Sony Action Cam

Inexpensive. Rugged build. Good battery life.

Cumbersome controls. Struggles in low-light situations. Loses finer details.

Video Quality and Conclusions The Sony Action Cam can shoot video at 1080p60, 1080p30, 720p30, and 720p120 resolutions and frame rates. It's a respectable variety, but still falls short of the Hero3's 4K shooting mode, even though that's limited to 15...

The Sony Action Cam is a good entry in the POV camera market that includes a waterproof case with a standard tripod mount; is available with or without Wi-Fi; has a small, lightweight body; and offers a decent number of recording options.

Video quality is disappointing viewed at larger sizes; can't rotate lens or flip video 180 degrees; camera can't stand on its own and can't easily be used without a door on its case; no access to mic jack when inside case; no still photos beyond...

The Sony Action Cam is a solid first effort and worth its price, but some design shortcomings may be enough to put off some potential buyers.

Compact and light ; High-quality 16-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor ; Image stabilization works well ; Easy to use ; Built-in Wi-Fi

Mounts one-use-only ; Can only be mounted in waterproof case ; Outgunned by new GoPro Hero3

Sony is a relative latecomer to the burgeoning action camera segment, which is something of a surprise given its heritage as a camera maker and AV in general. The segment leader is undoubtedly GoPro who were inspired by people using standard (but bul

Compact and light ; High-quality 16-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor ; Image stabilization works well ; Easy to use ; Built-in Wi-Fi

Mounts one-use-only ; Can only be mounted in waterproof case ; Outgunned by new GoPro Hero3

Smartphone control with built-in WiFi; Two slow-motion options that are simple to use

Oversaturated colors in bright and low light; Ports and menu buttons not accessible inside waterproof case

The Sony Action Cam may not have everything we want from a wearable camcorder, but this is an excellent first step for Sony nonetheless. The Action Cam HDR-AS15 was built on some great ideas—the WiFi functions work well, the slow motion options are...

—a lighter, smaller camera with built-in Wi-Fi. It can also do that 720 slo-mo trick (and shoot at 1080p/60fps, for full frame slow-mo, or 4K at 15fps, just to show off). Plus, with the Contour and the GoPro, there are just way more mounting...