Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

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The good: Speed, good looks, and pretty pictures number among the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100's strengths.

The bad: The camera tends to clip bright highlights more than we typically see, and the slippery body lacks a grip. Plus, the lack of a manually triggered macro mode might put off some fans of close-up photography.

The bottom line: The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100's compact, elegant design, generally excellent photo quality, bright, fast lens, and speedy performance make a great package if you don't mind spending a little more money.

Sony may be a camera-come-lately with its Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 enthusiast compact, but boy, what a debut: a fast performer equipped with a relatively large sensor and a bright, fast lens, and wrapped in a small, sleek body. It seems like Sony made a lot of intelligent decisions about design and feature tradeoffs to get the job done. Compared with many of its competitors it's relatively expensive, but it doesn't feel overpriced for what you get.

Image quality
The RX100 generally displays good JPEG processing and noise reduction; it does a creditable job of balancing trade-offs between color noise and softness. Out-of-focus areas still suffer from mushiness as low as ISO 400 -- a common problem with cameras with smaller sensors -- but in-focus spots stand up pretty well until about ISO 800. Overall, the camera's JPEGs look solid up to ISO 400 and acceptable through ISO 1600, depending upon scene content. From a noise and artifact perspective, I was happy with an uncorrected 13x19 print of the ISO 1600 photo downloadable below.

But it's nice that you're not forced to rely on the high ISO sensitivities that often. While the lens aperture gets pretty narrow at the telephoto end of the focal range, it's still relatively wide for a nice chunk of the way. Here are the points at which the maximum aperture changes:

Keep in mind that while the aperture determines the amount of depth of field you'll have at a given focal length, so does sensor size. That means competing aperture specs are only moderately useful when it comes to comparing cameras: the f1.8 on the XZ-1 will look very different from the f1.8 on the RX100 because of sensor size difference. Larger sensors can achieve shallower DOF at a given focal length and aperture than smaller sensors, which gives the RX100 a compositional flexibility advantage over cheaper competitors. But typically, unless you're always shooting at a wide angle or close up, you'll probably still end up without a lot of background defocus. The more practical advantage the lens confers is simply allowing for more light.

The camera produces very nice low-ISO-sensitivity shots with lovely tonality. It doesn't have a neutral Creative Style, so the photos have Sony's typical Standard look, high contrast with pushed saturation. That said, it doesn't stress the range so badly that hues shift or shadow detail clips substantially. The one possible issue I encountered was that bright highlights on yellows get completely blown out. They're unrecoverable from raws in Sony's Image Data Converter software, but they might be there for better software. On the other hand, some clipped areas in bright, saturated reds of JPEG images proved moderately recoverable in the software.

The lens displays very good center sharpness through f5.6, with a slight falloff at f8 and noticeable softness at f11. There's also some aberration at f1.8, which is typical, and a little bit of barrel distortion on the left side at its widest -- it looks like Sony is performing in-camera distortion correction, which tends to make wide angle images look oddly linearized.

Video looks good, bright, saturated, and reasonably sharp, with no notable artifacts in bright light, and is relatively noise-free in dim. The autofocus works well while shooting video, and the lens is sufficiently quiet while zooming. Audio comes through loud and clear and doesn't sound too compressed or tinny.

Performance
Editors' note: We recently updated our testing methodology to provide slightly more real-world performance information, so the results aren't necessarily comparable with previous testing. Until we're finished refining our procedures, we will not be posting comparative performance charts.

The RX100 is significantly faster than its competition for all but continuous shooting. It takes about 2.1 seconds to power on, focus, and shoot -- while that's not blazing-fast, it's still ahead of quite a few other models. Focusing and shooting under all but the darkest conditions takes about 0.3 second; in very low light, the autofocus automatically expands to the entire scene. Two sequential shots with the first prefocused take about 0.2 second for raw or JPEG. That increases to 2.3 seconds with flash enabled, which is on the fast side for this crowd. Shooting raw+JPEG with a fast SD card (a 95MBps SanDisk Extreme Pro) is fast and fluid without any interface lag.

