Saturday, January 17, 2015

First Sony HDR AS20B Action Cam Test w/Guitar Now Done

The camera is the Sony HDR AS20B and the test was with available light and some but not much room light.  The light level in this room is exceptionally poor.

The low light performance of the camera is good, picture clarity is very good, and the microphone is incredibly sensitive.  There is no option to use the camera without the waterproof case but I did not find it caused any problems.  I was thinking it was kind of heathen to put that Zeiss lens behind a layer of plastic but the picture quality was good nevertheless.

Aiming the camera is difficult.  For this test I had the camera mounted on the left side of my head above one ear and I used a mirror to try to ensure it was looking in the same direction as my eyes but that didn't work as well as I had hoped.  For that reason I won't upload the video as it was good enough and helpful enough with information to be a satisfactory test but that's not sufficient to be useful as an upload.

The camera case is said to be waterproof to 4-5 meters.  I love you all but I'm not willing to submerge the camera when my only purpose is to verify it keeps out water.  If I had some reason to do that then I would but otherwise it's a senseless risk.  An O-ring is mentioned as part of the waterproofing.  Before I went snorkeling with this camera, I would know very well how that O-ring works and that it's in good condition.

For right about $200 US, I'm calling this one a Very High Value.  You can spend considerably more on an action cam and I'm sure they're worth it for whatever features they offer but to get 1920x1280 resolution with good colors and low light capability for this price is, in my view, an excellent value.


One thing I know for sure is that filming with the lasers firing will be absolutely deranged.  I have high confidence this will show you something neither you nor I have seen before.  That experiment will happen tonight.

(Ed:  isn't this just something for stoners?)

Specifically no.  Reefer will enhance the colors, sensitivity to the sound, etc but it doesn't change the fundamentals.  I never smoke any reefer when I play and I smoke very few cigarettes.  I'll be buzzed when I play but no way am I hammered like Cheech and Chong or some such.  The purpose isn't to get some ooh wow from a stoner as there's a much bigger ooh wow in doing exactly what I've said in eliminating any artificial reality to get to what's beyond.  That's what I hope to accomplish tonight and, yah, I'll be stoned ... but not that much.

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