The Sony DCR-SX83 16GB Handycam Camcorder is a standard definition camcorder that brings a number of features and functions to the table, while remaining budget-conscious. This camcorder, like all other Sony’s announced in early 2010, has multiple recording media options. In addition to the 16GB embedded, or internal, flash memory, the SX83 gives you the choice of recording to optional Sony Memory Stick Media (including Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo) or to popular SD/SDHC memory cards.
Helping to capture all the 720 x 480 video, or 3.1MP still images, is the camera’s 1/4″ back-illuminated “Exmor R” CMOS sensor. This imager maximizes the camera’s light gathering capabilities thus allowing you to capture more detailed and cleaner, or less grainy, images in lower lighting situations. In concert with the Exmor R sensor, the SX83′s Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens brings the reputation and quality of Carl Zeiss optics to the table, while Sony’s SteadyShot image stabilization helps to cut down on blur caused by camera shake. Another important function, the camera’s 25x optical zoom helps you to narrow in on your subject with clarity, while the 2.7″ Clear Photo LCD provides a widescreen platform for composition and playback, along with 270° of rotation, and touch panel operation.
Another important feature of the SX83 is Face Detection with Face Priority and Smile Shutter. In addition to Face Detection’s optimization of the faces in each scene, Face Priority adds to the usefulness of this function by concentrating on focus, color, and exposure, while Smile Shutter hones in on a face of your choosing – capturing a still image at the moment your chosen subject smiles. Other included Sony proprietary features include Film Roll Index and Face Index, which provide optional methods of retrieving desired scenes.