With a fast card, the camera can burst JPEGs at 2.5 frames per second for an effectively unlimited number of shots without slowing. You can shoot raw continuously at the same rate for around 17 shots; after that, it drops to around 2.2fps. However, while faster than many competitors' times, neither of these is really great. Continuous shooting with the RX100 and many other viewfinderless models is mostly a point-and-pray process, anyway. In the case of the RX100, the tracking autofocus seems to lag behind even slow-moving subjects, another not-uncommon problem.

The LCD becomes a little washed out in direct sunlight but remains sufficiently visible.

Design and features
With only a couple of possible exceptions, the RX100 is a sleek, well-designed camera; it's compact and attractive, with a sturdily built aluminum body.

No grip! Not even a textured surface.

My biggest problem with the RX100's design is the lack of a grip. That combined with the slippery metal body means I'm constantly in fear of dropping it, and forced to grip it extra tightly, which can get really tiring if you shoot one-handed a lot. Over and over again we've seen companies drop the grip to make the camera seem smaller or shinier or somethinger only to add it back in a subsequent generation. It's nuts.

Like the equivalent PowerShots and the Olympus XZ-1, the RX100 incorporates a multipurpose adjustment ring on the lens.<
What you see while zooming with the control ring.

I like the control ring, which you can program to operate for one default setting (such as zoom or shutter speed) and to use in conjunction with the Fn button, which you can program to access up to seven more settings. However, you can't use the control ring while the camera's on a tripod (unless you have a very small plate); the ring extends just far enough below the bottom of the camera that there's no clearance to rotate.

You can tilt the RX100's flash for more-attractive illumination.

The camera can be customized quite a bit. In addition to the Fn button, you can also reprogram the operation of the left and right navigation keys on the back dial as well as the center button. And there's a Memory Recall option on the mode dial so you can select from three custom settings slots.

ISO 80 - ISO 3200/12800 (expanded)5fps
12 JPEG/ n/a raw
(11fps without tracking AF)2.5fps
(10fps with fixed exposure)
n/a60-1/2,000 sec; bulb to 16 min3-inch fixed OLED
610,000 dots3-inch articulated AMOLED
614,000 dots1080/24p
H.264 QuickTime MOV
Stereo1080/60p AVCHD @ 28Mbps; 1080/60p QuickTime MOV @ 28Mbps
StereoManual iris and shutter in video

The top mode dial offers the usual manual, semimanual, and automatic modes, plus a dedicated movie mode (with a full set of manual and semimanual exposure controls) and Sweep Panorama.

I'd argue that the camera (like a lot of cameras, actually) offers too many automatic mode options: there's a scene program mode, intelligent auto, and Superior auto. I always thought the whole point of automatic was to not have to make any choices.

The movie button on the back is a bit hard to press because the location demands it be too recessed in order to keep from accidentally hitting it. The rest of the controls have just enough travel to keep from being difficult to operate.

I wish there were more control over what settings appear in this display.

In order to get rid of useless or screen-cluttering information like the Soft Skin or flash compensation setting -- the latter shouldn't even appear if the flash is forced off, for example -- you have to switch to the graphic display, which I find harder to parse quickly.

While the RX100 has a nicely rounded shooting feature set, I'd hardly call it expansive. The camera lacks a hot shoe, viewfinder, or articulated LCD. And even if you're willing to trade those off for the more compact size, it also lacks geotagging capability and wireless connectivity. It has features like the aforementioned Soft Skin Effect and Auto Portrait Framing, which I think are out of place in a camera for more advanced users. I'd rather have the ability to manually invoke macro mode, which, like with Sony's point-and-shoot models, here can only occur automatically. In addition to face detection, it can register up to eight faces, which it can then use for Smile Shutter or autofocus tracking.

