Don't overlook this Sony!

Okay so I'm about to be a dad due April 12th and while I was looking for a camcorder wide enough for the delivery room I was struggling with the Canon VIXIA HF-S21 that is due to be released on April 15th. However let me state the highlights of the Sony HDR-CX550V which swayed my decision why I went for the Sony to suit my own preference:



Compact and Lightweight (something my wife wants over holding my Canon 5D2 and lenses)

Wide Angle 26.3mm Photo

Wide Angle 29.8 mm Video to 298mm (On the Canon it is 35mm equivalent 43.5-435mm which is longer)

12 Mega Pixels still images

10x Optical Zoom

Stabilization which works really well

Takes both SD-HC (this is great) and Sony memory sticks (I don't use them)

Built-in 64GB Flash memory.

Excellent low light shooting

Includes GPS geotagging (which I haven't used yet I keep it turned off for now)

3.5" LCD (921K)

Dolby Digital 5.1ch recording with Built-in Zoom Mic which I haven't really tested to say how good the results really are but off-the-bat the results are very acceptable.



It is also very easy to set up and operate not a lot of digging for menus to get it recording right! You simply either swing open the LCD or pull out the viewfinder (having one is plus for me) and it turns on and after a few second you can hit the record button. Vice-versa to turn-off.



Shoots in HD and records in 1080/60i and this equates to it being 24p or 30p via software when editing this is argued extensively on forums but the HDR-CX550V does not let you specify which may be a good or bad thing depending on your own preferences. Having said that don't let the 1080/60i put you off since this is the same with all other camcorders I have seen including professional camcorders. The 24p or 30p on the Canon HF-S21 also records at 60i.



I think ultimately making a choice on either the Sony or the Canon you won't be disappointed however to me the main highlights are that this is a very compact camcorder with excellent touch screen (this one works!) and shoots wide to long instead of normal to long and has excellent low light results as well as support for SD-HC flash media and a wonderfully sized LCD display.



I ended up buying the BC-TRV Travel charger and the NP-FV100 battery although is larger than the supplied battery it is still small enough that it shouldn't bother you when you require the extra juice for extended shooting which is about 15 hours at High-quality HD mode.



Image results are great for such a small system very satisfied.

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Awesome!

25 X Zoom in 1080p! Where else you get gonna get that? 300 X digital zoom! Now those ufo pics will be indisputable! Minus 1 star because no way to attach an infrared light or flash. :(More detail ...

A camera with excellent HD quality but not many features

I bought this camera on Monday had fun with it for two days and then returned it. Although I can't afford it I then closed my eyes and ordered the HDR-CX550V. I basically went from the bottom of the Sony consumer class to the top in one fell swoop.



Things I liked about the CX150:

* FABULOUS quality in adequate light. The video in 24 Mbps mode is stunning. Search YouTube for examples. Every hair on my cat dust particles in sunlight it all shows up with beautiful resolution. It's amazing. Almost Blu-Ray quality. You won't find any consumer-class camcorder with better quality.

* 25x zoom when used with a tripod lets you get really close

* "macro" works without any special settings. Just put the lens an inch away and it will focus. Resolves fingerprints.

* Amazingly tiny. With no hard drive or tape drive the unit is frighteningly small. You can put it and all the cables + charger in a camera case designed for a DSLR + telephoto

* PMB software works has good basic editing. Used it to grab frames from movies - almost don't need the "still" function if 1990x1080 res is good enough.

* It will take a 32GB memory stick even though the feature list says they only support 16.

* The touch screen is responsive

* "touch the object" spot focus spot white balance is cool

* Give it the NP-FV70 battery and it will record for hours and hours



Things I either did not like or features missing (by "missing" I realize that you have to pay more). Don't mistake the length of my 'cons' list as hating the little guy - it's a good camera for what it is designed to be.

* A bit pricey. I think it is worth about $450.00 not the $549.00 list

* No wide-angle. I wish Sony had made the lens go from slightly wide-angle to about 15x instead of from normal to 25x.

* No external mic input

* No hot shoe - not even the Sony proprietary one

* Zoom motor noise is very audible in quiet settings - don't expect to use this camera to record acoustic orchestral music in concert halls

* The "smooth slow-mo 240 fps" is NOT HD 1080i60 quality. Might be OK at 720 but I found it disappointingly blurry. I'd love to see it have the same capability as the Casio EX-FX1 (not holding breath)

* Not enough buttons - too much reliance on the touch screen. I prefer buttons to scrolling through menus. Sony could fix this by providing more than 6 "my menu" choices.

* Auto focus works good most of the time but when it gets confused it is horrible. Combine that with no quick focus wheel and it is a recipe for loosing shots

* Picture mode is not available in 24 Mbps HD mode.

* The electronic stabilization does not work. I've grown used to optical stabilization in my DSC-H50 and there is no going back.

* Short of using something like the Black Rapid Straps Fasten-R2 screwed into the tripod shoe there is no way to attach a neck strap. I almost dropped it several times.

* The plastic housing is sensitive to noise - any little touch while recording will show up as sound in the video.

* No windscreen for the mics. Combine that with no external mic capability and you won't be able to hear anything in windy conditions.

* No remote

* No "night shot" infrared

* Low light performance is what you would expect from a small lens size. All the electronics in the world can't fully compensate for glass area.



Summary: if you want a fairly cheap tiny camera for shooting GREAT quality vids of vacations the kids and the pets this is an excellent choice. Want to do more and you will need to pay more for a better unit. Just want to help other people avoid my experience of being a bit disappointed and having to trade up.More detail ...

Here is a review

Amazon is obviously filled with fake reviews from either fanboys or competing company employes. I bought this camera and even reviewed it compared it to other cameras like the Kodak zi8 (search google for "letsfindjesus bloggie" to find videos of my review). The Sony is the best under $200 camcorder on the market. Its auto focus is quick the colors are rich and accurate and the mono mic actually sounds good. It has a built in usb plug (which is also used to charge) and pretty good face detection. The still camera (unlike the pocket cams) actually takes decent 5 megapixel photos. It has a playback speaker which is loud enough. The 5X optical zoom is smooth and the digital zoom is well... a digital zoom. Bottom line for the price the picture quality and build is mighty good.



There is some negatives I listed them below none are deal breaking.. more of a wish list. The biggest feature missing for me is Steady Shot (image stabilization) on the 1080p and 720/60 frame modes. The Kodak zi8 has this but it looks like crap on 1080p so I guess I would rather not have this feature if the hardware is too slow to process the steady shot. Which is why im guessing Sony didnt include this feature on the higher quality modes.



Pros:



-Very acceptable video quality

-Good sounding mic

-GREAT accurate colors

-5X optical zoom

-for once a decent still camera

-quick zoom

-SD memory card capable and Memory Stick Pro Duo

-Record and upload.. its in a format that just.. Works.

-Mac and PC friendly



Cons:



-Battery lasts a little over an hour (buy an extra!)

-Steady Shot is only on 720P (30 Frames/sec) and VGA

-lens cap instead of hardware lens open/close

-mic is mono (but its not bad)

-no manual focus

-low light (like all low cost camcorders) isnt the best and the focus is slow/struggles in low lightMore detail ...