The Sony PMW-100 XDCAM HD422 Handheld Camcorder offers broadcast-quality 50 Mb/s MPEG-2 recording at 1920 x 1080 in a very compact form factor. Even loaded with an SxS card and the packaged Li-ion battery, the PMW-100 weighs slightly less than 4 lb. That's a crucial benefit for any mobile documentarian or newsgatherer who's operating handheld over the course of long days to cover events & news stories, conduct on-the-spot interviews, and capture video for just about any other professional task. The handy PMW-100 is a comfortable companion for Sony's entire XDCAM line, including the optical-disc models and the camcorders, like this one, that record HD video to SxS cards. That's because it captures files to either FAT- or UDF-formatted cards, so you can easily integrate the PMW-100 into both XDCAM EX and XDCAM Professional Disc workflows. Built into the camcorder is a 10x zoom lens that offers a 35mm equivalent focal length range of 40-400mm. Manual control over zoom is available via a Lens Control Ring; that ring can be switched over to focus control if you'd prefer to pull focus manually. Additionally there's a dial for setting exposure manually. The PMW-100 employs a single 1920 x 1080 CMOS sensor (1/2.9" type) that's extremely sensitive, which makes the camcorder suitable for low-light videography. A NightShot function extends that functionality to complete darkness; a built-in infrared LED illuminates the dead of night. Inputs and outputs are just what you'd expect from a professional camcorder. There's HD/SD-SDI output. For multi-camera shoots, you have timecode input/output and genlock in. There are also dual XLRs for audio, composite video out, and HDMI out. Several useful features further confirm this small camcorder's status as a truly professional model. Cache recording is possible up to a very generous 15 seconds, so you won't miss a one-time-only event. Continuous recording means that multiple clips can be recorded as a single file, which speeds ingest into your NLE. Selectable gamma curves offer fine control over the look you're capturing – there are six standard gamma curves and four HyperGamma settings, which match those of Sony's high-end CineAlta cameras.