For effectsionistas, the RX100 offers a handful, with a few very nice ones. But you've got to scroll through every variation -- a rotating cornucopia of 33 slots when there are really only 13 filters -- which gets seriously annoying. They're not accessible in raw or raw+JPEG mode (though the camera doesn't bother to tell you that's why they're grayed out) so you can't save a simultaneous version without effects, and you can't control any of the parameters.

Conclusion
While the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is pricey and imperfect, it's still darn good. Plus, based on past experience, even if competitors I haven't yet tested can surpass it in design or speed, I don't think they'll be able to match the photo quality. (Canon might be able to if it matched a fast lens to the G1 X's sensor.) Despite its drawbacks, I'd still rank it as one of the best compact cameras I've ever tested, and certainly the best under $700. But if you can't bring yourself to pay the premium price, one of these other enthusiast compact models will probably suit.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 (Black)

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The good: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 delivers fast shooting performance and very good photo and movie quality in a slim package with a wide, long lens.

The bad: The SZ7's battery life could be better, and its pictures probably won't thrill pixel peepers.

The bottom line: A speedy little camera with a long lens, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 performs beyond its tiny price tag.

For such a small camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 has a lot going for it.

The ultracompact point-and-shoot weighs about the same as a smartphone, but has a 10x zoom lens and a 14-megapixel MOS sensor that supports full HD movie capture at 60i in AVCHD (it'll shoot MP4, too), and it shoots fast thanks in part to Panasonic's latest autofocus system, which keeps shutter lag very low.

All of that, very good photo and video results, and a reasonably low price make it a nice choice as a grab-and-go camera for automatic snapshots.

However, you probably won't want to go without a fully charged battery, and, while I liked its photo quality overall, it might not meet everyone's needs and expectations.

Picture quality
Depending on what your plans are for its photos, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7's shots are either very good to excellent or unusable. If you're looking to use its 14-megapixel resolution to enlarge pictures to full size and heavily crop in, don't buy this camera (or most other point-and-shoots). Things just don't look great when viewed at 100 percent.

However, those viewing on a screen at less than 100 percent or making prints up to 8.5x11, which is probably the majority of buyers, will be really happy with the results.

Looking at its pictures closely, you'll see subjects are somewhat soft and noisy even at the camera's lowest ISO sensitivities where things should be their sharpest. As you go up in ISO, such as when you're shooting in low light, you'll pick up more noise, particularly yellow blotches. Panasonic's JPEG processing has gotten much better at these higher ISOs, making them usable. Things definitely get worse at ISO 1600 and above, however, so you'll want to avoid using them whenever possible. Also, subjects generally look soft above ISO 200; if it's something you're sensitive to, you can always sharpen somewhat with editing software. (You can read more about picture quality in the slideshow above.)

Video quality is very good, with limited ghosting on fast-moving subjects. Judder, too, is minimal when panning the camera. Basically all the pluses and minuses of the camera's photo quality are true for movies as well. That includes blown-out highlights in bright scenes.

Shooting performance
Note: We recently updated our testing methodology to gauge slightly more real-world performance, so the results aren't necessarily comparable with previous testing. Until we're finished refining our procedures we will not be posting comparative performance charts.

Probably the biggest reason to get the SZ7 is its shooting performance. About the only thing it does somewhat slowly is power up; from off to first shot takes about 2.1 seconds. After that it's very fast at 0.7 second from shot to shot. Using the flash drives the shot-to-shot time up to 2.5 seconds, but that's still very good for this category.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Shutter lag -- the time from pressing the shutter release to capture without prefocusing -- is just 0.3 second in good lighting. In low-light conditions it goes up to 0.5 second and zooming in under the same conditions will extend the lag to just less than 1 second. For this class of camera at its price, these are excellent times.

