Sony HDR-AZ1 review

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.