[Matty]

Hi all

my better half is pregnant with our first child, due in October....I want to get an HD Camcorder to record Jr in all his\her glory, and I have seen this Sony camcorder which looks like it ticks all the boxes.

My first Q is whether this is a good model or not - have not seen many reviews online and only 1 comment on AVForums?

second Q is whether to buy something now, or wait until nearer the date in expectation that prices drop or new models come out - however I was tracking the Canon HF100 for the same reason only to see that the price went up, not down!

thanks

[A n d r e w]

Predictions are troublesome things, but I'll hazard one: there won't be any new Sony consumer HD camcorders released in the UK before October. Note that I say "released" rather than "announced." I say this based on my own pretty limited knowledge of the product cycles over the past couple of years, and also because Sony, like most electronics manufacturers, is on hard times right now.

As for pricing, so much depends on the relative value of the Pound versus the asian currencies, and I wouldn't even want to hazard a guess. Not even Alistair Darling seems to know much about how to control this. That said, Sony's consumer HD range tends not to drop a lot in price, even towards the end of a product cycle.

Can't help you with reviews or specific advice on that particular model, except to point out that it doesn't have a particularly large sensor at 1/5" so might not be the best contender at that price level for video shot indoors. If you haven't already, take a look at Canon's AVCHD offerings - which also have the benefit of allowing you to use cheaper SDHC memory cards, rather than Sony's relatively pricey MemorySticks.

[Matty]

thanks Andrew, I was also interested in the Canon HG20 seeing as the HF100 is now discontinued, but that has a sensor size of only 1/3.2" - is bigger not better then when it comes to the sensor? (sorry, this is all a bit more technical than I expected! )

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by Matty

the HF100 is now discontinued, but that has a sensor size of only 1/3.2" - is bigger not better then when it comes to the sensor?

It sure is: 1/3.2" (roughly one third of an inch) is bigger than 1/5" (one fifth of an inch), i.e. the HG20 has the larger sensor of the two (i.e. compared with the Sony mentioned in the thread title).

[Matty]

thanks Andrew, think I will keep an eye on the HG20 - seems to fit the bill nicely. Price has come down already on amazon

[A n d r e w]

No worries. I've emended my previous post as it read as if I was saying that the HG20 has a larger sensor than the HF100, whereas I believe they're the same size (both being larger than the XR105's sensor).

[Matty]

well now I'm getting myself all in a tizz about whether to go with the newer HF20 or HF200 - although the sensor is not as good on these, the overall spec seems better!

[A n d r e w]

There's a review of the HF20 / HF200 (US version) here.