Sony HDR-TG3E

Sony HDR-TG3E details

The Sony HDR-TG3E is the worlds smallest 1080i HD camcorder. In fact it’s so small you can fit it in your pocket. The common problem of being somewhere worth filming but not having your video camera will become a thing of the past. The Sony HDR-TG3E is barely bigger than a phone, yet its pure titanium body and scratch resistant coating will ensure its protected wherever you decide to take it.

Combine the HDRTG3E with a 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo and you can record to up six hours of HD footage.

The small size and light weight of the TG3 doesn’t mean it has had to skimp on the build quality. The camcorder chassis is made from titanium and has a scratch resistant coating keeping the body looking fresh and scratch free wherever you use it.

Getting started with the TG3 is child’s play. All you have to do is turn it on for the first time, set the date and time using the easy touch screen display, insert a memory stick and you’ve away. The controls are positioned well making it easy to access the common functions with your thumb while you are shooting. For other functions Sony has opted to keep the number of buttons to a minimum and access to the functions and various menus is via the touch screen LCD display.

Connection wise, you should be able to find a connector for every application. There is an AV connector, USB socket and a HDMI connector. The AV connector covers both composite and component video.

The HDR-TG3E uses Sony’s BIONZ high-speed image processor for compressing the video into AVCHD format. The quality of video on offer from the HDR-TG3E is impressive. Obviously it doesn’t have the quality you can achieve with a higher end camcorder such as the HDR-XR520VE or the HFS 10 but for it’s size it captures high quality HD footage with little or no signs of digital compression. The video is recorded at a 1920×1080i resolution.

Finding what you have recording is made easy thanks to the Face Index, Film Roll Index and Visual Index which allows you to quickly search through you recordings using the touch screen.

The HDR-TG3E can capture 5.1 surround sound audio and some of the other great features include Face Detection, x.v.Colour mode, 4 megapixel still photo shooting, Quick ON button for fast start-up.

The HDR-TG3E is BRAVIA Sync compatible meaning you can control playback when connected to a BRAVIA Sync compatible TV via the HDMI cable.