Sony HDR-AS100VR POV Action Video Camera with Live View Remote (White)

Firstly, I'm a heavy user of action cams. I've used them for everything from B-roll footage, timelapses, drones/quadcopters, helmet cams, weather balloons, high speed recording of MMA and plenty other things. I'm saddened that it took until 2014 for me to be wholly satisfied with a product all around (I've eagerly waited on my pre-order for over a month!).I'm going to get straight to the main course. The quality of the video alone is an embarrassment to Go Pro (the innovator of this product and the "industry standard"). The sharpness of the lens and fluid motion of the CCD, even with the stabilizer turned off, isn't even in the same category as the competition's. It handles color beautifully, and allows you to record 1080p at 60fps so even the quickest turns and motions are captured accurately and not lost in frame sync.On paper, there are a few competitors. The Go Pro Hero 3+ Black Edition offers just about the same specs, but lacks a live view remote. But the quality difference gets lost in the fine print. Sony's image sensor is far superior, its stabilizer is subtle and effective, and most importantly, there seems to have been a fine display of quality control and testing, whereas Go Pro absolutely craps themselves in that regard. The Hero 3+ is off focus, the Hero 3 is fragile and buggy, the Hero 2 skips frames and cannot focus underwater, etc, etc. That being said, I'm sure you can understand why I was so excited to try the Sony AS100VR out.You're probably thinking: "But wait, doesn't the Hero 3+ support 4K video?"Technically it almost does. What Go Pro considers to be 4k is actually about a thousand pixels short of the WHXGA standard. Practically it does not even come close. It can only shoot (almost) 4K at 12fps, which is about half of the suitable minimum for video. Remember claymation? That was mostly 15fps. You're also shooting "4k video" out of a lens that isn't designed for that resolution, or even properly focused.Not that it should even matter right now. Most of us can't even keep a 720p video stream from Netflix or Youtube without buffering. 4k as a standard is a decade away.Light!The AS100V handles dynamic range very intelligently in both bright and dark settings, and adjusts the exposure faster than most other cameras. This means that if you're wearing it on a bike and ride out of a tunnel, it won't take 3 seconds to adjust to the drastic light change.I was a little worried that the AS100V would fall short on low-light performance, as almost all action cameras do. But, anxiety averted. Recording under streetlights looks sharp and clean. I would put it far beyond the Hero 3 or 3+, and just slightly above the Hero 2 (which was my previous pick for low-lightperformance). Sony takes the gold with quite a bit less noise. I would assume that the the Sony had a larger aperture lens while the Hero 2 had to compensate with ISO, but they're both f/2.4, so I have no explanation other than an improved CCD.Finally, the game changer: You can opt to record in XAVC format if you buy a high speed memory card. If you plan on using this for anything other than your own enjoyment, this is huge. Before this camera, XAVC was only used in high-end professional camcorders. The compression is much crisper, and there's an upgrade in color depth from your standard 8-bit, to 12-bit. It's a proprietary format, but it is supported by all current Adobe products as well as Vegas and other mainstream video editing applications.Other goodies worth mentioning:-240 FPS/480p and 120FPS/720p for super slow motion fun.- The option to shoot at 170 degrees or crop to a less wide 120 degrees.-Tripod screw on both camera and waterproof case. The waterproof case has a standard 1/4 screw hole, and the camera has a 1/8. However it comes with a 1/8 to 1/4 base should you choose to use the camera on a tripod without the waterproof case.- Both the camera and the wrist display charge via standard micro-usb. (Android phone charger)- On-board GPS that doesn't require specific software or a website to use (although you have the option). It saves the data in a .log file, so you can load it into virtually anything.- Easy smartphone integration/preview/sharing.At the time of writing, this is easily the best in class for action cams, and probably the best video capture quality you will find behind the DSL price-range.The only thing I can't comment on is it's longevity. But if it breaks easily or stops working, I'll certainly change those 5 stars and complain to the world by updating this review.

I have had the AS100 for a few months now and wanted to use it a few times before I reviewed it. It has proven to be a very good POV/Action camera so far.The camera's splash-proof ability is pretty great, especially in times when mounted on the skeleton case and used in certain conditions (such as when its raining, or when biking or hiking). This also helped it not experience the 'fogging' issue that was quite a problem with the other models (based on the reviews that I read).One of the biggest improvement (while very minute) is the mounting ability of this camera. Now that it has a built-in mount (albeit not a universal tripod mount hole), an adapter with an anti-rotation pinhole can be attached to this mount, from which any tripods can then be mounded. This makes this POV Camera from good to absolutely great.Some of the other features that makes this camera awesome include:- Built-in image stabilization, which makes the recorded video simply amazing, and shake-proof, which makes viewing the video quite pleasant.- Wi-Fi preview using the free downloadable Android App allows you to have a real-time preview which is a definite must. It helps you set up your camera's POV, and adjust settings that you may not be able to adjust quite well on the camera itself. Furthermore, it will also make it easier for you to toggle between the different recording modes a lot more efficiently than trying to do so on the camera itself. The best part for me has been to be able to connect the phone to the camera by using NFC, always. I just bring my Nexus 5 close to the camera (when its on) and it will bring up the app, connect to the camera, and bam!, ready for real time preview.- The quality of the video blows the GoPro Hero 3+ out of the water. Add stereo sound recording to that and you be like, Go-What? Seriously, It handles quite well through the color gamut, and allows you to record at 1080p at 60fps. Add Sony's image sensor, image stabilization, and splashproof ability (without the need of an extra case) and it blows the "industry leader" out of the water. The AS100 also has the ability to handle a wider dynamic range, and quite intelligently so, giving it the ability to adjust to changing light situations quite easily and quickly.- Slow mo and super-slow mo: 120FPS(720p) and 240FPS(480p)- Swapable Batteries - because battery life is a crapshoot.The biggest CON in my opinion is the battery life. This becomes a double-whammy simple because when the camera is connected through the Wi-Fi to the phone, the Wi-Fi is always draining the camera while its streaming to the phone (recording or not); furthermore, the phone is now continuously streaming from the camera, and therefore is draining itself dry as well. Good thing the batteries can be swapped easily, and 3rd party batteries and chargers are cheaper than $15 (w/prime shipping).