The Sony HDR-CX160 is an excellent camcorder in the under $500 price range and is top choice in the category. It creates crystal clear 1920 x 1080 full HD 60p video. Low light performance is very strong due to it’s back-illuminated “Exmor R” CMOS sensor. Additional strengths include a wide angle lens at 29.8mm and excellent zoom capabilities, Extended Zoom takes the optical zoom to 42x and digital zoom goes to 350x. Sony’s image stabilization technology is effective and the CX-160 outperforms most camcorders in it’s class. The 3 inch wide touch screen LCD is well designed and includes an intuitive user interface that can be quickly learned. With the built-in 16GB of flash memory you can record up to 6 hours of HD footage. There is also a built-in memory card slot for Memory Stick Duo or SD memory cards.
This is a small and light camcorder at just 2.2 x 4.9 x 2.1 inches and 2.3 pounds, it can comfortably fit in a coat pocket.
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An unusual and convenient feature of the HDR-CX160 is that it includes a USB charger port on the camera body. Also included is a standard Sony charger. Battery life is good, in the range of 2.5 to 3 hours, results will vary based on usage. Another convenient feature is that video can be played directly on an HDTV using the mini-HDMI output.
The intelligent Auto feature works well, making this a convenient to use “point and shoot” camcorder. There are some manual controls but they are not extensive as is typical in this level camcorder.
In summary, this is a very well put together camcorder that will perform with distinction in most conditions. It rates well in the critical areas of image quality, memory, storage and battery life. Low light performance, image stabilization, wide angle and zoom are also very strong. Weaknesses are few but include subpar still pictures at 3 megapixels and somewhat limited manual controls.
Back-illuminated “Exmor R” CMOS sensor
The Exmor CMOS sensor provides outstanding low-light sensitivity for excellent image clarity and substantially reduced grain. Designed for compact cameras and camcorders, the “Exmor R” sensor relocates the photo diodes above the support circuitry, maximizing the light gathering area per pixel so you can shoot with better results in lower lighting conditions.
Highlight Playback
Save hours editing your movies. Highlight Playback combines scenes into a short, enjoyable video including music and transitions.
Tracking Focus
You can touch an object on the LCD screen and the focus will follow the selected object. This helps to created great quality video as your subject remains in focus throughout.
Golf Shot
Golf Shot captures a few seconds of motion as a sequence of up to 22 still images. These can be viewed as individual shots or together in a “sequence shot” image. This is a fantastic tool for analyzing a golf or baseball swing or other sports action.
Wind Noise Reduction
Reduces wind noise making voices significantly more audible.
Intelligent Auto
Intelligent Auto analyzes your shot and then chooses the optimal setting from ten available scene modes (90 different possible combinations). Landscape, Backlight, Twilight, Spotlight, Low light, Macro, Portait, Baby, Walk, Tripod.
Optical SteadyShot™
Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with Active Mode greatly reduces camera shake to create smooth video even while using the telephoto lens.
The 3.0” Clear Photo LCD Plus™ Display
Provides excellent clarity with 230K pixels resolution. The display can rotate 270 degrees to create additional viewing angles.