This camera has great image quality, and was obviously a great buy. But a single thing that frustrated me (before selecting) was that I couldn't find much info about the greater number of advanced specs.

But luckily, I have done the homework on your behalf
Here are a few things you should know:


The CMOS is 5MP native (resolution: 2592 x 1944)
don't use the 8MP it 'blows up' the whole picture (interpolation)

The lens, although the image quality is wonderful, is definitely the weak point of that camera. Its a hard and fast focus without optical zoom. Theres only zoom which decreases withstand the farther its zoomed in, however is not too badly.

The 2 focus modes,
Normal: From 30cm to infinity. Best for general purpose video recording. Absolutely nothing is really out of focus unless its too on the camera. Nevertheless the image is generally slow to clarify on certain patterns for example grass.
Macro: For close ups. Objects/people look alot clearer/better when preoccupied with than with the usual focus mode, and everything in the backdrop is blurred. However need to ensure the camera will be perfect distance from the object to make sure that its in focus.
On the camera, the top part setting using the mountain/stick figure is common focus mode along with lower setting when using the flower shape is macro. Also , there are wide angle lenses available that fit this camera.

The battery
Battery life in my circumstances is really good, but is dependent on your recording mode, screen brightness etc. Charge to 100% before turning it on (should take atleast 2 3 hours). Also sometimes the sunshine generally seems to change randomly of showing that its charged when its still charging. Theres a defect while battery is loose inside and rattles around/loses exposure to the terminals making it turn off. Just improvise and hang up some paper/cardboard below the battery to keep it from being loose.

The screen is nice quality, difficult to see in bright daylight. No dead pixels. Camera activates should you fold away screen. There are actually controls privately for video playback but I haven't had to use any besides 'power'.

The mic is okay in my situation, even so it will record a person behind the camera rather than whats ahead of.

Records from AV IN at 720 x 480 NTSC 29.97FPS
the quality is decent photographs record at a satellite receiver (make the most of this with pay per view). When played back on SDTV it looks nearly exactly as the initial broadcast besides for a lot of obvious static at the very top of the screen. Format: H264 @ 2.12mbits/sec Audio: AAC stereo 48.000khz BTW you cannot do composite in.

has TV OUT with AV out and Composite out
You is capable of doing everything with TV out activated you can use normally, record vids/take pics/change settings. Video and display quality is terrific, where they load instantly. Any time you lose One of the AV cables, they're the identical apart from the colors.

works with my sandisk 4gb Ultra II SDHC memory card
make sure your memory card is 'high speed' or otherwise it probably can't write data fast enough to keep up with the particular quality recording modes. There's no doubt that the memory limit is 32gb.

recording modes:
1080p: 29.97FPS Data rate: 7.58mbits/sec at 1920x1080
720p 60f: 59.94FPS Data rate: 6.04mbits/sec at 1280x720
720p 30f: 29.97FPS Data rate: 4.10mbits/sec at 1280x720
'DVD quality': 59.94FPS Data rate: 3.57mbits/sec at 854x480
'CIF': 29.97FPS Data rate: 750.86kbits/sec at 320x240
All except 'CIF' are 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen)
Image quality is grainy in the event the room is dark, though you can adjust white balance/exposure settings tp prepare this. We repeat the best overall setting is 720p 60FPS. Theres no stabilization the really stupid to complain the fact that footage is 'shaky' when all you have in order to do is hold your arm more steady/hold it with 2 hands. All things considered the camera captures exactly what it sees and your lightweight. Theres a tripod mount too.

tips for playback
The version of quicktime included about the CD is really an old version that plays choppy on even an fastest computer. How to play back your vids for me would be to first:
1. Rename the file from .MOV to .HDMOV
2. Have fun with the file with Windows Media Player
doing it in this way uses the graphics card (GPU) for helping take part in the video, instead of just the CPU. 60fps is a bit more intensive than 1080p at 30fps. If you achieve an oversight about codecs, search on the internet 'k lite codec pack'.


Now the most important problem everyone has would be that the format on the videos (.MOV) is incompatible/doesn't work right with much editing software. Most people convert the video to another format which decreases toughness and takes forever. Isn't it time on a simple solution that would prevent you from hours of frustration?

The actual video captured is encoded to H.264 codec with AAC audio, the .MOV is simply container file. AVI, MP4, MKV and plenty of others can hold H.264 video. So all you have to do is...

Rename FILE.MOV organizing.MP4


easy as that...now the file should are employed in sony vegas and all other editing software that supports H264, plus play back fine with supporting media players. To rename on a PC: Tools >Folder Options >View >Hide extensions for known file types (uncheck the)

(when importing to vegas 8.0 you will want to keep endeavoring to drag the file above the window until an overview appears or its going to crash, only release the mouse automobile outline appears. Keep trying with new codecs if this crashes/won't work, its glitchy)