Name: Sony HDR-XR500V 120GB HDD High Definition Handycam Camcorder, 1/2.88" Exmor R CMOS sensor 12x Optical/150x Digital Zoom Lens, 3.2" Touch Panel LCD,With Built-in GPS Receiver
Brand: Sony
SKU: SOHDRXR500V
Price: 899.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.28 (29 reviews)

Sony HDR-XR500V 120GB HDD High Definition Handycam Camcorder, 1/2.88" Exmor R CMOS sensor 12x Optical/150x Digital Zoom Lens, 3.2" Touch Panel LCD,With Built-in GPS Receiver

Sony HDR-XR500V 120GB HDD High-Def Handycam Camcorder

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Sony HDR-XR500V 120GB HDD High-Def Handy...

Top Rated Gear: Sony HDR-XR500V 120GB HDD High Definition Handycam Camcorder, 1/2.88" Exmor R CMOS sensor 12x Optical/150x Digital Zoom Lens, 3.2" Touch Panel LCD,With Built-in GPS Receiver Configuration: Camcorder Only, Ergonomics: Palmheld

A nice portable replacement for a dslr that still delivers pictures and videos of decent quality.
I'm amazed of the zooming capabilities in this small case, it makes it possible to capture unexpected distant actions as they happen which leads to great shots.

Unfortunately there's no way to change the video capturing mode of the European model from 25 to 30 fps or even to 60 fps, so the SlowMotion mode just captures 100 fps instead of 240 fps.

I recommend the camera to everyone that looks for a small, portable camera with great capabilities.

I really like the portability

Had a Sony 8MM for years- Went through tapes like crazy. Quality and storage on this one is phenomenol. Looked at some professional models and could not see spending $2-3K. This one does everything I wanted and has the extra mike input and earphone jack. (Even though internal mike does a great job of getting sound.) Have had for over a year and still learning some of the features. PMB easy to use if you are familiar with video editing. Nice effects. Great as a still camera but shoot a lot of video because I can take the stills off of the footage and sometimes get some great surprises. Wide angle lens is a plus.

As close to professional for price

Have owned 5 video cameras. Am partial to Canon and Sony. This camera outdoes them all. Could really use a telephoto lens, otherwise would rate the camera 5. Also PMB software original version worked great. Subsequent updates have had lots of bugs.

Going on Three Years

I have owned two other Sony Handycams previously, but the XR500V is teh best so far. The picture quality is amazing. The features are too numerous to need more. The size is certainly compelling for travel, but the close proximity of the zoom and photo buttons on the back make it a little difficult to use during shooting. Other than that, you can't do better.

This thing is so cool!!

Simply Sony!!! performance decent looks n most of all intelligent & practicle functionality. very high quality videos can be shot with minimal startup time, handy on the move. Still picture quality is great in terms of the vividity of colours. Intelligent auto focussing with options like tele macro make it a fun tool in the hands of pros.................

Performance worth the money

I was real pleased with this camera, until I damaged the AC power converter. the AC cord cost $ 34.54 and the adapter cost $ 55.95. shipping was extra.
COME ON SHONY, THIS IS A RIP OFF,. You are about to lose a customer.

accessories over priced

I am so happy cuz it takes really good pics.^.^.
Also very good video.

Excellent~

This is my first camcorder. I purchased it primarily to video an elementary school talent show. The quality of the DVD that I produced using the included software is amazing.

Great HD Camcorder

I have really enjoyed this product and use it for both work and personal videos. I read the review saying it doesn't work with Macs and that is simply not true. I ONLY use it with iMovie. Only the editing software that comes with the camera (which is far inferior to iMovie) is not Mac compatible, but the videos download to Macs seemlessly.

Works great with Mac

2nd Trip to Vienna, Austria. Great HD photos and movies. Love the speed that I can take pictures on the move. Ice
Skating in the park, ballroom dancing, indoor and outdoor options all in in HD.

