Sony HDR-AZ1 review

When removed from its waterproof case, Sony’s HDR-AZ1 is one of the tiniest action cameras we’ve seen, and there certainly haven’t many that have been as capable. Sony has managed to shrink down the HDR-AZ1 by moving many of the controls and functions to the wrist-worn RM-LVR2V Live View remote control unit; the action camera and the remote are bundled together as the HDR-AZ1VR.

We would advise going for the bundle, as the HDR-AZ1 is slightly limited without it. The Live-View remote has a 1.5in LCD screen that’s missing from the camera itself, so without it there’s no way to change settings or play back footage without using an iOS or Android companion app. Controls on the camera are limited to power and a button for toggling through Wi-Fi pairing options.

The remote is about the size of a matchbox and is comfortable to wear on your wrist, with Velcro straps securing it in place. Button layouts are simple and the menus are straightforward to navigate to change settings like resolution or shooting mode. The big record button is easy to activate, even if you’re wearing gloves.

The remote control unit also includes GPS, and because this is missing from the camera there’s no way to include geolocation data without it. You can pull in this GPS data and overlay it on your video recording using Sony’s Action Cam Movie Creator desktop software, providing route and speedometer readings and adding an extra layer of information to your footage.

There was a surprising lack of delay between what was captured by the camera’s lens and what was displayed on the screen. We measured it at around half a second, which is considerably better than many other action cameras we’ve tested that use a smartphone as a remote display. We managed about 10m of wireless range before the remote lost connection to the camera.

Even when paired with the PlayMemories app there was very little delay. The camera has an NFC contact point for quickly pairing with an Android device and will take you to the Google Play store if you don’t already have the app installed. All the menu options available on the RM-LVR2V are in the app, so it’s a viable alternative if you don’t want to use the remote.

A water-, dust- and shockproof case is included in addition to the remote control unit, with mounting points for accessories. The camera itself is merely splashproof, so using the case makes it waterproof to depths of 5m. This isn’t particularly impressive, however, as many rivals can go to depths of 50m or even beyond. If you’re looking for an action camera to take scuba diving, you’ll need to look elsewhere. The case feels robust and it’s easy to press the camera’s few buttons through it.

IMAGE QUALITY

The HDR-AZ1 can shoot 1080p video at up to 60fps, at a maximum 50Mbit/s bitrate. The HDX-AZ1 can use both microSD and M2 memory sticks for recording, but in order to capture at 50Mbit/s you’ll need to use a microSDXC card and record in Sony’s XAVC S format.

If you record in MP4 format there are a number of other bitrates you can use that will reduce the quality, but also require less storage space. Slow motion video is slightly limited, with only 120fps video at 720p resolution available. We’re used to seeing upwards of 240fps on rival cameras, such as the Drift Innovation Ghost-S, albeit with a reduced resolution.

A pair of stereo microphones on the front captures 48kHz audio. They were able to pick up subtle ambient sounds and managed to capture the sound of our test remote control car even when it was driven 20m away from the camera. The microphones were also able to capture sound with good stereo separation as the remote control car moved across the frame. Testing the camera elsewhere, such as on the London Underground, the microphones had no problem capturing the sounds of footsteps and voice of the platform announcer.

We mounted the HDR-AZ1 to an RC car to see how it would cope with a high-speed run through the local park. The sticky mount immediately felt solid and we had no worries about the camera becoming dislodged. Image stabilisation worked well and the resulting footage was reasonably shake-free considering the intensity of the test. There wasn’t much shearing, but the overall image was slightly soft. The test was conducted on a grey, dreary day but even then colours were more muted than we expected.

Overall image quality was still respectable, but not the best we’ve seen. Our main issue was with how water droplets collected on the front of the waterproof body, directly in front of the lens. These showed up on the resulting video and were distracting. It’s not unusual for water droplets to appear but they usually disappear by themselves through the force of the wind. These remained surprisingly resilient, however, so you’ll need to constantly wipe down the front of the case.

Battery life was also a little disappointing, at 1hr 26m of 30fps, 1080p video at 28Mbit/s. The remote control requires far less charging, however, and still had 75% battery life remaining after the camera itself had died.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the HDR-AZ1VR is a decent action camera. The small and light body is particularly impressive and the included remote control is extremely convenient and easy to use. We had no issues with the companion apps either. However, it’s just slightly let down by average image quality. If you want better video, consider the Drift Innovation Ghost-S, which is considerably chunkier but has far more video features and superior image quality.