If money is not everything and you do not mind spending a few hundred dollars extra then you will find this Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-TX200V ultra-slim, ultra-light a "perfect" choice which offers very unique features that makes this the best `point & shoot' camera product of the year 2012! ...Here is why...
Image resolution & Movie recording:
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This tiny shiny camera boasts 18.2 MP resolution image captures which is the highest resolution till date of any point and shoot camera of this size. It also captures very smooth `optically stabilized' video up-to 1080p/60 true HD AVCHD movies in stereo AC3 sound at the same time allowing user to capture stills [16:9] seamlessly while taking movies which is very impressive and useful feature indeed.
Perfect looking stills every time. Thanks to various built-in camera post processing. Almost if not every photo I have taken so far has come out perfect. No blurry images No shake. Excellent results every single time.
Practical use of a point & Shoot:
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How many times you wished that you take a video of that special Birthday moment of your child while at the same time wished to have a high resolution still image of the moment to cherish later? Well, Sony got that it right this time. You no longer have to juggle a camcorder and bulky DSLR with plethora of lens attachments, this `simple looking' lightweight stylish point and shoot camera does it all effortlessly.
Waterproof Peace of mind!
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The Camera is waterproof! Yay! The specs say up-to 5 meters and can operate underwater for full hour of underwater photography! Very impressive indeed. But for most users may not really use the camera underwater. What it gives to a general user is peace of mind that if you accidently drop this in pool or get wet in the rain it will not damage the camera.
Creative and Macro Photography:
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Very Impressive Macro photos, I must say it is truly amazing how close you can get to the subject to take those beautiful looking Macro photos. I have used Canon EOS 60D before; I must say it is very close to the DSLR quality when it comes to macro photography without any need of special lenses or contraptions. You can use the "Defocus Effect" feature to get those professional looking close-ups that otherwise takes a lot of photography experience and expensive lenses and contraptions. This simple point and shoot camera does it beautifully and effortlessly. Impressive!
Memory card:
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I used SanDisk microSDHC 32GB Flash Memory Card (Retail Packaging) SDSDQM-032G-B35,Black with this camera and found the memory card fully compatible. I did not try any other microSD/SDHC memory card. It accepted the 32GB capacity just fine. I however wished that it accepted standard SD cards which are faster and cheaper these days. I am not sure why SONY decided to go with microSD/SDHC cards with this camera.
Battery life:
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The battery life is good, In real life test I wished that it could have given me more but I got about 195 photos under 3 hours before it gave up on me. The OLED screen display has various options to conserve battery, I have found that if I use a "Darker" menu theme the OLED screen consumes less power and you get more juice out of the battery and also turn off the GPS feature if you do not want location data for your photos.
PROS:
[+] The sleekest waterproof point & shoot camera on the market.
[+] Takes beautiful stills & amazing looking Macro still photos.
[+] Takes very good high quality movie captures in HD 1080p/60 and still simultaneously.
[+] GPS enabled location markers for your photos!
[+] Ultra compact and extremely lightweight makes it easy to carry anywhere.
CONS:
[-] Battery compartment is fragile and does not look well built; it will eventually break sooner or later.
[-] Accepts MicroSD/SDHC cards only instead of standard SD/SDHC cards which are a big bummer! As most MicroSD cards are expensive and run at slower speed than standard SD/SDHC cards.
[-] USB and HDMI interfaces are tucked inside the battery compartment which will take toll on the battery compartment each time you need to charge the camera and or transfer photos.
[-] Front Face and rear OLED Screen are prone to dust and scratches.
[-] The W/T (Zoom) lever is placed at odd location which is difficult to use and feels fragile.
Having said, the major issue with this camera is the price. Most of the CONs mentioned above can be lived with by carefully handling the camera, but the price is something that most users will have to think twice before shelling out hard cash for this tiny shiny ultra slim point & shoot camera.
If money is not an issue for you and want portability without sacrificing picture quality this will be the best point and shoot camera you can buy today.
Hope this review was useful to you. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to let me know and I will try to answer them for you.
Happy Shopping!
I shot this video to show the waterproof pouch that I use when I take the camera to the beach. I'm trying to show it in the mirror at the beginning of the video, though not so successfully. I also wanted to show what a stunning video this tiny camera can take, but it won't happen here. You can search for "tx200v Parke Ronen" on YouTube, and you'll find the original in HD. BTW, Parke & Ronen is the brand of trunks I was wearing that day. It works ;-)
If you want to see what kind of silly video one ends up taking with this camera, search for "tx200v River Rafting Valencia".
MY TAKE ON THE CAMERA
This is the only one in its class that can go from kayaking to clubbing in style. Cool!
Compact, easy to use, and fun to play with. The pictures and the videos are impressive. Reviewing and sharing the images on that tiny screen is incredibly fun. They just look amazing.
