>> Laurie Grunin: Hi, I'm Laurie Grunin senior editor with CNET and this is the Sony Handycam HDR- CX100. The CX100 is one of the new generation of Sony's compact flash HD camcorders and by compact I don't mean like a mini camcorder. I mean a small no frills HD camcorder that you can fit into your jacket pocket. It doesn't deliver the best quality HD video. In part I think because it has a lower quality lens than we're used to seeing on the Sony HD products, but it uses the X more sensor the 2 megapixel version and you can tell that the potential is there for very nice video. It has good performance too. It uses the touch screen and the touch screen is fairly small. It's a 2.7 inch. It gets covered with fingerprints and it's kind of hard to see in direct sunlight. It has the basic controls as well as everything that you really need in terms of input and output and has the HDMI port and USB port built in. The camcorder records AVCHD video to memory sticks. It also has 8GB built in. My biggest problem with the design is it's kind of round and hard to hold without caulking your wrist and it rolling all over the place. However for a relatively budget model, after all it's not cheap, it is a Sony HD camcorder. It feels very well made. It's solid, like a lot of camcorders where they're starting to cut corners. It uses a manual switch for the lens cover, but it is a built in lens cover and that's fine. There's no video light. The microphone is down here, not very separated but delivers the same audio quality that we're used to in the higher end models. One other thing that's not in here is night shot, Sony's infrared mode and we're starting to see that on fewer and fewer camcorders and frankly I miss it. It came in handy in emergencies. Otherwise it's an ok but not stellar budget HD camcorder. I'm Laurie Grunin and this is the Sony Handycam HDR-CX100.
