SONY | SONY STYLE.COM

Best Camcorder on the market

Pros: Outstanding stills and video

Cons: HDMI cable not included

Very pleased with video and still photos. Purchased for wedding. No regrets. Still learning to use all features. DVD creation software a little slow. LONGER LIFE BATTERY IS AVAILABLE. Purchased an ENERGIZER ERC 166 Up to 4 hours.

XR520v is the best

Pros: Low light recording, excellent qulity both picture and video

Cons: Nothing so far

I researched for one month before I purchased XR520V. I borrowed and tried different camcorders from my friends and family. Then, I decided to go with XR520V, and I am so happy that I got XR520V. The quality of videos and pictures is astonishing. I love its low light recording capability. It takes excellent pictures as well. Also, it is so easy to use. The software that comes with it is so easy to use as well. One suggestion: If it is possible, try not to use flash when taking close-up pictures in dark conditions. Instead use combination of utilizing a tripod (or put camcorder on table) and timer to take pictures in low light conditions. You will be amazed. I love this camcorder.

Be Forewarned

Pros: Great picture, easy to use

Cons: GPS is unreliable, and this camera is *not* 1080p

Despite all Sony's advertising, which carefully avoids the "p" part, but instead claims something called "Full 1080", this is only a 1080*i* camera, even at FH (maximum) quality.   You will also find little compatibility with most, if not all, editing applications. Final Cut Pro still doesn't always properly recognize footage from this camera, and it can be increasingly difficult and time-consuming just to find solutions to the simplest issues.   I highly recommend thorough research before making a purchase of this camera.   Google before you Buy.

Is to advanced even possible?

Pros: Exposure Range, Low Lighting, Manual Zoom

Cons: No 24P, Microphone,

This an all around fantastic product with the color and lighting standing out above the rest...however only a few complaints. one it only records in 1080i which is not good for special effects like after effects where motion tracking becomes hard to do and two the software that came with the camcorder had no good ways to trans code the Mpeg-4 to a lesser format without a severe loss of quality so i had to buy a 100 dollar program to trans code without loosing quality and third the microphone sounds very distant if you try to listen to the 5.1 on a stereo monitor...but all around this is great product. My absolute favorite feature by far is the smooth slow record it has made my videos so much better and is one of the coolest features that Sony has brought to a consumer camera and no other camcorder does anything like it. Bottom line the Sony HDR-XR520V is the best consumer camcorder out there and trumps the Hf S-10.

Sony HDR-XR520V

Pros: Price, 1080i, 12.1 megapixels, Simple Control Scheme, 240GB Hardrive

Cons: None

The Sony HDR-XR520V Is One Of The Best Camcorders I Have Seen. It Has A Very Reasonable Price, It Does 1080i, Amazing Clarituity, and It Is Simple To Use. So Simple That You Can Almost Pick It Up and Use It Without Any Prior Knowledge Of Camcorders.

HDR-XR520V 240GB High Definition HandycamŽ Camcord

Pros: HD Video, 240G HD, Memory Stick for Either Video or Stills!

Cons: ONLY a Sony Battery will work in the Camera! Bad Engineering MOVE!

Having all Sony equipment I thought it best to buy the Latest Sony = as my Camcorder is about 10-years old. With this Sony HDR-XR520V, I can take "12MPX Stills"... to either my 16G memory stick or to the 240G HD! The HD mode provides Superior Videos! The GPS will validate my SPY Videos and the Facial Recognition will also Prove the video record. The... ONLY WRONG Thing... is that "ONLY"... a Sony Battery will work, and... NONE Other 3rd party Battery, as there appears to be a Secuiry Chip in the Sony Battery. My third party battery was the EXACT size and ALL the Voltages were verified by my DIGITAL Volt Meter. Sorry SONY... has to be so "Petty and Small"... to MAKE ME BUY... A SONY BATTERY... "ONLY!" Thanks, feel free to contact me about this, atruth459@yahoo.com End... RR

Ok, but, . . .

Pros: It was a gift.

Cons: Severe lack of manual controls, Touch Screen, Touchy GPS, Hard to edit, Flash doesn't work with protective filter/hood

The images on TV are fine, but getting there presents several REAL pain in the rear problems. Can you believe that Sony's own Vegas PRO 9.0 video editing software staggers with the lower than normal, not even High AVCHD compression? And, the camcorder only records 16Mbs of data, not the normal 25Mbs, that one would expect from such an expensive camcorder. It is a real pain to edit, even with available and sometimes expensive work arounds. The PMB (Picture Motion Browser Software) that comes with the camcorder, even when updated, is rather primitive. You can't even mark more than one clip or photo at a time when GeoCoding things when the GPS fails, which is way too often. The GPS doesn't lock onto signals well, and you can stand out in a treeless open field on a beautiful, cloudless day just WAITING for it to acquire a signal. Turn it off, turn it on, as recommended, still nothing, sometimes for over an hour. This makes it nearly worthless under some circumstances. Can you believe that you can't put ANY kind of filter on the camera without switching off the flash, completely. No lens hood, either, that turns off the flash, too, and since the lens isn't set back very far in the housing, it NEEDS a lens hood. If only they had set the lens back a ways from the front edge so that the housing itself served as a lens hood, but NO, no such thoughtfulness. I find that the camcorder is so wide that I tend to tilt it down on the side away from the strap. Further, it is so light that the so-called "Active" Optical Image Stabilization can't overcome the normal giggle from breathing and pulse even when used by an experienced videographer. To get a steady shot you HAVE to have a tripod. A heavier camcorder would not react so badly to breathing and pulse. The lack of manual controls is also quite noticeable. To get to any significant control, you HAVE to use the slow and cumbersome touch screen. The touch screen can't decide if it is too sensitive or wants to ignore your input entirely, and the touch-screen menus are really strange. Another complaint is the "Display" button on the side of the unit after you open the LCD. I have great difficulty pressing the button. Usually I have to get a pencil or pen to insert and push it. It needs to stick out further to be really useful. The switch away from the original "standard" i-Link connection to the new very proprietary A/V 10-pin connector also causes many problems, since nothing with the "standard" i-Link connector works with this camcorder. One last thing, and this one REALLY annoys me. NONE of my "intelligent" Sony accessories from my previous Sony HandyCam work with the AIS "Hot Shoe" on this camcorder. Not my video lights, not my microphones, nothing, and I can't even tell which ones among the dozens of accessories listed on Sony's site WILL work with the very odd and very fragile new shoe. Still, the pictures look good if you can ignore all the above. I give the unit a nod simply because my wonderful TRV20 died and this one was a gift. As to whether I would recommend to a friend, it depends on the friend and experience level. But, since most people would benefit from many of the mentioned items, above, I'd say, "NO."

Great & Lots of Bang for the Buck

Pros: The bundle is perfect!

This camcorder is very simple to use with intuitive controls and produces outstanding video and sound. Storage is excellent and battery time is reasonable. GPS is a great addition. For the money, I think this is the best deal around although like everything else it will probably be half as much in 12 months!! Love watching the grand children on TV. Also, the short term slo-mo is great for watching my golf swiing!