The SZ7 is also excellent for burst shooting. Panasonic claims it can shoot in four-shot bursts at 10 frames per second at full resolution, and it basically hit that in my tests, reaching 9.7fps. However, that's with focus and exposure set at the first shot. What sets the SZ7 apart from similar cameras is that it can capture at 5fps with autofocus; most competing models don't even offer that as an option, and if they do, they aren't nearly this fast.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Design and features
The DMC-SZ7 looks like a shrunken, slimmed-down version of its longer-zoom linemates, the ZS19 and ZS20. Despite being just less than an inch thick, the SZ7 still has plenty of zoom range, going from an ultrawide-angle 25mm to 250mm. Plus, the camera is so lightweight, you can easily slip it in a pocket and not feel weighed down.

3.9 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.9 inchWeight (with battery and media)Megapixels, image sensor size, type14 megapixels, 1/2.3-inch high-sensitivity MOSLCD size, resolution/viewfinderLens (zoom, aperture, focal length)10x, f3.1-5.9, 25-250mm (35mm equivalent)JPEG/AVCHD (.MTS), H.264 AAC (.MP4)Highest resolution size (still/video)4,320x3,240 pixels/ 1,920x1,080 at 60fps (AVCHD interlaced; 17Mbps), 1,920x1,080 at 30fps (MP4 progressive; 20Mbps)Lithium ion rechargeable, 220 shotsYes, via USB connected to computer or wall adapter (included)PhotofunStudio 8 Advanced Edition (Windows)

Controls are relatively easy to master. About the most frustrating part is the use of switches for power and going from shooting to playback. If you're used to buttons for these things, it can take some time to adjust, especially if you're the type to look at your shots right after you take them.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Panasonic fit a 3-inch high-res LCD on back while leaving plenty of room for its controls. The LCD gets reasonably bright, though even at its max brightness you may struggle to see it in direct sunlight. It does have a high-angle setting, however, so if you're shooting above your head it won't completely wash out.

The DMC-SZ7's battery and SD card slot are squeezed into a small compartment on the bottom with a locking door. Battery life is somewhat short if you do more than take some snapshots in auto. Using the zoom lens a lot, burst shooting, or capturing long movie clips will empty your charge quickly. If you're considering the SZ7 for going out and shooting for the day, you'll want to pick up a second battery. The battery is charged in-camera via USB so you may want to get an external charger, too, or plan ahead.

ISO sensitivity (full resolution)Auto,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, CustomIntelligent Auto, Normal (program AE), 3D Photo, Scene, Miniature EffectFace Detection AF, 1-point AF, 23-point AF, Spot AF, AF Tracking2 inches (Wide); 4.9 feet (Tele)Standard, Black & White, Sepia, Vivid, Happy (only in iA mode)Burst mode shot limit (full resolution)

The SZ7 is light on shooting options, but if you're mostly concerned with its fully automatic performance, its Intelligent Auto (iA) performs well. If you like a little more control, there is a Normal mode that lets you select things like ISO and white balance, as well as turn on and off Panasonic's Intelligent technologies for improving contrast, sharpness, and other things.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

There are also 15 scene modes that include the usual suspects like Portrait, Scenery, and Food, but Panasonic's added new pan-and-shoot Panorama Shot and a multiexposure Handheld Night Shot that takes a few pictures rapidly in a row and then combines them into one to reduce motion blur and noise. The downsides are that it only works well if your subject is stationary, and the white balance is a bit too warm indoors.

Worth noting, too, is that Panasonic lets you turn on both Handheld Night Shot and a multiexposure HDR mode for its Intelligent Auto mode. That way if it detects low-light conditions or a backlit subject when in iA, it can use those options instead of you having to switch to them manually.

There are a couple other extras available, like Miniature Effect and Panorama Shot modes, but if you're looking for a camera to leave in auto, the SZ7 handles most shooting conditions well.

Conclusion: Recommended
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 is great little pocket camera. Even at its original price of $180 it was a good deal, but now that it can be found for less than $150, it's a steal. That's mostly because of its fast shooting performance and its small size and long lens. Its battery life could be better and it has some limitations when it comes to photo quality, but if most of your photos are ending up online and you don't need to make prints larger than the occasional 8x10, it's a solid choice for the money.