Works great with my MacBook Pro

If your a Mac owner this camcorder will not work for you.

Doesn't work with mac

Sony

Please make it easier for folks to find their support files!

I have no idea why I have to click seven links to get to a device drivers and other softwares when one should do!

Here is an Idea:

Choose model and then show all the accompanying softwares for your operating system!

Frankly I don't need to know anything other than that!

Thank you

Sony HD based Camcorder

Bought the unit as a replacement for a TRV-80. I knew I wanted AVCHD, needed a compact camera, and absolutely had to have a viewfinder. I bought the camera and immediately hauled it into the Orlando theme parks, then took it out to Disneyland. It's my third Sony camcorder (after a TRV-8 and a TRV-80) since 2000, and the only one on which I have managed to deplete the battery in less than an average day of shooting. I'm shooting in 1080i30 HD, and the pictures are stunning, even in low light. Colors are near-perfect most of the time, and the image stabilization is the best I have ever used for handheld shooting. Macintosh users (like me!) will want a program called "ClipWrap" ($50) to turn the camera files into something that QuickTime can easily play and convert. In shooting, the auto-focus can be fiddly and/or slow at times, and the manual focus dial is equally slow because it has very high adjustment resolution. Menu structure is a little weird, and the requirement to use the touch screen can be annoying; I always liked the thumbwheel on Sony's older models.

The manual adjustment knob is programmable (I use it for focus) but is not a lens ring, which means it can be a little awkward. Particularly nice, the camera "wakes up" very fast...yank out the viewfinder and within five seconds it is ready to shoot, almost faster than I can get it up to my eye. That helps the battery issue a little, since you can carry it "off". Flip out screen is better than previous generations, but still useless in daylight (but this model HAS A VIEWFINDER unlike just about everything else anybody sells). Oh, and this one lets you shoot stills WHILE you shoot video, something the TRV-80 would do only in 4:3 mode.

Overall, this is a great camera. No regrets after two months of fairly heavy use.

Excellent unit

It takes great video in low light, I do our Little dribblers team.  Outside is just great. put it on a dvd and play it with a blue ray on a High def tv and you get High def video. It's just a great Cam.

Best Cam I've ever had

Bought a xr200 and had to return it, because the performance indoors was bad(extremely grainy). Upgraded to an XR-500V. The quality is unbelievable. The Exmor-R sensor is worth the money.... I wouldn't recommend wasting time and money with anything else other than something with the Exmor-R sensor . Price is a bit steep... Sony should have dropped to 60 Gb and dropped a 100-150 dollars on the price.

Excellent product!!!

Unbelievable quality

I have had this camera for 2 weeks and I don't see any problems with focusing like some say, low light looks amazing, Picture Stills are amazing for a Camcorder, The smile shutter is a very nice feature.. Everything is great and about the batteries I think for 1200 bucks it should come with a better battery but as I said no biggie look around and you'll find good prices.. I see no reason to complain about the prices of batteries because any brand camcorder you purchase the batteries will be expensive and $150 for the Biggest H Series is very reasonable from what I have read and if you can shell out 1200 you should have no problem with an extra 150 for the biggest battery. For anyone looking for a good HD Camcorder this is the one for you I HIGHLY RECOMMEND... And as a bonus feature the Slow motion video at 240fps is a good way to be really creative.

Don't See Any Problems As Others Mention

We've used Sony from the start. 8mm, Hi8, MiniDV, then now HDD.

Sony is still the best.
But there are still some problems... but you're forced to ignore them because Canon and Panasonic consumer camcorders just can't compare to Sony's.

Now about the XR500V.
Again, perfect video quality.
I would definitely recommend this camcorder.
SmileShutter is a great feature, taking the best candid photos for you.
Playback is easy, organized by date.
120GB is a lot of space.

FOCUSING is a bit slow, but it doesn't matter. You can work with it because when it does focus, it's super clear.

