Sony, No Baloney
I love Sony and I hate Sony. From my first Sony 13" TV, my first Walkman and now the DV cameras you gotta love Sony for it's relentless plethora of innovative designs and technology. Then of course you gotta hate them cause they come out with something newer, better and cheaper right after you just mortgaged your house to buy the current obsolete model. The VX1000 has to be a world record for the longest lasting Sony product. Let's see if the VX2000 will fare as well.

The Venerable VX1000
For the most part I am comparing the VX2000 to it's predecessor the old VX1000. I have had a 1000 for quite some time and I am familiar with it's strengths and weaknesses. The biggest pitfall being it's low light performance. I am happy to report to you the VX2000 is a huge improvement. The new 1/3" HAD chips are not as densely packed with pixels as the VX1000 but achieve a superior image with much less light. The quality of the image is remarkable. Better than the TRV 900 and the VX1000. I like it better than my XL-1. It won't beat a DRS 300 but it looks real good. There have been several post on the newsgroups from VX2000 owners that have raved about every aspect of the image quality. You just can't beat it in the price range.

Overview
It's silver! Uggg! It's even got some CHROME stuff too! OK it's not as cool looking as the gun metal gray of the PD 150 but I can live with it, I think. (But really I'm already trying to figure out a way to darkened it) What's it made out of? Prastic? Medol? (that's not a typo, it's my bad Japanese impression) The silver color looks like plastic and Japan has gotten so good at deceiving us with appearances it's hard to tell. The body construction wasn't mentioned anywhere in the literature or the Sony specs but I finally found the answer in the little demo mode in the menus. Behold there it was, "magnesium body". Thank you Sony for not changing the rugged construction from the VX1000. There are some plastic parts like the viewfinder and lens hood but those parts are plastic on my Betacam camera too.
The camera looks a little more angular but is laid out almost the same as the VX1000. The major differences being the pull out color LCD screen and the superior HAD chips, but there are lots more pleasant surprises and a few disappointments.

The Audio
There have been post on the usergroups about audio issues with the Sony VX2000 and it's pro brother the PD150. The first run of the PD150s without a doubt had some audio problems but Sony now offers an "upgrade" to resolve these issues. The VX2000, on the other hand, has a different audio setup and in "auto mode" has no problem. The manual mode needs a high output mic or preamp in order to get the best signal to noise levels. Let me further explain.
Recently, I got a chance to put my VX2000 side by side with a recently upgraded PD-150. We compared audio in both cameras. The PD-150 after the upgrade is clean, no problem. Since I did not have a chance hear the audio problem before the upgrade I have no reference but one owner reported it went from -47 to -62db signal to noise.The VX2000 in the auto mode with onboard microphone has no problem. However, when you switch to manual mode the gain drops. This I suppose is the difference in the "Sony's new audio circuitry" in auto mode vs. the standard preamp.To compensate for the gain drop you have to raise the input level. Anything past 1/2 or dead center on the level meter starts to introduce more "hiss" which translates to less signal to noise. At the extreme "full" or gain maxed out I believe it could be as high a -45db although I did not have any test equipment hooked up. I believe the problem is Sony manual audio mode's preamp section does not have enough input sensitivity. We did a test and put a Sennhieser shotgun mic through a Semetrix preamp and feed the line level signal to the mic input at line level.Setting the Sony VX2000 manual mode and volume at 50%(center position) the audio was clean.As long as we kept the VX2000 manual audio level at 50% (dead center) or less and used the external Symetrix preamp to boost or level the audio remained clean.
If you are planning on using the VX2000 with an external mic to record professional audio this setup works. If you are planning to use a shotgun or external mic without mixer or preamp you need to find a mic that has plenty of output to compensate for the low input sensitivity of the VX2000 input. I can't tell you which mic has the most output but the reports that the Sennheiser mics don't work well with the VX2000 is probably because the output is too low.
It would be nice if the manual mode had as much gain as the auto mode, but you can work around it and get good clean audio.
Moving on...The VX2000 now has the ability to record audio in 16 or 12 bit. The VX1000 only recorded 12 bit audio. There is a button on the back on the camera that adds a stereo volume meter display in the viewfinder. Another new addition is a mic/line switch by the mic input.

