Sony Handycam HDR-XR500V- With Geotagging Capabilities
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Good quality videos, has built in GPS.
Thumbs Down:
Old school menu system, no control for audio, iris or manual shutter speed, lack wind filter, expensive.
Inside the Trunk:
Bundled remote control. Included cables are USB cable, Component video cable, A/V cable.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
HDR-500V is a 1080i resolution camcorder, it has 150x digital zoom, optical sensor size is 1/2.88″, videos are stored AVCHD and MPEG 2 format. Minimum shutter speed is 1/8 second, maximum shutter speed 1/800 second. For storing videos the camcorders has a 120 GB hard disk, lens is Zoom lens – 5.5 mm – 66 mm – F/1.8-3.4, focal length is 5.5 mm – 66 mm, lens aperture is F/1.8-3.4, has 12x optical zoom, minimum focal length is 5.5 mm, maximum focal length is 66 mm.
Shooting programs include twilight mode, portrait mode, spotlight, landscape, fireworks, sunrise, sunset, candle, beach, snow. Camcorder sensor resolution is 6.631 megapixels and camcorder effective video resolution is 4.15 megapixels, camcorder effective still resolution 6 megapixels, camcorder interpolated still resolution 12 megapixels, images are stored in JPEG format. The camcorder has 3.2 inch TFT LCD touch screen.
Additional features include Dolby Digital 5.1 channel recording, Takes photos while movie recording, Dynamic Range Optimizer, Smile Detection technology, Touch-screen control, Face detection, Built-in GPS. Connectors on the device include Microphone, Headphones, Remote control, S-Video output, HDMI output, Component video output, USB, Composite video/audio output. There is a card slot for Memory Stick PRO Duo cards.
The device is powered by Sony NP-FH60 li-ion rechargeable battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
We found the HDR-500V a bit heavy than other camcorders and it is also a bit bigger. The heaviness can be attributed to the hard disk in side and because of the size it is easy to hold and shoot. One we really liked about the build is that the ports have door covers attached to them to keep away dust.
Inside Dope:
This camcorder from Sony has GPS built in and it is something that surprised us when we got the product in our test centers. Other than that is has the new Exmor-R back-illuminated CMOS sensor inside. You cannot use the GPS feature for heavy use since it lacks features that you find in dedicated GPS systems but we thought this was a really cool thing to have in a camcorder. Sony also puts in a lot of new technology in to the camcorder to make it one of the best in its class.
This series offers two camcorders, HDR-XR500V which has a 120 GB hard drive and stores 14.5 hours of video in best quality and there is XR520V which has a 240 GB hard drive and gives you 29.3 hours of video recording in best quality.
We were glad that the record button was very close to the thumb hence making it easy to operate. However the mode button which toggles between video and photograph mode is positioned in such a way that it is difficult to reach. We had to use our left hand to reach to the button and hence it is bad ergonomics. The best part about the camcorder has to be the presence of electronic viewfinder which manufacturers are dumping these days. You can tilt the viewfinder up for a clearer view.
There are lots of connectors and ports on the camcorder like component and composite input, mini HDMI and USB. Apart from this there are mic jacks and a 3.5 mm jack for headphone.
The manual dial on the camcorder lets you control WB shift, AE shift, exposure and focus, there is a central button which you will have to press and hold. We need to refer the reference manual of the device in order to figure out all this. The dial is good and easy to use but there is no control for audio levels, iris or shutter speed, which camcorders in this price range are known to have.
Presence of a 3.2 display LCD was a relief, most camcorders have 2.7 inch LCD and it is really cramped to use if it has a touch screen interface. The buttons on this screen are adequately spaced from one another and hence they are easy to touch. However Sony gives us old school menu system is old school and outdated. The menu is divided in to sections of Options and Home. The latter is used for newbies who don’t know much about camcorders and just want to push button and start shooting. It contains the settings that cannot be changed when you are shooting like choosing between SteadyShot Active/Standard/Off, 2-channel or 5.1-channel audio, HD/SD quality. The Options is for settings that you can change when you are shooting. It includes toggling flash, program scene modes, exposure adjustments or spot/meter focus. We were frustrated with the placement of some of the features like smile shutter and face detection are housed in Home instead of Menu.
Next to the screen there are a few physical buttons like Easy operation key, direct-to-DVD key, display toggle and there is also a card slot for putting in Memory Stick Duo Pro cards.
The camcorder has GPS software but don’t expect this camcorder to support full fledged features for GPS. We tried using the GPS and it was really fun to see tag our photos and videos to the location in which they were shot. Geotagging isn’t supported in all cities so make sure you check out the support before you travel. We were disappointed to find that the GPS doesn’t supported landmarks or street names on it. When you store the data on the computer you will have to use bundled software called Picture Motion Browser software which is really frustrating.
The camcorder has the new G-series lens which give better results in video capture than Zeiss products. The videos looked sharp and there was no aberration or visible fringing. The focus of the lens is also good and but we wished for faster focus while panning. The auto exposure and AF are really fast however like most camcorders the auto focus got confused between objects in background and foreground. The shot stabilization features (SteadyShot) worked really well in our tests, the videos were steady even when we were walking but don’t expect rock steady clips. You can choose to turn it off because it reverts to an inferior resolution and the low quality can be seen in the edges of the videos. We will once again praise Sony for putting in a great 3.2 inch LCD which is a welcome change from the tiny 2.7 inch screens.
Video quality, though not the best, is really good considering this is a consumer class model. The colors are accurate, saturated and bright but it showed tendency of highlight blowing.
Back-illuminated sensor promises to give better looking videos in dim light conditions. We tested the camcorder in low light environments and we found that this is the best a camcorder can perform in such conditions. We haven’t seen better videos from any other camcorder in dim light.
Audio quality of the camcorder is good and the photo quality is strictly OK. The camera can take photos in 12 MP but we recommend a 6 MP mode for pictures. Photos will look as long as you keep the prints to less than 8×10.
Nitty Gritty:
We were happy with the onboard features that Sony Handycam HDR-XR500V had to offer but the high price is a turn off. You can sacrifice some of these features, save some money if you buy something cheaper.