SHOOTING
Most of the time, I just turn the camera on, compose, and press the shutter button. The camera starts up pretty fast, except when it reminds you to keep the water seal clean (annoying). The camera does an excellent job of adjusting for day, night, portrait, landscape, etc, which you would expect from this caliber of camera. It hangs a little after taking a picture, though you can still continue taking pictures, just without previews. I have not noticed any motion blur from pressing the shutter.
In advanced modes the camera does get sluggish and will refuse to do anything until it finishes processing the image. But considering what it does under difficult lighting condition and the resulting image, I think it's worth it.
VIDEO
To take a video, I just tap the red dot labeled "Movie" on the touch screen. It's really that simple. Zoom speed is fixed (bummer). Audio is great for casual events but not for recitals (background noise will ruin it).
PREVIEW
Preview pictures look vivid, maybe too much, and sometimes appear tinted or mosaic as a result. They are fine when you transfer them to the computer. Selecting and zooming into a picture on the camera is awkward. Finger gesture on the touch screen is limited. This is not an Apple.
INTERFACE
I noticed myself experimenting with this camera a lot more than with my old one. Exposure, panorama, high contrast (HDR), twilight, rich-tone monochrome (I never thought I would use that one) and other features are easy to access and use, thanks to the touch screen. It's intuitive, the options are clearly labeled, and mini-help is only a few taps away. I would refuse to go back to clunky menu and cursor buttons again.
BTW, this camera does not have aperture control or shutter speed. Only ISO. You control the camera primarily by task.
WATERPROOF
I don't have much faith in it. The majority of complaints, especially the bitter ones, for these types of camera are related to water damage. I have a waterproof pouch for my iPhone (up to 100 ft). When I go to the beach, I just put the camera in that pouch. Controls are a little unwieldy (use "Movie Mode" to take videos using the shutter button) and flash bounces off the shield, but the camera is protected from water and sand (scratches) and doesn't need to be cleaned afterwards. I posted a picture of it in the "View and share related images" section.
SMUDGE
The camera does collect smudge (cosmetics and sun blocks are the worst), and it shows. It's actually not as much of a problem as it may seem. I learned to handle the camera by its edge. Since the lens area is essentially a piece of glass, it's easy to keep clean. As far as the touch screen is concerned, I learned to live with some smudge. It's just unavoidable. Since the camera is "waterproof", cleaning it is easy and carefree. I also applied the protector for Nitendo DSi XL's lower screen on the touch screen. Width is perfect, though I had to trim the height.
BATTERY
I call it a day battery. As long as I don't take any video, I can comfortably go though an entire day taking a bunch of pictures (sometimes >100) and reviewing and sharing them. The battery is tiny, so it's easy to carry a spare.
I would recommend an external battery charger. A much more elegant way to charge a battery than tying up the camera with a USB cable for hours with the battery compartment open and the water seal exposed.
AC MODE
Start recording a video, then plug the camera into a USB charger (not a computer), and stop recording. Voila. You have a fully operational camera running on AC. Handy for recording extended video.
CLOSING
This is the first time I bought a Sony camera. Very happy with it. I finally feel like I entered the world of HD video, in a very nice way, and the pictures are amazing.
Hope this review is helpful :-) Please let me know.This is an awesome little point and shoot; I am tempted to call it the best, but for a few design details which I will get to.
The upsides (for me) are:
~18 megapixels! Shoot first, zoom and crop later! Works wonderfully. There is lots of room for high res photos after major zoomage. With the right photo editing software, it's the equiviant of a huge, strong zoom lens but without the weight or bulk!
~In-camera color saturation and exposure controls!
~Waterproof, dustproof & freezeproof!
~Fast boot-up, and quick focusing.
~Quick boot up of your shots for review
~User friendly in camera help menus even with keyword search
~Larger (3.3 inch), bright, high resolution screen
The downsides (for me)
~Not shockproof a serious design omission. I hike, scramble on rocks a bit, take pictures of rock formations, insects, mountain summit views, creek ice crystals--nature stuff (as well as portraiture, and family and friends). I do not treat my beloved equipment roughly, but don't want to have to treat them like little soap bubbles either! I own (and love) the TX-200's predecessor, the TX-10, (16 megapixels) which is shock-proof (waterproof etc) and sturdy.
~Expensive. At $500, it's above & beyond all the other point and shoots, ruggedized and otherwise.
~Has okay but not great macro capability. Again, I am comparing it to my trusty TX-10 which focuses down to an awesome 1 centimeter (about 5/8 inch), and the TX-200 only goes down to 3 centimeters. But if you are not into serious macro close ups, of course this will not be an issue for you! :-)
~You can NOT tuck in into a back pocket of your favorite jeans (Cargo pockets, or belt cases only!) It does flex and bend, and does not like this.
I am not interested in a "sleek and stylish" poolside / party camera. Is this a creative tool, a viewer into magical worlds, a documenter of cherished events, or a stylish pendant? For me, it is the first three.
I very carefully wrapped and glued my TX-200 in neoprene (spongy wetsuit materal), on all the non-functional surfaces. Now it is not pretty at all, and way more sturdy and shockproof. (So much for the stylish fragile glass front!) For $500, I wish Sony had done this for me.
