SONY make.believe

Sony missed the target...Again !

Pros: Comprehensive features

Cons: No native 24p recording

Great feature set.......but misses the mark for a great camcorder......no native 24p recording !!

Almost perfect camcorder..

Pros: Wide angle lens, OIS, picture quality, iAuto, direct-copy to HHD, and 5.1 audio

Cons: No progressive shooting mode, manual controls, pricey (compare to other rivals)

First off, let?s start with good things coming from this little camcorder. Sony makes good camcorders and there is no double about that. These days, it can be tough to weigh out all the options and choose one that mostly fits your wish list. You can be exhausted from having endless hours of reading & research online :-)). For me, there are a few features like wide angle lens, great stabilization, lowlight performance which swayed my decision towards this Sony model. I?ve also owned a prosumer Sony DV camcorder, but due to the bigger size and bulky-packed accessories, it has kept me from carrying the camcorder with me most of the time. So, I wanted to have a lot smaller camcorder but still give me the best possible image quality to carry around my kids and on vacation trips. Having a wide angle lens is necessary for me because I was able to get more image in the each shot and in tight spaces. I generally don?t ?abuse? zooming control when shooting, so 10x optical zoom is enough for me. Picture quality produced by this camcorder is just great. The color and exposure are automatically balanced quite well for both outdoor lighting and indoor lighting conditions. The iAuto works wonderfully, especially if you are shooting children activities. Lowlight noise level is very low for a small CMOS (smallest in its class), in my opinion. Auto white balance works pretty sleek. I?ve noticed it gradually adjusts (which I like) when lighting condition is changed from indoor to outdoor and back to indoor. Auto focus is quick and accurate. Motion capture works nicely in good light condition and produces not too blurry moving images. Image stabilization with active mode works so great for a small camcorder like HDR-CX550v. If you have a steady hand, you can still make smooth video while walking. Sony IS Active Mode really helps making some of my shots are viewable, which otherwise would be hard to watch without it. I?m glad Sony decided to add electronic view finder back to this model. I like to have EVF as a backup to LCD and know it can be useful in certain shooting situations. The 3.5?? high-resolution LCD screen is another good upgrade for this camera class. Touch screen navigation is easy and responsive. I?d like how small platform and clean design of this flash model. I like the layout of the inputs & outputs with protective covers (accept the SDHC/Memory stick cover). Manual controls are so limited I don?t bother trying it all but manual focus. Partly because auto mode works fine in most cases, so lack of manual control is not a huge miss for me. Thought, I?d just like to have some control of the image when needed instead of full auto all the time. In addition, Sony is behind in this flagship line when it comes to native progressive mode. It makes sense when some people point out that Sony holds back on these features to protect their professional lines. I wonder how much longer they can hold while other rivals are doing those things for awhile. Having an ultra-wide angle lens might have caused a bit unusual lens flare (referred as laser-like blue dot in different forums) in certain shooting conditions as I?ve experienced. It would be great if Sony can provide (free of charge) a simple lens hood to help reduce the problem. I hope it?s not too much to ask for a camcorder in this price range. I know Panasonic include one in the package. In conclusion, Sony HDR-CX550v is still a great camera despite a few shorts. I have owned a few Sony electronics and trusted their quality products. But Sony still needs to take this high-end consumer race seriously for being the in the lead. Other big names are about to pass and close to passing Sony. It was a little tough but I made my decision. And hopefully, I won?t be regretting soon.

Very happy with my purchase

Pros: All what this camera is famous for i.e. low light; image stabilization, Wide G lens; Works great with Vista; PMP v5

Cons: Nothing yet

All along for the past 1 month I was researching a different brand but a friend told me about this cameras yesterday. I did some research and I was absolutely convinced I should get this. I brought this camcorder the very same day. Took some test videos and uploaded them to my PC and the quality was stunning. Very well built. Touch screen is great. iAuto is great. Very easy to use. Very impressed with it so far. Its worth the money.

Good camcorder.

