Sony Handycam HDR-CX550V user reviews

Pros Image Stabilization is spectacular
Low light recording, top notch
Video quality is great
loaded with great accessories specific to your needs
Has night vision

Cons Optical zoom is only 12x
Needs a good system to run
Slow motion setting degrades quality

Summary Go to this link for a look at the video quality you can expect from this camera, all recent videos on this account are using sony hdrxr500v: http://www.youtube.com/Ruffneck101

All-in-all, great camera. All of the people who complain about issues with this camera is only due to lack of knowledge on their part. Become familiar with AVCHD and this camera is a great tool. The image stabilization is phenomenal, the quality is top of the line, also has great video quality at 1080p, and shoots 5.1 dolby digital surround sound. Has many accessories to suit your needs, and once familiar with the menu style, the touch screen menu is easy to navigate, especially with the EASY HANDYCAM setting on the camera. The low light is great for evening shots to reduce pixelation, and nightvision is great for cool effects. I use Adobe After Effects and Sony Vegas Pro 9 with this camera, both programs are perfect for any job with no hassle of configuration. GPS has limitations, but can be handy if you like to travel. Has face detection and zoom-mic as well for easier audio recording. NOTE: this camera is great for travelling and everyday use, if you are looking for near professional quality on different movie productions, then you need to put in at least $3000 for a camera, the fact that the image quality on this camera actually compares to some professional productions just goes to show that this product is not overpriced.

Pros I am a beginner and this is my first Handycam. Happy with the picture quality, easy to use, functionalities and options etc.

Cons Camcorder records video in Sony proprietary format that can't be played back in other non-Sony HD TV or HD Home Theater System. PMB SW provided with the package convert it to MPEG-2 format, but downgrades the HD 1080i format to Standard Definition.

Summary As I have got non-Sony TV and Home Theater System, I am having lots of problem with playing back those video recording on TV and Home Theater. Camcorder records video in Sony proprietary format that can't be played back in other non-Sony HD TV or HD Home Theater System. The PMB Software CD provided with the package should be able to convert it to MPEG-2 format, but it downgrades the HD 1080i format to Standard Definition format. Hence, though camcorder records in HD 1080i format, by the time I can playback them on my LED TV from my hard disc, I get only Standard Definition 720x480 resolution. If you try to convert the recorded video to other HD format, supplied SW with the camcorder does not support it, and is good only for Standard Definition conversions. There is no SW provided with the camcorder that can convert video files from Sony proprietary to other HD video file format like MEPG-2 HD. Called up the support about my options, and they told me to purchase and experiment with 3rd part SW, that costs between $60 to $100.
So from my experience, make sure you have Sony HD TV or Sony HD Home Theater, if you want to have this camcorder. Or be ready to face lots of trouble in converting those HD video clips from Sony proprietary format to other market standard HD formats.

Pros Love the image stabilization. To address wind noise, I added a windcutter screen (looks weird but works well). Low light performance is very good. Wide screen is wide, but sometimes not quite enough for me. Software is pretty useful. GPS is cool.

Cons Major optics problem. The right third of the image is blurry. Up close and focused less than 20 m, it is not noticable. At 20+m worse. With the Sony wide angle lens accessory, it is unbelievably bad. Sony Support was rude and hung up on me.

Summary If most of your pictures/videos are up close and personal, it works very well. Unless my problem is unique, in large outdoor settings you may have partially out of focus images. I like the Sony products, but my support experiences have not been good. If I didn't have the optic quality problems, I would rate it 5 stars.

Pros compact and rich in features like pro cams . Wide bright videos and pictures (8.3 MP photos while video and 12 MP photo mode). More over Direct ?Copy to External Hard Disk? and ?Intelligent Auto (iAUTO)? features are great

Cons Viewfinder not comfortable compare the older sony camcorder

Summary Awesome camcorder (/digital camera) , compact and rich in features like pro cams . Wide bright videos and pictures (8.3 MP photos while video and 12 MP photo mode). More over Direct ?Copy to External Hard Disk? and ?Intelligent Auto (iAUTO)? features are great