The LCD Screen
The 2.5" color LCD screen is not a big as the TRV 900 but it is a welcomed addition. I would have liked a fold out 8" screen but hey, that's next years model, no complaints. The image is sharp and the color is rich indoors. If you shoot in bright sunlight it's almost impossible to see and will probably going to need a hood. Don't forget the lesson I learned the hard way with the Canon XL-1. Don't aim the LCD or the viewfinder into direct sunlight. They will burn and leave permanent little light splotches all over the screen.
The LCD monitor also includes a brightness control and a volume control wheel for the camera's internal side mounted speaker. Having a little color monitor there with audio for viewing or playback is very useful. I love having the color LCD screen for my little Steady Cam rig and it is great for low and high camera positioning and reviewing your shots. The cool thing of course is when you flip the LCD monitor over to face your subject for vanity monitoring the image is reversed. The monitor can also be spun around and re-seated back into the side camera housing facing out so it is viewable even closed. The VX2000 now includes options for viewing the 12:9 wide screen mode that includes letterboxing. This is make much more sense that the squish technique of other cameras. Sadly the 12:9 mode only crops the existing pixels to achieve this ratio. The Located under the LCD screen are several buttons for camera functions like picture effects, index memory controls and a two position zebra switch. The zebra switch has long been a staple of broadcast video cameras. It activates a superimposed set of diagonal lines that appear in the viewfinder and let the shooter know when a scene is too bright. The zebra switch has two positions for 100 and 70 IRE. If you have not had this feature on other cameras you will soon grow to love and appreciate it. When the LCD panel is closed there is a small outside LCD window that displays the battery info. This allows you to monitor the charging progress of your batteries.
The 180K pixel color viewfinder looks good and I had no trouble adjusting the focus. There is a lever under the viewfinder which adjust the viewfinder for your eyesight. The viewfinder swings up to allow for low shooting angles. The old 1000 viewfinder suffered from strain and stress on it's internal connection after a few 100 movements but I am hopeful Sony has corrected this problem.

The Battery and Charger
The new "L" series Lithium Ion battery have two very important features. First they allow longer run times, up to 8 hours or more. In the "Stamina" (standby) mode even as much as 15 hours. The second important feature is the Info Lithium batteries keep you updated as to their condition and display a visual estimate in the viewfinder and LCD screen of the remaining amount of battery life. That can be a life saver when you are in the middle of a long winded CEO speech or trying to capture important moment. Another big improvement is that the batteries now mount on the back of the camera instead of inside like the VX1000. This allow bigger batteries to be used and you don't have to fuss with another door. If fact I prefer the largest battery (NP-F960) because the weight balances out the camera better. The disappointment is that Sony decided to forgo including a charger. The only way to charge your battery is on the camera! They of course want to sell you a separate charger for $150. There is a numeric readout on the side of the camera that tells you the progress of the charging. There is also a mode on these new "L" batts that allow it to be overcharged. After the standard charging cycle is complete, you leave it on another hour for a boost charge. It will give you about 20% more time. Pretty cool, but they still need a faster charger. The separate charger Sony sells is called a "quick charger" but I can't tell any difference in charging time, it still takes too long. OK I'm still gona buy the stupid thing. At least they do give you a battery! (The PD 150 does not) Yeah it's the smallest one they make (approximately 1-2 hours) so you better shell out for a couple of 6-8 hour ones.

BTW, the literature makes some wild claims about the estimated battery 15 hour battery life but in the real world, figure about half of what they claim. Still, I used the NP-F750 battery, which is Sony's 6 hour battery for a shoot the other day and never had to change batteries in 4 hours. I got home and the readout said I still had over 200 minutes left! There are lots of battery choices and compared to my Betacam batteries they are very affordable!

The Lens
The new aspherical 58mm lens is slightly larger the old VX1000 52mm lens. My guess is that Sony probably change the size so you couldn't use all the accessories you already bought for your 1000. The zoom now is has been increased to an optical 12X but is not as wide as I would like. Of course because Sony sells the .7X wide adapter for it as well as a 1.7X extender. I must admit the digital zoom is improved. There is much less of a pixely look. At 48X it gets soft but up to 24X it might be usable.
One of the drawbacks to the old 1000 was its zoom speed. The VX2000 is improved somewhat but still suffers from abrupt starts and stops. The zoom rocker works much better and is easier to control.

Much thanks to Sony for another new welcomed feature, the addition of 2 ND filters. We shoot in Florida and most of the time we usually have too much light. Also ND's are a great way of reducing your depth of field and getting that nice soft background look. The filters are 1/32 and¼ and are very useful.
The auto focus seems about the same as the 1000. It does a nice job without too much hunting and is much better than the XL-1 by a long shot. The VX2000 image stabilization on the other hand, is nowhere as good as the XL-1, which I consider the best.
The lens also includes a manual zoom and focus ring. These rings are "fly by wire" electronically transmitted and are similar to the VX1000. They are not bad compared to other similar cameras but are nowhere as good as having real manual control of the lens.
The exposure button and it's related wheel are perfectly placed right at your fingertips. The maximum range of the automatic gain is adjustable in the menu but only to 6db and 12 db. I would prefer to have "0" as an option.