Canon Vixia HF G10 (black)

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The good: The Canon Vixia HF G10 delivers great video quality and a lot of useful features for advanced shooters.

The bad: Design issues that affect frequently used adjustments may annoy the very people the camcorder is designed to attract, and for the money it should ship with a double-capacity battery.

The bottom line: While it's got a great shooter feature set and good video quality, the Canon Vixia HF G10 still feels a bit expensive for what it offers.

With a street price well above $1,000, the Canon Vixia HF G10 needs to deliver a lot more than just its extensive manual feature set--especially since Canon is creating a potentially confusing lineup by putting its HD CMOS Pro sensor in this model, skipping the next one down, and then using it in the midrange HF M4xx series. The sensor is the one currently used in the company's entry-level pro models, albeit by itself rather than in a trio. Because it's larger than a typical consumer sensor, with 2.75 micron pixels rather than 1.7 micron pixels, Canon claims a 280 percent improvement in dynamic range over previous prosumer models, with a new minimum recommended light level of 1.5 lux.

There's also a significantly more expensive "pro" version of this camcorder, the Canon XA10, which adds a detachable handle that includes dual XLR inputs, audio switches, an infrared light, a tally lamp, a removable microphone holder, zoom and record switches, and a pass-through accessory shoe.

The combination of the larger-pixel sensor and a high-quality lens results in some of the best video quality I've seen in a consumer camcorder. While the video can be just a hair softer than I like, overall it's quite good--and when you play it back directly on a TV, it looks sharp. Overall, the G10 offers an excellent dynamic range, with only the brightest of white highlights clipped. If you're editing, you may want to crush the blacks a little to improve the contrast, but for video going straight to TV it will look great. While the automatic white balance tends to be a little bit cooler than I like, the colors are good: bright, saturated, and relatively accurate.

While I would have expected the G10's eight-blade iris to produce slightly rounder bokeh, it nevertheless looks quite good. There's little fringing, even on the edges of bright highlights. I did see a bit of haloing on the edges of saturated colors, though, and extremely bright, saturated oranges and yellows next to each other approach indistinguishability.

At its top rate of 24Mbps, the G10 displayed no compression artifacts except in really low light. What you will see is some aliasing caused by the interlacing of 60i video. However, one of the distinguishing features of the G10 compared with the rest of Canon's camcorders is support for true 24p video; not just the 24 frames per second captured as progressive but encoded as 60i, as is most common for AVCHD models, but 24p encoding. You can use that to get around interlace issues. (The European version of the camcorder, the Legria HF G10, supports 25p.)

The G10 renders excellent low-light video, to a point. In my test scene of about 17 lux, it yielded some of the best results I've seen in its class. Just a little darker, though--dim living-room-level light--and it's the typical noisy mess, at least with automatic gain control enabled.

The audio quality is quite good as well. The sensitive stereo mics provide decent separation and a nice warm tone without the tinniness of the lower-end models.

One theoretical drawback of the sensor--and likely the main reason for a similar model with a different sensor, the HF S30--is that the low resolution may not suit some folks' need for large still photos. The G10 does deliver sharp stills which fall just short of looking too digital; they look fine onscreen and printed, but I wouldn't recommend printing them larger than 4.5x8 inches.

By most measures of performance, the G10 does well. It meters and exposes correctly and consistently. The image stabilization is solid; the Dynamic setting works well up to about 75 percent of the way through the focal range, and Powered IS is rock-steady at maximum telephoto. It focuses quickly, though you can adjust how gradually that happens (Instant, Medium, and Normal), and you can customize both the zoom speed, which is common, and softness--how quickly the zoom stops and starts--which is rarer. The autofocus works well, but not significantly better than we've seen in previous models, and like all camcorders can inappropriately lock on the background instead of the subject.

