SONY
FDR-X 3000
MSRP $349.99; housing included
CONTACT sony.comJudging by the FDR-X3000’s design, it’s
clearly more at home strapped to a helmet
than an underwater photo tray. But despite
this, divers gave it good scores for ergonom-
ics overall. “Very easy to change settings,”
one test diver said of the camera’s logical
menu organization and clear, intuitive opera-
tion. (However, you’ll want to give the manual
a solid once-over, because the numerous
icons can be a little overwhelming.) The side-
ways menu screen requires you to turn the
camera in order to see what you’re doing, but
the controls are otherwise quite ergonomic.
The top-mounted record button is large and
easy to push, while the side-mounted menu
navigation buttons double as shortcuts for
quickly swapping between video and photo
modes. Setup was easy thanks to the hous-
ing’s simple but secure latch, which pops
open to slide the camera in. The housing also
has a locking mechanism to prevent inad-
vertent recording or draining the battery.
One major gripe test divers had was about
the viewfi nder—or lack thereof. “What do
you mean there’s no screen?” was the typi-
cal reaction when handling the FDR-X3000
for the fi rst time. “No LCD display,” one diver
lamented. “I’d never buy without that.” While
the results of shooting blind were notice-
able in some clips, the camera’s wide fi eld of
view and solid image stabilization helped the
footage earn a very good score overall. The
camera’s underwater white balance made it
a surprise contender, with divers blown away
by the resulting color. “Beautiful! Just wow!”
one test diver said. “Absolutely stunning at
depth,” another said. Along with the impres-
sive color, very good clarity and contrast
helped the FDR-X3000 win a spot as a favor-
ite with several test divers—even without a
viewfi nder.ErgonomicsVideo QualityBattery Life» 4K Frame Rates
30, 24
» FHD Frame Rates
120, 60, 30, 24
» Image Sensor
8.2 MP
» Released
September 2016SCORESS
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32 / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 SCUBADIVING.COMA DIVERSE CROWD
Many of the cameras in our
test scored very well for ergo-
nomics, but all did so by uti-
lizing very different designs.
Most popular with test div-
ers were cameras with large,
easy-to-read displays and
easily accessible buttons,such as the Micro 2.0, whose
big piano-like keys and 2.4-
inch screen helped it take the
top ergo score. But even cam-
eras without screens, such as
the Mera and Paralenz, were
able to stand out in this cate-
gory. The Mera's fl ashlightlike
operation couldn't be easierto use, and divers were great-
ly impressed by the Paralenz's
vibrating feedback. The Yi4K+
keeps things simple with a
single button, while the Virb
Ultra 30 has multiple buttons
and a touchscreen that is fully
accessible underwater.A
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