Great camcorder. Very pleased! | Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder

Blue Dot and Wind Noise Reduction | Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder

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	• Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder Sony Sony, 2010 average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

After Much Reserach Decided on the Sony

I'll save the long winded review since so much has been said. It came down to two cameras for me the Panasonic 770 and the Sony 550. I had a chance to compare the two and the Sony won out because:

1. Wider Angle Lens - the Panasonic was going to require a wide angle addition ($25 - $75),
2. Storage - the Panasonic was going to require a 32Gb card to match the Sony storage ($35 - $75),
3. Fan Noise - I found the Panasonic was picking up too much fan noise for my taste - using gain control in manual I was able to reduce the fan noise to nearly inaudible, but it was going to require I use the camera in manual all the time...not an option.
4. Underwater Housing - I had a housing from a past Sony camcorder, which despite the housing kit stating it was for an earlier version, it works just fine. Its not a frequently used accessory, but boy does it make for some cool shots. The reason it works is becuase the new camcorders still use the Sony "half moon" shaped connector which allows the housing to control the camera in this case.
5. Smart Doors - the 550 doors (the things that cover the charge port, mic port, etc.) slide neatly out of the way - most other camcorders have doors that dandle on a plastic hinge. Its not a huge thing, but its nice to have the camera look and feel tidy when plugging in accessories.

Add all this up, and I think you get something close to your moneys worth for the more expensive Sony.

I will give slightly better marks to Panasonic for color - the colors seemed more vivid on the Panasonic. Sony's colors seem real, but maybe a touch muted - not enough to really matter for me though.

Low light performance - In darker settings I liked the Sony...using just two CF bulbs in lamps, I can easily film, producing a picture that looks natural and well lit. White balance has been perfect so far.

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Great camcorder. Very pleased!

This small HD camcorder is amazing. It replaced a mini-DV based Sony HD camcorder (HVR-A1U) which is on the small side itself, but much larger than the Sony HDR-CX550V. The video from the HDR-CX550V is as good or better, to my eyes, as the HVR-A1U. The image stabilization really does permit you to film while walking.

Until you try a solid state memory camcorder you will not understand how game-changing this is! No more import an entire tape, glitches and all to begin editing. This camcorder shows up in iMovie or Final Cut Express perfectly, and you get to preview each clip before importing. Check all to import all video, or just check the ones you want. Once you try it, you will never want to go hack to tape! The internal memory will hold 6 hours of HD video, and you can also use SD cards for unlimited filming!

No complaints at all.

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Blue Dot and Wind Noise Reduction

The Sony CX550V 64GB camcorder has a compact form factor and good build quality. The EVF could be bigger with a rubber eyeguard to shield off ambient light. The LCD does not work well in bright sunlight. However, there are two shortcomings that require a customer workaround.

1. Focused lens flare appears as a blue dot when shooting against a bright sky at the widest zoom. I have posted a workaround on YouTube:

[...]

2. The camera does not come with a wind cut feature. The wind noise can be instrusive when recording on a breezy day. Using a DIY windscreen made from the acoustic foam of a Shure A58WS can significantly reduced the wind noise. This workaround is posted on YouTube:

[...]

All consumer camcorders has some shortcomings in one way or another, at least there are easy workarounds to bypass the Sony's limitations.

eagle3x8

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Great Upgrade

This is one awesome camera. I previously owned a Sony HDR-CX7 Sony camcorder and this unit is an amazing upgrade being that it is only 3 years later. The improvements in image stabilization and low light recording are amazing. And, the new, larger LCD touch screen is awesome! This camera picks up audio really well as I've recorded many musical performances and am quite impressed with the playback. The still pictures at 12 Megapixels are a tremendous improvement as well. No need to buy SD cards anymore since the built in 64GB internal flash memory will last all day for recording. The thru the lens viewing is great for recording outdoors in bright sunlight as you don't need to look at the LCD screen. Video quality and even the Sony supplied software are awesome. The only items that I could even mention for improvement would be the small battery that it comes with as well as the 10X optical zoom. Despite that you won't be disappointed with this great camcorder.

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Video Is Awesome Still Images Suck!

The video quality is awesome! Anybody looking for video ONLY I would highly recommend this product BUT, I needed the image quality to be just as good & it fell way short! Soo... I had to return it... images R more important that video to my needs.

Capture stunning 1920 x 1080 high-definition video and 12 Megapixel still images with the HDR-CX550V, which employs an "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for superior low-light performance and 64GB of embedded flash memory. Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with Active Mode and 3-way Shake Canceling enables you to capture remarkably smooth video from wide angle to full telephoto shooting.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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