My wife and I are opposites when it comes to getting ready for somewhere we have to be. If I tell you I’ll be ready in 15-minutes I am generally padding the number a bit to be on time. My wife on the other hand says “I need a few minutes” and hours later you are lucky to be going. That means that we always end up in the back of the room at events like school plays and graduations where we can only make out blurs.
That makes recording video and actually seeing our kids nearly impossible. If you have a significant other that is like my wife you need the Sony Handycam DCR-SX21E or the DCR-SR21E. Both other cameras have ultra-zoom with 57x optical zoom and digital zoom bringing the total to 67x. That would certainly let you get close to your subject from the back of the room.
Both of the cameras have the same specs with a 2.7-inch LCD, Steadyshot stabilization, and lots of other features. The only difference between them is that the SX21E only stores to memory cards and the SR21E also stores to an 80GB HDD. Both have upload software onboard too. The cameras will ship in early September in Europe at an undisclosed price. No word yet on a U.S. or international release.