Are We Still Using Tape?
Although Sony has released a recordable video disc camera, the VX2000 is still tape based. As John Beale pointed out to me, the limited run time and the awkwardness of MPEG in editing makes disc based camcorders not-quite-ready-for-prime-time. Maybe the 3000. I have always liked the Sony transports over the Canon and alike. The Sony transport is more responsive and seems to do a smoother job of moving tape around. The transport controls are similar to the VX1000 but are now, because of the addition of the color LCD screen, placed under the top grip handle. This makes them hard to get to, especially if you have large fingers (read fat) like me. An added aside is that the slow motion effect appears to be smoother on the 2000. I don't like the way tapes go in and out. The VX1000 was a one step in door. The VX2000 is like the Canon where you have two compartments to close. The outside one takes a little getting use to since you don't just close it. You have to push a button and it electronically locks a second later if you do it right. If your don't the inside door opens and you have to start over. The other awkwardness is that it opens into the hand strap. I'll admit it's not as bad as the Canon GL-1 but the strap does gets in the way and you have to sometimes push it away to get tapes in and out.

Digging In The Menus
Through the on-screen menus Sony has provided the user with a way to customize the camera to your way of shooting. Through the "custom presets" button on the back of the top handle, you can change the color saturation, sharpness level, white balance and automatic exposure (AE) shift and the automatic gain control maximum (AGC) level. There is a button on the rear panel for the new auto exposure (AE) modes, which closely resemble the Canon camera. These modes include priority shutter and aperture as well as sunset and sports modes. Does anybody use these things? If you want control most shooter go to manual. Luckily there is plenty of manual settings. The new wheel button on the rear of the camera makes getting around in menus a snap.
Another little disappointment with the VX2000 is the progressive scan mode. If you are shooting for Internet content or to later capture stills from your footage or you plan to view your footage on a computer monitor, progressive scan is the way to go. Progressive Scan captures non-interlaced full frame video using every pixel on the chips for every frame. Unfortunately, The Sony VX2000 only captures at a maximum of 15 FPS which makes it too jerky to be of any use. Sony, listen up! We want a progressive scan at least 24 frames.
Shutter speed can be set in the menus and this is pretty standard stuff. Slow shutter is great for getting dreamy or distorted effects and can also be used for low light shooting without gain boost. Another use of shutter speed is shooting computer monitors. Match the shutter speed of your camera to the refresh rate of the monitor and your in business.

Little Cool Stuff
The VX2000 camera has the option of audio feedback and chimes when to confirm certain functions. It sounds like a game boy but I don't mind it. I would not recommend all the time but it does confirms most of the actions like recording (hopefully I come back with less footage of my shoes), powering up, the LCD screen, shutter "click" in photo mode, on and so on.
The included 4 MB memory stick and the PC interface is a pretty slick gizmo. The default setup is for the highest resolution (190KB) and at that resolution you can only grab 20 pictures. The image compression can be set at 190 KB, 100KB and 60KB for a maximum of 60 pictures on the supplied 4 meg stick. The included PC interface allows you to transfer your images directly to your PC via software.. Also included in the VX2000 pack are software programs for capturing photos from the stick and a photo/paint program. Memory Sticks are available up to 64 MB with a capacity for almost 1000 pictures. I usually just hit the photo button and record stills to tape but with the memory stick you can record directly to JPEG format. There is a very tiny button that locks the mode selector from going into the photo stick mode. If you don't unlock it you will not be able to record stills to the stick. It's easy to miss (I had to use a magnifying glass, no kidding!) so look very carefully on the side of the switch, it's there.
Because this is video camera limited to 720 X 486 pixels and not a Mega Pixel still camera, my first impression of the Memory Stick was less than enthusiastic but I have actually found some use for it. Here's a couple of ideas: Although the VX2000 can generate it's own color bars you can record SMPTE color bars with your company's name, client info, codes or dates right from the stick and bring it up in the camera on location. How about recording test patterns and calling them up for calibration. And one person wanted to know how he could letterbox "on the fly" at the shoot. Create a blue or pure white graphic page 720 X 486 in any paint program, then make black bands at the top and bottom at a 16:9 ratio. Record it to your memory stick (with the include Sony interface) and superimpose them right in the camera! Alright Sony it's not a total waste.Some features carried over from the VX1000 are the time lapse record, the frame record, (for stop action) titling, digital effects and the picture effects. One nice thing about the effects is you can record them or add them after you record if your not sure. They do not transfer via firewire. And speaking of firewire, you can use the firewire as a transcoder in or out. This allows you the to use the VX2000 as DV recorder.

