Sony Handycam HDR-XR500V reviews – a camcorder worth its expensive price tag
- Tuesday, July 21, 2009, 5:30
- Digital Camera
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The Sony Handycam HDR-XR500 is the prime camcorder in the company’s line up of hard disk based AVCHD camcorders. This camcorder features the first ever Exmor-R back-illuminated CMOS sensor. Another special feature of this device is that it also houses the feature of a built-in GPS in its solid, sturdy, and well designed body. The GPS feature might not appeal to many users, but is a welcome innovation in the field of camcorders.
The camcorder also boasts of the latest G-series lens that accounts for a greatly improved video quality. In terms of image stabilization, you will find SteadyShot image stabilization system in the device. All these advanced features come with a price. This camcorder is really expensive and is available at a price of $1,300 for the basic model and $1,400 for the advanced one.
As far as dimensions of this camcorder are concerned, it measures 2.9 inches by 3 inches by 5.5 inches. The camcorder is pretty heavy and weighs about 20.4 ounces. It features an Exmor-R CMOS sensor of the size 1/2.88-inch. The resolution offered by the sensor is about 6 megapixels. The touch screen LCD of this camcorder is 3.2 inches big and offers an excellent native resolution. The camcorder features a memory of 120 GB on its hard drive. The maximum bit rate offered by this camcorder is 16mbps. The size of the camcorder makes it big and it can only be fit in loose jacket pockets.
The camcorder features 2.1 channel audio and a rich 5.1 channel audio. The camcorder is pretty nice to touch. It is extremely easy to operate. The connections on the device include a 3.5mm headphone/mic jack, a mini-HDMI port, a USB port, and a A/V port. The navigation on the camcorder can be done via the touch screen interface of the LCD screen. This screen is pretty easy to view, even under direct sunlight. The device features Smile Shutter, face detection, and a variety of scene modes.
The battery life of the camcorder lasts only for an hour under normal usage conditions. The GPS can be operated using the provided two switches. Sony provides NAVTEQ’s Class 4 map data under its GPS services. The lens performance and the video from this device are overwhelming. The colors and the exposure are very accurate. The colors come out bright, saturated, and vivid. The audio is also pretty good. Overall, the Sony Handycam HDR-XR500 camcorder is worth its expensive price tag.
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