Sony Handycam HDR-CX210 (black)

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The good: Sony's entry-level Handycams, the HDR-CX190, CX200 and CX210 are small, lightweight and cheap. A captive USB cable that enables charging while connected to your computer is one of the few perks.

The bad: You can't really call the video HD quality, the camcorder feels flimsy and the lens is prone to fringing.

The bottom line: They're cheap and capture video, but don't buy the Sony Handycam HDR-CX190, CX200 or CX210 thinking that you're getting a great bargain on a real HD camcorder. If you're going to buy one, get the cheapest; nothing on any of these is really worth the extra bucks.

Sony's trio of entry-level camcorders -- the Handycam HDR-CX190, CX200 and CX210 -- seem amazingly, aggressively priced. But they're priced like standard-definition camcorders because they use SD-level components to produce video in HD format but not HD quality. Sony's not alone in this: both Canon and Panasonic play the same game to various degrees with their entry-level models. All of them use low-resolution sensors and interpolate the video up to HD resolution. In this case, Sony actually is using a sensor that's even smaller and lower-resolution than the 2-year-old CX110.

The three camcorders differ from each other in a few ways. The CX200 and CX210 incorporate touch screens; the CX190 has a small joystick and playback button on the LCD bezel for operation. In addition, the CX210 has 8GB of internal memory -- keep in mind when comparing prices between the CX200 and CX210 that an 8GB flash card costs less than $10. This review is based on testing of the CX190. (There's also a version of the camcorder with a built-in projector, the PJ200.)

As far as I can tell, the video quality doesn't look any worse than predecessors like the CX130, which many folks consider acceptable. If you view your video scaled down and played on a computer, or like to shoot close-ups, which usually deliver the best results for both cameras and camcorders, it looks good. But for typical tourist and home-video type shooting of middle distances and viewed at actual size or on a large-screen TV, I found it extremely soft and mushy. The combination of sensor and optics seem prone to fringing, and can produce an overall purplish cast on the video rather than just on edges. In low light -- say, early dusk -- it's even softer and quite noisy. The audio is typical for its class; a little too bright-sounding, but the mic picks up the sounds you want.

If you only view the video scaled down (inset), it can look fine -- provided you don't mind the occasional purple cast caused by fringing. At full size, though, it's kind of messy. (Frame grab)

(Credit: Lori Grunin/CNET)

Stills look pretty bad -- soft and overprocessed. Many camera phones are better. (Unsurprising given that Sony's "5.3-megapixel" photos are actually 1.3-megapixel photos bloated up for specsmanship.) Part of the problem is that you can't pick a focus area, at least on the CX190. You just have to point and pray. The CX200 and CX210 both have spot focus and exposure via the touch screen.

On the upside, the performance isn't bad, though the battery seems to run down a little faster than I'd like -- it lasts about an hour. The LCD actually remains quite visible in bright sunlight and the camcorder focuses relatively quickly and accurately. The image stabilization works well for about three quarters of the zoom range; I think part of the problem is that the camcorder is a little too light and harder to keep steady than some.

Of course, its compact, light design is one of the attractions of the camcorder, though it also makes it feel quite plasticky and flimsy. It fits comfortably in a roomy jacket pocket or bag. The design is also typical of these entry-level models, with a zoom switch, photo shutter and mode (movie/still) button on top and a record button in the back for thumb operation. A manual switch opens and closes the lens cover.

GoPro HD Hero2 Motorsports Edition

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The good: The GoPro HD Hero2 boasts improved optics, a few new video- and still-photo-shooting modes, and backward compatibility with current HD Hero accessories. Most importantly, its interface has been overhauled and is now much easier to view and understand.

The bad: As improved as it is, the Hero2's interface can still be a bit confusing for the first-time user.

The bottom line: The GoPro HD Hero2 is easily the best GoPro camera yet, with the ruggedness and quality that we've come to expect and a new user-friendly interface.