Awesome HD Cam

This is an amazing combo of advanced image capture technologies and human factors design for ease of use.

It is the ideal camera to carry on grand cruise adventures and it makes the problems of use of a digital SLR and older camcorder unnecessary.

A new level of imaging capabilities

I have issues with Sony, but this camera is NOT one of them. Yes, it's pricey, but you can buy it and all of its accessories "on-line" for far less then advertised on SONY STYLE. That's probably the regrettable thing because you would to think that SONY would like to cultivate a loyal customer base. Regardless, this is one incredible camera. I won't go tit for tat with all the "experts" who have reviewed this camera because I think their reviews are largely irrelevant for my purposes. I purchased this camera to take family videos and stills. Most recently, I took videos of my nephew's high school football game and they were spectacular - definitely high definition. The single thing I like the best about this camera is that the pix are recorded on a hard drive. I was so sick and tired of having to buy cassette tapes to record video on my prior video camera. This way I simply record directly to the drive and then download the pix/video to my computer for video editing. It is so much easier then using the mini-dvs. If you can afford this camera, then I also recommend that you get the remote controlled tripod, the video/photo flash, the extended battery and the wide conversion lens.

In my opinion, this camera will be a one stop photo/video camera for you during the next several years. Not only does it record in high definition video, but it will take photos at a 12 megapixil quality to boot.

For what it is worth, I have been using prosumer video cameras for the past 20 years including Panasonic, Canon and Sony. In my opinion, Panasonic was unparalelled in the early going, with Canon and Sony going neck to neck in the past few years. However, I believe the HDR XR500V is clearly the best the prosumer video camera market has for us at this juncture and even if they keep coming with cameras that have more bells and whistles from and after this time, I have no doubt that this camera will definitely have staying power because of the sheer quality of this product.

Deb R.

Unbelievable Videocamera

I am a web developer and use video camera to create flash video. This camera does a great job for the price. Works well with iMovie and Final Cut Pro on MAC. The camera is very easy to use, and is very light weight/compact.

Works well with MAC iMovie, and Final Cut Pro

This is the BEST camcorder I ever had so far. Sony is one of the best in market. We love still picture and video quality is crisp and clear. Design is fancy and detailed.
Thanks to SONY for technology brought to world.

BEST HD CAMCORDER

Coming from a background in broadcast as cameraman, sound man and editor this camera does much better than 3 chip digital cameras in quality and low light performance. I have tested this camera in all sorts of lighting conditions and found the camera operates flawlessly in all conditions. The sound is great and having the external mic and headphone inputs is a plus. Very easy to use, very light weight and very well priced. I will be buying another one soon for multiple camera shoots. Thank You Sony for being the best, I have used others but they cannot compare. You can take what I said to the bank, I have 24 years in broadcast productions.

Wonderful Camera

I bought the HDR-XR500V to record movies -- not to make still picture, and its video performance is superb. An amazing camera and for me just about everything works as promised -- no small feat in these days.

The much maligned GPS is wonderful for tracing outdoor clips to Google Earth after you've downloaded to your computer. If you're out on safari or just sightseeing by boat on the river, it's a nice feature.

5.1 on-board mics produce sound that is excellent and reproduces low end amazingly well on a 5.1 system.

Still pictures are decent, though my four year old point-and-shoot digital outperforms it. Being able to take a still picture at the same time I'm recording video is nice.

Included PMB software works well and does a great job of exporting video to different formats other than AVCHD. The included movie player works smoothly, and the Map View app is a lot of fun.