So to summarize this bit--I wouild love for Sony to have made it heavier, bigger, more durable and sturdy, more an adventure camera like the Nikon AW-100, or the Canon. --What good is a full featured, creative, user friendly tool (especially one as pricey as this) if it's going to die in six months from a two foot drop?
Okay, enough preaching from the pulpit. I do appreciate this little camera immensely. It has wonderful instructions and explanations built in, even a keyword search function, it has background defocus, and it has HD movies at 60 frames per second, and it has a bigger (3.3 inch diagonal) screen with top-end resolution, which you can brighten as is your wont. It has a terrific picture review zoom function (onscreen) where you can get a tantalizing fortaste of fun on the computer, with photo editing (which I love!) And it (like all little point and shoots) is a camera you DO take with you. If you don't take the camera, you don't get the shot!
I have Sony's flagship smaller camera, the NX-7 (24 MP, interchangeable lenses, DSLR functions, etc) ....and my little TX's still get used plenty --they are not mothballed or eclipsed by any stretch!
It (the TX-200) has almost all functions as touch screen buttons, which has its upsides and downsides for me. Some people go crazy about touch screen functionality (try it in the winter with gloves on, at 8500 feet and a 15 mph wind chill! :-) ) so I will note it as a positive and negative with a sum total of a slight plus.
So to summarize --if you can afford the hefty price tag, and if you don't mind a (comparitively) fragile, nonrugged camera, this is an awesome little friend -spectacular photos, ease of use, waterproof, full functions. I will give this little buddy 4.8 stars! Ok, so I really wanted to love this little camera but it's fighting me very step of the way. My main problems are:
Cons:
This camera uses a microSD card instead of a regular SD card. Why?! Who thinks an SD card is so big you need a microSD card? For both my acer laptop & my macbook pro (which both have sd card slots) I have to use an SD card adapter to read an microSD card. It's just silly. Plus they are more $$ an slower.
On top of that, the slot in the camera that takes the microSD card allows you to put the card in backwards and the camera doesn't tell you until you try to shoot some video as there is internal storage for stills. A regular SD card is notched so that you can't put it in wrong. This is just a huge error.
I took the camera to a museum opening. The stills came out great, really nice. But nearly every video I shot was blurry. It was like the Sony Camera was trying to "track the focus" too aggressively and thus whenever I would move the camera while shooting video, the focus would go our of whack until I stopped moving for a few seconds. In the end, nearly every video I shot was useless.
I also used it in the pool. The stills & video came out very nice but I had a real problem using the touch screen in the water. Several times it was almost impossible to "touch" the video record icon and as there is no longer a hard button for video recording, this is sort of a big problem.
Instead of the usual single device battery charger Sony used to ship, now you get a USB charger and a USB cable. So charging your battery on the road means having to carry a cable and an adapter instead of just the cable. Ick.
Pros:
The camera is sturdy and solid, seems well built. When you turn it on, a little internal lens cover opens to reveal the lens. Nicely touch.
The still I shot all came out great. I used a variety of modes and this was in a fairly dark museum setting. Very impresses here.
The touch screen is much more responsive than previous versions of this camera and the interface has been refined / improved. Also, you can lock the touch icons to keep from changing settings accidentally.
Summation: I am going to have to try more video. Maybe I did something but I doubt it, I shoot a lot of video and stills and I use a lot of Sony cameras. Maybe the museum was too dark for the focus to set properly. I was very disappointed in the blurry video.When i buy cameras or any other imaging equipment to preserve memories i usually try not to look at the price because sometimes it hurts to see it but there's no way you can retake another picture of your child, mother, father, loved one, a pet... 10 years later when you will look at history and when it will start matter to you more and more you probably would think why you didn't buy a better camera so you don't have so many blurry or dark or simply bad shots... This camera is totally awesome image quality is amazing, panorama shots are awesome, especially in 3D and HD, total WOW! Love GPS feature i used to carry around little sony GPS module with me while shooting pictures so i can geotag them later and now camera does it for me, sweet! Video is actually better than i thought it would be, it's pretty impressive and smooth, clear, vivid and image stabilizer is also amazing actually better than most of the camcorders i owned before and it shoots in 1080p. i used to have few casios, kodaks and cannons but i found sony does an amazing job reproducing color and features are also great! Well, still cannot compare to DSLR but some modes let you shoot with background blur. Shots in the dark are also come out fairly crisp.
Some might complain about not having a remote remotes are obsolete, your smile is your remote and it makes pictures even better with smile! i just put camera somewhere (a tree, a tripod, a trash bin, a fence you can find something to put camera on pretty much anywhere) my smile shutter is always on so all i meed to do is to smile to my camera and it takes pictures, this is actually much funner way of taking pictures. i have never had a burning need for a remote and actually prefer to live without it since i don't want another thing to carry in my pocket. I have a DSLR with remotes but those rarely leave the house because of the bulkiness. i am looking forward to test it out under water when we'll go snorkeling, feels little weird taking camera under water without a case ;)
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