If anything goes to show that a magazine technical review or even a friend’s recommendation is potentially not enough when buying a camcorder (or camera for that matter), then last weekend was proof enough for me.

For a few weeks now I have been playing with the latest Sony – a HCR-NX30P – and I like it a lot. But over the weekend an emergency call from Channel 9 / WIN necessitated in me filling in for my mate Ben (Biggles) (who is a rather good shooter and photographer just quietly)and his missus Jen as they were otherwise engaged filming a local “Idol” singing competition.

I was given the task of shooting the local footy (AFL) at Toolleen, 80Kms away, and backing up with getting a 15 minute grab of the A Grade Netball.

I have shot sport most of my life, mainly motor sport I admit, and know what the basics are and what a Director of Sport at a TV station wants. I also knew the camera, perhaps not as well as my Canon HV30, but well enough to shoot this sort of job.

Where it fell short of ideal, was, as always, in the simplest of areas. In this case the zoom level of the Sony.

Simply for AFL, the 10x was not long enough. This is NOT a fault of the camera I hasten to add, but a choice of the wrong tool for the job i.e. MY fault. In spades.

My Canon, setup for motor sport, also has 10x, but I have a 2x converter bandaged to the front which makes all the difference.

Easy as that. The Sony was akin to using a pair of scissors to cut a lawn or a screwdriver to strip down a V8 engine. It was never going to work.

In field testing, I have had the Sony at a deb ball, to shoot a TV news clip of a road accident and to capture footage of a Parrot Drone and it has been superb in every area within that scope. But for AFL, it is just not the right beast.

Lesson learnt. Check FULLY the potential usage of a camcorder before shelling out the hard earned.