Pros
- Very economically priced
Cons
- Poor quality LCD screen
- Hunts for focus when there are lots of fine lines in the scene
- Indoor video has lot of noise
HP is generally renowned for desktop products and their wide range of printers, so we were pleasantly surprised to see an HD camcorder from HP land in our test centre. The HP t200 digital camcorder is a full HD compact camcorder that can literally fit in the back pocket of your jeans.
Build and Design
The first thing that strikes you is the sheer compact size of the
camcorder. The build is all plastic and there is a piano black glossy
finish all around except the top. Thanks to the all-glossy body, it is a
finger print magnet. Ergonomically, the camcorder is quite a snug fit,
even with them who have small hands. The back portion houses the record
button with a camera shutter above it for still photography. Both these
buttons have decent feedback, although we felt that the still camera
shutter would have been easily accessible and lead to better shots, if
it had been placed on the top. The review and record indicators are
located above the buttons.
The top portion of the t200 has a metal grey finish with a
grilled section near the lens and a zoom rocker on the opposite end. The
left hand side of the camcorder houses the 1050mAh Li-ion battery. The
HD lens has an adjustable ring which switches from Macro focus mode to
Landscape focus mode. Below the lens lies the illuminator bulb for
shooting in the dark.
User Interface
The interface on the screen is quiet ordinary looks-wise, but
very easy to navigate around. You can master the various options quickly
as there are very few manual shooting options. The resolution on the
screen was not very good and you can see pixillation at the edges of the
icons. The screen comprises the battery indicator on the bottom right
hand corner, the resolution on the top right hand corner and review and
settings menu options on the bottom left hand corner.The settings menu is broadly divided into Video, Photo, Effect and Settings. Under Video menu you can set the resolution, activate image stabilization, set motion detect and slow motion modes, set time-lapse mode and finally pre-record settings.
Still Photo mode offers options to set resolutions, ISO and self timers. The Effects menu helps you tweak further by choosing lighting modes, white balance, effects such as Black and White mode, Sepia mode and negative mode. It also has a Face-tracking option, which will keep the face in focus even while the subject is in motion.
The Settings Menu provides miscellaneous options such as selecting TV format, formatting the SD card, setting date, time among other things.
Performance
Operating the camcorder is a child's play thanks to the
minimalist user interface. Those of you having long fingers like me will
find them spilling over the top portion. As mentioned before, the
resolution of the 3-inch LCD screen is not great, so you will find
pixillation on the icons in the settings menu. The touch screen does not
have a haptic feedback but is quite responsive.Indoor shooting gives decent colours, but try zooming in even a bit and the noise starts to become prominent. While shooting outdoors, we had no issues with noise. On maximum zoom, the hand needs to be rock steady to get a jitter-free video. The microphone on the rear side of the flip-out screen is not very powerful. While shooting indoors, in an AC room, it was difficult to dissect the voice from the hum of the AC.
While shooting we noticed that the camera could not segregate objects which have fine lines and you tend to see a lot of moire patterns. As you zoom into that particular object the moire pattern disappears. This is not desirable as all your videos involving people wearing lined shirts will have a psychedelic motion going on (unless you want to incorporate that, it’s a different issue;)
Verdict
At Rs. 8,499, this is a very economically priced HD camcorder.
But get this if you plan to use it majorly outdoors in daylight, as
indoors and low lit conditions do not really get the best out of the
t200.
Specifications
LCD Display: 3-inch touch screen LCD panel
Video Resolution: 1080p @ 30fps, 720p HD @30fps and 60fps, VGA @30fps
Video Format: H.264 (.AVI)
Still Image Resolution: 5MP (up to 16MP with interpolation)
Still image format: JPEG
Zoom: 16x Digital Zoom
Internal memory: 128 MB
Storage media: SD/SDHC/SDXC (up to 64 GB)
Power: Li-ion rechargeable battery
Dimensions: 110 x 65 x 45
Weight: 0.34 kg
Warranty: 1 year limited warranty
Ratings
Features: 5.5
Performance: 5.5
Build Quality: 6
Value for money: 6.5
Overall: 6
Price: Rs. 8, 499
CONTACT
HP India
Phone: 09343441990
Email: haresh@mediatechindia.com
Website: www.mediatechindia.com
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