Can anybody tell me if the tripod plate is stronger and more heavy duty then the VG-10? Reports of the VG-10 tripod attachment were really poor quality. I'm curious if the 20 has a much better build?

Also...does the 20 "over" sharpen the image? Are there "rings" around objects or does the image look natural? Since there is no sharpening adjustment it would suck not to be able to get a natural picture.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

I have the VG20. I was told it has same plate by prior VG 10 owner. I have seen worse tripod plates (HV20 form Canon was nasty.)

As far as sharpening, I don't feel it is bad. I am upset they left out adjustments, but in the stuff I have shot, I have been able to add a little sharpness in post and still not have an issue. I think you will be okay. This early stuff I shot from Vimeo:

My First shots testing for Motion Artifacts on Windy day on Vimeo

First Color Correction Testing with Sony Nex VG20 Footage on Vimeo

Low Light Noise Testing Comparison with the Sony VG20 and Canon 5D on Vimeo

Thanks for your response! I appreciate the detail in your shots!

One more question...I noticed all your shutter speeds are 1/50. Does the camera not have 1/48?

No 1/48. But I have never had an issue with that even on Canon cameras, when they didn't.

What are the implications of having a 1/50 shutter instead of a 1/48 in relation to shooting in 24p mode?

I see none. In fact, is 1/48 the same form one camera to the other ? I don't think so.

The tripod plate is an easy $20 fix.....go to eBay and search vg10 tripod plate and you'll see a fellow vg10 owner named Tony machined a bunch and everyone is very happy with them. I have one on my vg10 and it stiffens it perfectly, no wobbles at all. It's machined perfectly to mimic the shape of the baseplate and you wouldn't even notice its there. It's a metal plate that gets screwed onto the existing plate area and fortifys the area........best $20 mod ever. Best part is that no modifications are made or needed to mount, simply remove six screws and replace with new plate and six new longer screws and it's ready.

I put the VG10 and the VG20 side by side just now, and the tripod plates APPEAR identical. Whether or not there is any difference under the skin I can't say. Certainly the one on the VG10 was a big problem and plenty of people broke them off.

On the VG20 I believe I have now gone through all the manuals (printed and on line) and all the menus, and if there is a sharpness adjustment, I have yet to find it. It's definitely there in the VG10, along with customizable contrast and brightness for each shooting mode (also absent).

The VG20 is really much worse than the VG10 in this respect, and I may return the VG20.

VG20 doesn't seem like a great upgrade- I'm sure picture quality is improved however.

I myself am waiting for reviews of the NEX7 and it's video capabilities....if it's as good as the NEX 5N or better- I'll buy one (need mic in)..........waiting~~~~~~

In the meantime I'll use my VG10 and enjoy what it can do!