Pros: Image stabilization, wide angle lens, light sensitivity

Cons: Poor manual controls, no 1080p modes, flickery autoexposure

****If you look for true manual controls, please don't be misguided by the specification. The camcorder manual controls have a big catch behind them. Please read further on for details.***** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I have been buying Sony camcorders for their balanced colors. Each camcorder brand has a different conception of reproducing colors, adjusting white balance and exposure. Sony gives a balanced look in real-life scenes, where colors look natural, neutral, without overexposed faces or pink skies (some other brand), or saturated synthetic hues with poor highlight clipping (even some other brand). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . However Sony does not strive to provide most of the features in their compact camcorders. This camcorder has many artificial limitations, which would not be a problem to remove from an engineering standpoint, but probably are introduced for professional market protection reasons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Absence of a Full-HD 1080 progressive scan mode is an often criticized quality of Sony camcorders, while all the competitors already have it included. Hopefully with the come of 2011, Sony will release a camcorder with 1080 30p, but probably we will have to wait few more years for 60p to appear from Sony. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This model of Sony camcorder is packed with many consumer-friendly features, such as face detection, GPS, golf shot, intelligent exposure detection. Also Sony has the best picture stabilizer compared to competitors, though one of the competitors this year is coming close. Please be sure to know what you are buying. Sony's 'Active' image stabilization however is made at the cost of losing sharpness, given that the camcorder's picture even without stabilization is not as sharp as flagship 2010 camcorders of the same price range from another brand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . However the light sensitivity of this camcorder is incredible. In a low lux mode (1/30 shutter speed) it is probably more sensitive than a human eye. Even in a poorly lit environment one can often get a very good picture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sony claimed to have manual controls added such as a shutter speed control and iris, but these controls are mostly useless. It is only possible to use one control at a time. (Imagine a car, that would only allow to use an accelerator pedal or a steering wheel one at a time) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For example, one is allowed to set a shutter speed, *or* iris, *or* exposure. One cannot have both shutter speed set, and at the same time fix the camcorder to shoot with a constant brightness. If one of the parameters is set to manual, then others are always automatic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One of the new features of this camcorder is to include an SD card slot, which fortunately does not have any catch behind. It is possible to store videos on an SD card, which is very convenient to work with. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A slight annoyance of this camcorder is that (compared to HC1, which I had once, for instance) it sometimes changes exposure in abrupt steps. So when picturing a mountain picture, sometimes one can see image flickering due to camcorder trying to readjust brightness to the moving landscape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wide angle lens was a very good choice by Sony engineers. I was using my previous camcorders with a wide lens adapter, but the built-in lens of Sony CX550 has a wider angle than my other camcorders had with an adapter on. On zooming however, lens loses sharpness and gives color fringes. I believe, that's why optical zooming is restricted to 10x. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Slow-motion mode is low-resolution and only allows recording up to 3 seconds of a real footage, with a large delay afterwards. So recording spontaneous scenes (such as birds and animals) is hard - one should be prepared and know exactly when the event will happen to use a slow-motion mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overally, I have chosen to buy Sony camcorder because of its good colors, light sensitivity, great stabilization and a wide angle lens. After having it for few weeks I still like it, but probably would give a better evaluation to what competitors offer and make a more careful choice. It is very difficult to choose - there isn't simply a perfect camcorder on the market yet, and one has to balance against trade-offs of various brands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And while other brands probably seem to have technology limitations to make a good camcorder at this price, it appears to me that Sony holds back the features to probably separate a market with their professional camcorders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I have also chosen a flash-based camcorder (as opposed to hard drive based), because of a better reliability - absence of moving parts, lighter weight. 64GB version camcorder allows storing 6 hours of video recorded with the best quality (21Mbps). And usually - to my experience, for example - during a vacation or an event, one typically does not film more than 4 hours of video in a row, without having an access to a computer or a hard drive inbetween. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I would probably buy a $3000-level Sony camcorder, if Sony would offer professional features in the same form factor as CX550. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maybe this will change with the come of a revolutionary small camcorder from a less known company, which - I hope - will make Sony and other brands try to push the specification a little bit forward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Great Camcorder, but . . .

Pros: Features, weight, controls, storage

Cons: Battery

It is a great camcorder. Stability, the GPS, light adjustments, all features are great. Also, has a 'mic' input, which is impotant to me. I can highly recommend this model. HOWEVER, I bought this model thinking I could use the 'big' battery I had purchased for my previous Sony HD camcorder, the HDR-SR5. NOT - the tabs on the side of the old battery are bigger than on the new batteries, so it does not fit. Guess what - the new batts are the same volts, amps, watt-hours, EVERYTHING. They are the same, but Sony designs them so you have to spend another $100 for a long-life battery every time you buy a new camcorder. This is very frustrating and makes me not want to buy Sony products even though I love them. By the way, the new batt powers the old camcorder, so clearly the old and new batts are the same.

