorder is dropped from a height of 1.5 meters.

When the HDR-SR1E is dropped, that's when the built-in 3G sensor kicks in. Upon detecting a fall, the sensor automatically shuts off the power to the HDD and instantly retracts the write head. Thus safeguarding the camcorder as well as all data in the Hard Drive (HDD).
(However, I do not recommend you do not do this as you will most certainly end up with a very ugly looking camcorder.)


The HDR-SR1E features a built in shock absorber and a buffer streaming feature to ensure you do not miss out the action even in the toughest of conditions.

The 30GB HDD will allow you up to 4 hours of recording in the HD-XP mode at 15mbps. If you'd like to record in SD, then you can record up to 7 hours in the HQ mode.

Assignable Ring

The HDR-SR1E has a nice Assignable Ring, which is now a step forward from the HDR-HC3. It allows you to adjust Focus, Brightness, Exposure and White Balance. Do remember that you are only able to use one of the above at any one time. The settings are made via the menu.

White Balance

The HDR-SR1E features the same White Balance settings as the HDR-HC3. Presets for Auto, Outdoor, Indoor and Sony's version of manual White Balance; the “One Push” option.

White Balance Shift controls are also found in the menu that allow you to manually shift the balance via a slider very much like the AE shift. The 'Minus' setting is for cooling down the look of the image and the 'Plus' setting is for warming the images up. White balance shift is also one of the options allowed for the Assignable Ring.

Zoom & Focus

The HDR-SR1E is equipped with a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonar T lens and has a 10x optical zoom (80x digital zoom, but we suggest that you don't use digital zoom at all). Focusing can be done manually or automatically. However in the case when there is insufficient light, the auto focus will have a hard time locking on its target. There is an extended focus feature that allows you to 'zoom' into your subject momentarily so that you can focus more accurately on your subject. Focusing can also be done via the touch screen of which I will simply say “Stay Away!” Sony has also added an improvement in providing a focal distance on the left of the LCD. This feature is pretty cool to have and the readings also appear in the auto mode.

There are also two zoom controls on the HDR-SR1E and is especially a pleasure to have. The primary zoom rocker is pretty accurate and is touch sensitive however the zoom controls located on the bottom of the LCD only allows you a fixed speed. It does not have the ability to perform a slow crawl but is set at a medium zoom speed instead. For users who wish to have more control over zooming in/out, i suggest using the zoom rocker instead.

LCD Screen

The new 3.5 inch LCD hybrid touch screen on the HDR-SR1E comes with powered with Sony's own “Clear Photo plus “ LCD Panel technology. (211,000 dots) This is very essential in the case when shooting in HD.

The “Clear Photo plus” LCD Panel not only gives you richer colors but also better contrast. Improved REC/STOP/ZOOM buttons can also be found on the LCD Panel. The LCD screen is large enough for easy composition and also low angle shots.

The tele-macro mode is especially powerful feature and I had always enjoyed this feature even in the HDR-HC1 / HVR-A1P. Allowing you to capture very small or distant objects and blurring out the background enabling the subject to stand out more. It also means that you will not have to worry about your own shadow on the subject while taking the macro shot.

AVCHD

A compression codec that employs the MPEG 4 / H.264 specification, AVCHD is the latest brainchild of Matsushita Corp & Sony Technologies. AVCHD stands for Advance Video Codec High Definition. It looks pretty promising since it's touted as a possible better compression type then Mpeg 2.

However, for those who wish to edit their footages, I am pretty sure that you'll be pretty disappointed to know that most current NLEs (Non-Linear Editing Platforms) have yet to show support for the AVCHD codec. Sony Media Software will be launching an update to their current Sony Vegas 7 family of video editing solutions so as to cater to the AVCHD specification.

Low Lighting

I pit the HDR-SR1E against a HDR-HC3 and was saddened to find out the the low lighting leaves much to be desired. In short, the low lighting was pretty disappointing. I will say that the HDR-HC3 beats the HDR-SR1E hands down in this area.
The HDR-SR1 still features the "NightShot" mode however, to allow the user to shoot videos in 0 Lux situations.

Video noise was pretty obnoxious and indeed it is clear that though I prefer the controls on the HDR-SR1E over the HDR-HC3, the low light capability is very important feature to me. If you compare the HDR-SR1E to Canon’s HV10, the HDR-SR1E comes out as a champion. There are no gain controls on the HDR-SR1E as well as the HDR-UX1E.

Battery Life

Using the same batteries as HDR-HC1 and HVR-A1P the HDR-SR1E allows you to use the bigger and better M series batteries. Though it is obvious since the media is a HDD (harddrive), the battery consumption is critical and the lack of battery life will be a problem.

The supplied battery gives you slightly over an hour and 15 minutes of recording time. This assuming you do not play around with your Graphic User Interface that often.

However, there are larger capacity batteries that you can purchase from Sony. My advice is to just get the largest capacity battery so that you'll not need to worry about battery life. The only downside is that I guess you would have the battery sticking out of the back of your camcorder like a sore thumb.

Smooth Slow Recording

The smooth slow recording feature is one of the latest, coolest features coming from Sony. Basically, it allows you capture video in slow motion that can be viewed nearly instantly. This is done by manipulation of the frame rate. Images taken in this mode are usually quality compromised and also lose exposure advantage. Sadly, the SR1E does not include a manual shutter control, which would have greatly aided in the process of capturing really smooth slow-motion videos. Anyway, if i were you i stay away from this feature ..PERIOD!

Audio

The HDR-SR1E features a stereo microphone jack as well as an onboard microphone. It also has a headphone jack for monitoring audio. There is also Sony’s proprietary “active interface” shoe mount that allows you to plug in a 5.1 microphone for 5.1 surround recording.

The camcorder also has two audio settings which is labelled “low” and “normal”. These settings can be selected via the menu option. Normal is the default setting on the SR1 however, selecting the low option will allow you to fix an audio level setting. Not a shabby feature to have although most people may not end up using it anyway.

If you intend to shoot videos for your holidays & family functions, the Sony HDR-SR1E is definitely a nice camcorder to have. This camcorder is perfect for the tech savvy user that knows how to manipulate the files from the hard drive unit to the computer. Once you're used to such processes, the ease of use will be a big plus point.

With regards to image quality, the HDR-SR1E is definitely the biggest jump if you're talking about HDD recording devices. Camcorders like the JVC-MC500 & Sanyo Xacti HD1 don't stand a chance against this monster.

However, the camcorder has it's limits and shortcomings. AVCHD is a fairly new technology and like all new technologies, it's always safer to make sure that supporting media & software have the infrastructure to fully utilize the new technology. Simply, our advice is to just hold on for NLEs to fully accept the AVCHD format before making your jump. However, lets keep the faith as the people behind AVCHD technology are working to better integrate the codec into our everyday lives. Panasonic would also release AVCHD camcorders in the market at a later stage, but we'll leave that for another review another day.

The Sony HDR-SR1E costs around SG $2899 and is a fairly good camcorder for the consumer, although not as price-friendly and good image quality like the HDR-HC3. In my opinion, professionals should not to keep this camcorder on their target boards and perhaps save another SG $1200 for a HVR-A1P as camcorders that record on tape still give better resolution than the current HDD & DVD offerings.

Article by: Derek Yeo
VideoLifestyle.com