Extras
Sony has a wide variety of options available for the VX2000. The first of which you'll want is a 58mm UV or Daylight to protect your lens. Tiffen and Hoya as well as others offer equal quality so find the best deal. The next thing you'll want is a good case. With a camera this nice I like to have as much protection as I can. Soft cases are fine for a lot of things but I have found the military style hard cases from Pelican to offer the most protection. The Pelican 1520 or the 1550 case is the perfect size for the VX2000 and these cases are available at local camera stores for about $125. You can go bigger if you carry lots of accessories but the 1520 has plenty of room for the camera, all the included accessories, plenty of videotapes, several batteries, a charger. If you need more space for the tele and the wide lens get the 1550.
By the way, if you have not worked with the precut foam inserts here is an easy way to get the right size holes. Layout and organize all your gear in the places you want. Then use toothpicks to outline the cutouts. Once you have removed the pieces you can cut the width of the hole pieces to make different depths.
And speaking of an extra lens, a wide angle would be the next item you'll want. Sony makes a .7X wide converter and a 1.7X Tele converter but the wide is my first choice. I found the Canon .7X wide converter for their GL-12 is also a 58mm and works great! I paid about $149 for mine at a local camera shop which I believe is about 1/2 the cost of the Sony. I also purchased the Sony 1.7X Tele Converter. I have not had time to make a fair evaluation of it but my first impression was that it was less than perfect.
There have been discussions on the user groups about the best DV tape. From these discussions the preferred choice seems to be the Panasonic Professional. I have used the Panasonic, Sony, and the JVC and I have seen very little difference in quality or dropouts with all of them. Another point of interest achieving longer than standard 60 minute record time. There is the slower speed DV that yields 90 minutes but all manufactures recommend that if you record on using this speed always play the tape back on the same machine that it was recorded on. There is also a new longer DV tape. The word is you are taking your chances and if your shoot is important stick with the standard 60 minute tapes.
As I mentioned before the VX2000 comes with a 1½ hour battery but you will want to buy at least one extra. You must choose an "L" (Lithium Ion) series for the VX2000. All the "L" series batteries accurately calculate the remaining battery power and display it in your viewfinder. My choice would be the NP-960. This is the largest and most powerful (8 hours or longer) and it will balances out the camera nicely. It should cost about $150.
Do you really want to tie up your camera while you wait for hours charging your batteries. Sony does not include a charger with the VX2000 so your gona have to spring for the Sony digital Quick charger, about $135.

You do have a tripod don't you? The best choice out is the new Bogan (Manfroto) 501. Its not too big, has a pro style sled shoe and the head is the smoothest in the $150 price range.
What else do you need? How about an XLR adapter?, a better mic?, Well a good cameraman always has at least a few filters such as a Tiffen Warm Pro Mist, a LoCon, a Fog or possibly a Star. Get creative and don't forget your light kit.
One other gadget you might consider. I used a little remote zoom and focus grip that you can attach to a tripod or directly to the camera and it works by the LANC control. It worked great and the price was very affordable. Check the back pages of your Video mags, I don't make anything on the sale.

And In Conclusion?
IAll the niceitys aside, the real test is how the footage looks. Thet image quality of the VX2000 in my humble opion, is better than the VX1000, the TRV900, the Canon XL-1 and the GL-1. (Check the link below to see comparison images) We recently shot a presentation for a tree nursery where we used a $12,000 Sony DSR300 and the VX2000. I've got to tell you at the end of the day I preferred the shots from the VX2000. If you shop around you can find the VX2000 for about $2600-$2800. There is nothing in that price range that even comes close. Sony has done a great job of improving a proven winner.
My advise is to always buy from an authorized Sony dealer and always deal with a reputable company. If you can find a competitive price from a local dealer even better. Even with Fed Ex, I hate dealing with problems long distance, across the country. Don't always shop for the bottom dollar. A fair price from a reliable dealer that can offer service or an exchange is always worth a few dollars more,

I would like to pass a link for John Beale's very informative website on the TRV900 and most other DV camera.

http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/index.html

Another very good source for information on the VX2000 and other DV cameras is from David Ruether. It also has comparison stills from the VX2000, VX1000, GL-1 and the TRV900.

http://www.ferrario.com/ruether/camcorder-comparison.htm
http://www.ferrario.com/ruether/sony_dcr-vx2000.htm

If you would like more information on the PD150, here is a link to Supervideo.com that has the complete Sony PD 150 brochure. The PD150 shares many of the same features as the VX2000.

http://www.supervideo.com/sony.htm

Here is the link to the companies that make the XLR adapters for the Vx2000.

Studio 1

http://www.studio1productions.com/xlr-pro.htm

Beachtek

http://www.beachtek.com/

Here is the link to VariZoom, the people that make remote lens controller

http://www.varizoom.com

Thanks to all for the positive response. Now get out there and grab some great images.

Brooks Reid

Air Time Design Productions