Sony shows off full-HD Handycam NEX-VG20

The Gadget Show  Thursday 25 August 2011

Sony has launched the Handycam NEX-VG20, the Full HD successor to the NEX-VG10 which boosts the image quality, offers enhanced sound recording and adds extra controls among other features.

The NEX-VG10 was the first of Sony’s consumer-level camcorders to off interchangeable lenses for more professional effect. The NEX-VG20 offers the same but refines the design and offers more comprehensive manual controls to get your flicks just right.

The image quality has been boosted and the camera now shoots full HD quality video at up to 60p and if you shoot at 24p the NEX-VG-20 will enhance the image further with Cinema Tone Gamma and Cinema Tone Color to give a richer, more filmic quality. You can also take still images at up to 16.1 megapixels. It supports RAW images too so you can use it to create mind-bending HDR pictures if you so wish.

The camera has more manual controls than its predecessor but the ergonomic redesign means they are easier to reach than on the VG10, with the more common ones at your fingertips. A 3-inch ‘Xtra Fine’ LCD screen using TrueBlack technology provide pin sharp playback and folds out from the body of the camera to rotate up to 270 degrees if required.

The camera ships with a SEL18200 f3.5-6.3 E-mount lens but this can be swapped out for an alternate lens, including those from Sony’s A-mount range of optics with the aid of an adaptor.

Audio levels are now easier to balance thanks to new controls and the addition of a Quad Capsule Spatial Array Microphone. This can record stereo and 5.1 channel surround sound. If this wasn’t enough, the redesign means it now looks a bit like the Starship Enterprise, possibly in an attempt to mop up the Trekkie demographic.

You can pick up a Handycam NEX-VG20 from November at around £1350 including lens kit or £999 for just the body (final pricing to be confirmed closer to launch).