GOING HI-DEF

For the past two years, I've gone through several writers festival, talks, workshops, book signings, art exhibitions armed with my handheld camera. The ability to frame a shot while keeping the eye firmly trained on the lens has been a humbling experience. Often it seemed like I'd clinched that perfect shot but when I played it back, it was far from that. A single shiver in the arm, a tap on the shoulder, a kncok into a chair was enough to shake the picture beyond repair. The quality and the sound only as good as a hand held's can be.

All that changed on the 1st of April, when Bala gifted me this....


I used my Sony HDRFX1 to film the Zee Cine Awards at Genting in Malaysia. It's not as if my picture capturing abilities have improved significantly in the months that I've journeyed with a camera in tow. It's got to be the camera doing the talking. When I played back the footage, I was simply stunned. Everything that's being said about hi-def is so true. The pictures are sharper, every wrinkle, pimple, freckle, every shade is superby captured. The Carl Zeiss lens indeed works magic. The sound, even without a clip on is awesome. Interviews with a full crowd screaming in the background failed to dampen the voice of the interviewees. Even the shots taken in the absence of less than perfect light turned out great.

That's not all, a push button took my shots through several transitions. Almost like I was working on a film.

What was even greater was the location of the 3.5-inch wide LCD. If you've used a handheld before, you'll notice the difference instantly. It's so much easier to see what exactly you are film making by getting that at eye level.

With its improved yet manageable weight, it helps stabilise shots like few other cameras would. Then there is the battery - a beauty. It refuses to die despite being shortchanged on the full charge. You can even add on an easy to use flash for those night shots.

The best part is recording footage on a mini-DV and toggling between HD and DV recordings with a simple switch. With the HDV/DV switching system you can record and playback in both formats. If you feel you don't need 1080/60i settle for the 480/60i with the 720x480 resolution.

And I haven't even got started on the still shots.

It can't get any simpler and easier than this. Should a camera switch be on the cards, check this out, before heading to the stores. Superb shots are merely a click away.