It's a Hi-Def Video Camera!

i bought this with great expectation, but it failed. The red eye reduction doesn't function even if you switch it on!
some images still come blurred....
Also its a bit heavy. video quality was fine.

not as expected

I previously owned and used an HDR-UX7 (DVD HandyCam) which I considered at the time an excellent camera for the money. I never had a major complaint with it. However, after wear and tear, it was time to get a new one. I recently purchased the HDR-XR500V, I was highly impressed from the moment I unpacked it and began using it. Optical Steady Shot lives up to it's name, and with a small camera, this is essential while walking and 'filming.' I especially like the option of choosing between the built-in hard drive or removable Memory Stick to capture both video and still images. PMB Software has improved and is adequate, but I now use Vegas Movie Studio Premium to edit my movies. Really, the only negative thing I have to say about this camera is that the battery doesn't hold it's charge as long as I would like. An extra battery solved that problem. Since this is a recent purchase, I feel I have only just scratched the surface in all it's robust capabilities.

A very easy to use device for anyone!

You get what you paid for.

I have this camera for about one week and tried different recording situations.

GREAT image if played back using the HDMI cable or component cable.

Focus, I agree, at night it is terrible, I was driving in the dark and just tried to record the cars in front of me. I took some 2 mins to focus, when I used the manual focus it took forever do dial to the distance of 11m

The GPS, in some situations it takes forever to give you the location, if you are parked, then it finds your location faster, but if you turn on the camera in the car while driving, you can almost forget to get location, I turned off/on and drove some 20 mins and never gave me location.

The menus are a bit akward, trying to find the option to save video on the card, switch back.. and other features not easy to find.

In dark situations it was good, there is an option for low light, but the image played back is not a sharp black where it is dark, but grainy.

The battery meter kept jumping between 75 and 40 mins, so, I have no idea how much battery I had left, so, you DO have to get an extra battery. Just took the kid out today and I would say that I could "probalby" get 1hr worth of recording.

photo mode, it was sharp

The sound is really something hard to test since if you plug just a tv 5.1 matters?

The good and the bad

I have owned this camcorder for about four days now and it is fantastic! The focus is great, pictures are great, features are fantastic! If you have the money, buy one, you won't be sorry!

Wonderful Camcorder

I've waited decades to purchase my first camcorder. I am not disappointed. I've owned a DSC H9 camera for a couple of years now, so I am familiar with the SONY proprietary things such as batteries. Some people shy away from that - but not me.
I read with interest the first review of this handycam where the person said "worst purchase ever". I have found NONE of his complaints. I am extremely impressed with the digital resolution on this baby. AND I did quite a bit of experimenting in low-light conditions in my office - with first looking with my eyes and then doing a recording and comparing. EXCELLENT reproduction.
I've studied the heck out of the book, and also made a couple of phone calls to Sony Store to get answers on a few things that weren't clear in the book -- mostly involving the PMB sw. I've also tried all the features at least once to become familiar. I really like the SMILE detection feature for those perfect Kodak moments, because I have grandkids that squirm all over the place and are hard catch in that perfect pose.
I also purchased one of the kits that includes a SONY Handycam bag. As the bag is a little large, I've been able to partition off a section to also carry my H9 camera, along with all of its extra stuff. NEAT - I now only have to carry one bag.

More impressive than I thought it would be

My background:

Raised on studio grade production equipment since 13.
Did live studio shows as well as taped ones and also shot local events.

Have never owned a personal camcorder.

So why such a bad review?

The auto focus is simply horrible. Moving around my house the camera would loose focus easily and take a long time to get it back 1-3 seconds.

The camera will not focus on any objects that are close to it at full zoom, period.

When zooming in or out of shots, there is visible "lag". The video is not smooth. It appears like its missing frames for lack of a better term.

In low light situations (any video taken inside your home without massive amounts of sunlight) the camera does not take good pictures. (with low lux setting on) The shots are extremely grainy, unlike the shots from the promo video (the kid blowing out the candles on his cake)

Can only capture video at 17mbs a sec, not 24 like most other camera's

Overall, this camera has me questioning why I just didn't buy a flip mono for all the artifacts I saw in what I would call my normal shooting habits. Why would I want HD video thats not in focus? 1300 seems to much to be lacking on such an important feature.