I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the GoPro HD Hero that we've used during the recording of the Car Tech Live podcast for the last year or so. On the one hand, the Hero takes phenomenal wide-angle video, is ridiculously durable thanks to its polycarbonate shell, and (when you get the settings right) relatively easy to use. However, that last bit is also my biggest point of contention with the first few generations of the GoPro Hero cameras; I'm a self-proclaimed techie who's recorded hours of footage using the HD Hero and I still have to break out the poorly written instruction sheet to change any of the settings. More often than not, I just leave the settings where I left them and just point and shoot.

So, when the new generation GoPro HD Hero2 landed on my desk boasting an improved interface, I decided to challenge myself to full-test the device without cracking the spine on its (also improved) 90-page user manual.

Old design with a twist
Looking at the GoPro HD Hero2 side by side with the original HD Hero (hereafter referred to as the HD Hero1), reveals remarkably little change in the unit's form factor. Both units are dimensionally identical and feature the same lens, power button, shutter button, and LCD screen placement. This means that any waterproof cases or lens covers purchased for the HD Hero1 will still work with the HD Hero2, which is a good thing for GoPro devotees. Likewise, both units feature the same rear hook and connection port for GoPro's line of removable BacPacs, which we'll discuss later.

The HD Hero2 remains compatible with previous-generation GoPro accessories. Here it is fitted with a Battery BacPac and a suction-cup mount.

Closer inspection reveals that there's more than the addition of the number 2 to distinguish the new model from the old. For starters, the Hero2 features a new glass lens that should be sharper and more durable than the old lens. Where the Hero1 featured only one red recording indicator LED, the Hero2 features four (one enlarged indicator on the front of the unit and smaller lights on its top, back, and bottom edges). On the right edge (when viewed from the front) are the connections for the proprietary video output, the Mini-USB port for charging, and a 2.5mm microphone input. Thankfully, these three connections are actually labeled this go-round. On the left edge are the full-size SD card slot and a new HDMI video output. Onboard microphones are now located on the top and bottom edges of the unit. Finally, the rear panel is where you'll find the battery door that covers the user-replaceable 1,100mAh lithium ion battery.

I mentioned that the HD Hero2 ships with the same waterproof housing as the Hero1. For those unfamiliar with this housing, it's a clear, polycarbonate shell that holds the Hero camera to whatever mounting option you chose to use. Spring-loaded waterproof buttons give users access to the selection and shutter buttons and a clear lens bubble protects the HD Hero2's lens from scratches. In the event that this bubble is damaged, a replacement can be ordered and affixed with a small screwdriver. At the back of the shell is door that locks shut with a plastic latching clamp. (The plastic latch on our HD Hero1 busted after only a few weeks of use, so this bit worries me. Fortunately, it's a relatively simple fix.) Users are given the choice between two easily swappable doors that ship with the HD Hero2. The first is a sealed waterproof door that keeps the camera dry, even when submerged to a depth of 197 feet. The second door is a "skeleton door" with openings that sacrifice waterproofing for increased sound quality.

The mounting options included in the box will depend on which HD Hero2 kit you pick up. The Motorsports Edition, for example, ships with a suction cup mount on an articulated arm and five adhesive mounts. The Surf Edition packs a pair of surfboard mounts and a special "Floaty" back door that will keep your camera from sinking to the bottom of the ocean in the event of a detachment. Finally, the Outdoor Edition includes a helmet strap, a head strap, and a selection of adhesive mounts. Additionally, additional mounts for handlebars, roll bars, chest straps, etc. are available from the manufacturer for additional cost.

Users who want to add functionality can do so with addons, such as this LCD BacPac.