Wonderful Camcorder

Pros: Dependable ,accurate, not heavy, pretty easy to use

Cons: In sunlight hard to see screen sometimes.

We got the camcorder the day of Christmas eve. I pick it up to use almost everyday to shoot video or stills.I love how it comes on when you open the screen door. My parents have a less expensive one and you have to go through several steps to get started. I love ours. I still have a lot to learn about it, but I am camera savvy so it is pretty easy.Good luck to any one interested

Sony HDR-CX550V - Functional Assessment

Pros: (1) Image Stabilization (2) Image Quality (3) Hardware Quality (4) Low Weight, Small Size (5) Excellent Screen

Cons: (1) Price - If Budget Limited (2) 1080i vs. 1080p - If You're Picky

(1.) I researched the HDR-CX550V considerably, prior to purchasing it. Then purchased it and have worked it for several weeks. It meets and exceeds expectations. (2.) I have dozens of other standard and HD cams, including other Sony Handcams (those being mainly DV tape units). This is my 1st flash memory videocam. I am very comfortable with the quality of DV tape - but that said, the flash memory has proven to be excellent on the CX550V. Another key strength is the CX550V's 24MBps recording rate. (3.) CX500V image stabilization is fabulous. To the point where it is a joy to just shoot video and watch the stabilization function superbly. Warning - it may be addictive! (4.) The low light feature works well. The nightshot works well - as it has with other Sony nightshot units - and I've used it extensively. (5.) The "Golf Shot" Slow-Rec is "ok". Albeit, I could take it or leave it. (6.) CX550V Menu functions are clear, easy to read, and quite nicely laid out. They will take some users time and studying to get used to and competent at. (7.) A key decision point in buying the CX550V was that it does have a small viewfinder. (It is often difficult to view the LCD screens in bright daylight, so if you don't have a viewfinder at those times, accurate camera aiming is a chore. Sony was very smart to put a viewfinder in the CX550V.) (8.) Another key feature on the CX550V is the inclusion of external microphone and earphone jacks. Very smart move Sony. That was critical in my purchase decision. (9.) Battery life - experience to date - is excellent, considering battery size / amps, etc. (I use the larger batteries - NP-FV70, etc.) I will report back in a follow-on post in 1000 hours and status how the CX550V has held up, performed, and functioned. (10.) The only marginality I've found is in the slight delay that occurs when using the photo function - taking a picture. The delay poses problems for high-speed action shots (baseball bat swing, etc.) Picture (photo) quality at 12meg is good. Not superb, but very good. (I'm comparing the CX550V to (Canon) digital camera images in the 12Meg range. using "L" series lenses.) (11.) If reliability and performance continue as status'd here, I expect to buy at least 5 to 10 more of the CX500V units. (If failures or issues occur, I will report those here.) (12.) Practicality: Excellent. I've carried many videocams and loads of high-end digital cameras and lenses around for 40 years. Those who have done it know what 50 pounds of equipment in your arms and around your neck is like. The CX550V is small and light. It "goes anywhere and everywhere". With the CX550V, a good HD video processing computer system and 1 or where possible (!) a pile of Sony Bravia Flatscreen TVs - a High-Def world is easily, brilliantly, colorfully yours. Great fun. Everyday. * * *

Satisfied mac user

I've only had the camera for a week now, and it is the first camera I've owned. So far, though, it's been marvellous. As a previous poster wrote, whereas the Sony software is Windows only, the software that comes with the Mac does just fine. I've already had some fun editing our shots on iMovie. The files it creates are huge. My poor old 2 ghz Intel Mac can only import the files at about 2 minutes per minute of footage. Looks like I'll have to upgrade the 'puter next. Stand out features for me so far are the superb anti-shake measures built in to this camera. Steady as a rock. I doubt one could exaggerate how well this works. I was, and remain, truly astonished at how far technology has progressed. The only reason I might want to use a tripod now is to keep my arm from getting tired! It shoots really well in low lit rooms. No graininess to speak of. Beautiful. Great 3d mike. Good sound quality. The zoom lever is highly responsive, and is taking some getting used to, but I guess I'll improve with practise. Further, the menu is very intuitive. I'm using the Japanese version, and am still having to puzzle out some of the kanji, but that's a fault of mine, not the product! Hmm. that's about all I can think of for now. Top camera though. Cheers