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Sony Handycam HDR-CX105E Review
| Author | James Morris |
| Published | 30th May 2009 |
| Manufacturer | Sony |
| Price | £380.87 (Exc VAT) |
| as reviewed | £438.00 (Inc VAT) |
| Latest Price | Click here |
| Features |  |
| Image Quality |  |
| Value |  |
| Overall | |
9 comments
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TrustedReviews NewslettersAs this is a tiny pocket camcorder, there are few provisions for the more serious videomaker. There is no accessory shoe, nor minijacks for an external microphone or headphones. The few discrete buttons, which are available beneath the LCD, control global features like switching to playback and Easy mode, the latter hiding the majority of settings for those worried that they might end up configuring them accidentally. The CX105E also has face detection to help get the exposure of human faces correct automatically. However, one automated feature we would have liked is a lens cover that opens when the camcorder turns on, like many HD camcorders in this class now have. But instead you have to open this yourself with a slider on the side.
If you do want to delve into manual settings, these are all controlled via the touchscreen LCD. As with the XR520, the one-touch system now extends to simultaneous configuration of focus and exposure with a single tap. You can still access these two settings separately, like previous Sony touchscreen camcorders, and there are manual sliders to control them as well. But there is no way of changing the shutter speed directly. The only way to bias this is via one of the scene modes, such as the Sports option which selects the fastest possible shutter. There are eight other scene modes to choose from as well.
The CX105E also incorporates Sony's Smooth Slow Record. This is a separate mode alongside Movie and Photo that captures footage at four times normal speed. However, it only works for three-second bursts, which are buffered and then transferred to create 12 seconds of regular AVCHD. Quality isn't as good as when recording at normal speed, and Sony hasn't made public what resolution or data rate is actually used when buffering. But the results are quite reasonable, and look better than some of the slo-mo options available from other manufacturers.
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Mauro said on 4th June 2009
edzio said on 9th July 2009
Could somebody tell me whether it'd be possible to put different lenses on this camera? Such as an 'opteka fisheye' lens? I'm a total newbie to camcorders, but ... more
Anders Lund said on 17th August 2009
I just wanted to point out that Sony has been replacing the automatic lens cover with a manual on a lot of their new models, even higher priced ones. The reason? Reliyability. I ha... more
Kalos Geros said on 20th September 2009
just came accross this review...being a 1080i camcorder the CX105 doesn't really need all of the 2 mil pixels of 1080p...interlaced fields of 1080i video are 1920x540 which is actu... more
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Hi James, I am going to buy my first digital camcorder and I am very attracted by the Sanyo HD2000. After reading you review I put also the cx105e on the list, and I really can... more