Same screen, new interface
Of all of the changes to the HD Hero, the most drastic is the overhauled interface present on the tiny monochromatic LCD. For starters the HD Hero2 uses larger, bolder icons for identifying the current recording mode. So tapping the selection button on the front of the unit fills the screen momentarily with a large icon for the newly selected mode that is easier to read with goggles on or at an arm's length. When the moment is passed, the screen returns to its default state with a smaller icon indicating the mode and a new text-based setting identifier. So rather than memorizing that "R7" is 1080p video at 30 fps, the unit simply displays "1080-30," which is much easier to decode. Likewise, photo modes are clearly identified with, for example, "5 MP 0.5 sec" which can easily be identified as "take a 5 megapixel shot every half second."

The Hero2's new interface is much easier to decode and navigate than the previous generations'.

Likewise, the menu system has also been made clearer, with more easily identified icons for each setting that leads to a drop-down menu where the different options can be viewed clearly. Navigating the GoPro's many options with just the select and shutter buttons is still an exercise in patience. For example, setting the date to 11:11am on 11/11/11 can take as many as 60 or more button presses. (Fortunately, the date is something you should only really have to set once.) That's an extreme example, but even simpler tasks (such as changing the video or still-photo resolution) can take as many as 10 button presses.

On the bright side, the fact that the GoPro HD Hero2 even offers granular access to all of its settings right on the camera is an advantage that it holds over simpler camera systems, such as Contour's.

There are still a few icons that don't make much sense. (I doubt many can tell me what this icon means without first checking the manual.) However, the important bits--changing the resolution of photos and video, setting time-lapse intervals--and the options that you're likely to find yourself wanting to fiddle with before bombing down that double-black-diamond slope are extremely easy to understand.

I started the review with the intention of never cracking open the GoPro HD Hero2's instruction manual and I'm pleased to state that I didn't need to use it. (Although, I did flip through the manual and found that it is both more thoroughly written and better organized than the old sheet. So if you do find yourself needing help, it's a great resource.)

Recording modes
So, we've discussed the chassis and we've explained that it's easy to use, but what sort of video and photos can you expect to get out of this camera?

Canon Vixia HV30

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
The good: Generally excellent video quality; solid feature set for its class; well designed

The bad: Tape housing feels a bit flimsy; fixed eye-level viewfinder needs a better eye cup; manual focus dial a bit loose

The bottom line: An extremely minor upgrade from the HV20, the Canon Vixia HV30 remains a quality HDV camcorder with a couple of performance issues.

Don't look for any great advances here: the Canon Vixia HV30 is a very minor upgrade from the admittedly top-notch HV20. It has a sleeker-looking black body, introduces 30p progressive mode, and supports the high-capacity BP-2L24H lithium-ion battery, but otherwise remains the same as its 2007 predecessor.

Of course, that makes it a well-designed prosumer camcorder with a useful feature set, good overall performance, and excellent video quality. It's relatively big, weighing 1 pound, 5.4 ounces, though it fits into a large, loose jacket pocket. I like the black chassis more than the silver, but the tape housing feels a little flimsier than I remember; when gripped for shooting, the cover moves a bit. In all other ways the build quality seems solid, though, with tethered covers over the Advanced Accessory Shoe, HDMI/FireWire ports, and mic/headphone/component out jacks.

On the left side of the body sit a few, slightly difficult to feel, controls: backlight compensation, display, and video light, plus a manual focus toggle and somewhat loose focus dial.

The 2.7-inch wide-screen LCD is kind of small and at 211,000-pixels not very high resolution, but it's sufficient for manually focusing. The eye-level viewfinder is relatively large, but doesn't pull out or up, and I wish it had a softer eye cup. In addition, I just had to laugh at the Catch-22 diopter control. Since it's right on the viewfinder, you have to move your head away to get your finger on the switch, which means you can't set it for your eye pressed close. The HV30 supplies both a video light and a flash for shooting stills. As always, I really like the built-in electronic lens cover.

All the frequently used shooting controls--except for manual focus and zoom--fall comfortably under your right thumb.
The HV30's zoom switch has quite a bit of play. You can set it for variable speed or one of three fixed-speed zoom options.