Sony HDR-XR520V 240GB 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

2010-11-11T19:00:00

Every time I have to take a still picture in 12megapixle I have to switch to Photo Mode. It keeps on shiftong to movie mode.

goyle

Originally posted at

2010-10-30T20:00:00

I have 2 of them. I bought the second one for my dad as a gift. I am rating this camera 5 stars, because i believe it is the best camera out there, after personally comparing with top Panasonic and Canon products. But I want to point out it is not perfect and I have few issues with both. First of all - there is some sort of bug in the software, because after every trip I get back home and notice I always have several pictures taken. I don't take pictures with my camera. It looks like it takes them by itself. It is annoying, because can't say for sure whether it was taken simultaneous with pushing the REC button, or worse, the movie wasn't taken but the pic was shot instead. I don't consider it a major problem, though. But there are three major problems that make me look for a better replacement. One of them is microphone sound. There are times that the sound is unnatural, like a sound from the inside of a bowl. I can't figure why this is happening. I tried changing the voice setting to zoom, it helped somehow, but it reverts itself to the standard setting and it makes it hard to do anything. So I have to live with that sound problem. Second issue is hand shaking: Unfortunately the image stabilization is not perfect either. I noticed strange image shaking. The center tends to be still, while the left and the right move up and down. It's like the image center forms an axis of circular image movement. The above problems happen on both cameras, so it is a design issue. Finally, the camera has some blue noise in the low light conditions. But it is in almost dark areas, so I don't complain. Frankly it is so sensitive I can make movies from a car while driving at night. Then I see more details, that I see with my eyes. Unbelievable! I have 2 batteries and I love it. This is one absolutely amazing product.

silverantonius

Originally posted at

2010-06-07T20:00:00

Purchased 2 of this semi-pro units at full price from a Sony store and did not buy extended warranty. Being SONY's great quality and reputation, I figured that they would last two or three years, at least. Both cameras kept in sealed zip-loc bags, inside waterproof and lined tool box. Traveled in luxury and were not used very frequently. 13 months into the life of the cameras, I got an "Overheated" message in one of them, asking to turn off, allow to cool down, and restart. Well, the camera was never to work again. It is going to cost me $445 to fix. To say the least, I am very unhappy. For $445 one can buy a simpler replacement without the SONY brand name, but I am not willing to have two cameras and two different raw files going into Premiere. Suggestion: Buy the extended warranty!

ExtendedWarranty

Originally posted at

2010-05-19T20:00:00

Overall the image quality is excellent. Nice color, good detail. The "low light" night-time footage with available light (street lights) is very impressive. Buttons are easy to press and use. The camera responds quickly to demands. The Compact Design is also impressive knowing the camera contains a 240 GB hard drive. Record and Playback is intelligent and straight-forward. Unfortunately if a video file becomes corrupt, saving your video may be become difficult like slow download times or having to delete everything on the hard drive to re-format the drive. I don't understand why the zoom button goes wide when the button is pulled toward the camera. Is it me? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Still Photo quality at night with no flash is very, very grainy. For me the GPS system on the camera is useless and a waste of space ad technology on the camera. Battery life could definitely be improved. As still as I hold the camera I still get quite a bit of "camera shake." A tripod is a definite plus. Finally this camera cannot be "backed-up" directly to an external hard drive without a computer. For that you need the the new "550" and up sony handycam. All said, this is a handycam, and for a camcorder this is a great little "high definition" video camera and allot of fun to work with!

LensMan

Originally posted at

2010-04-21T20:00:00

You don't need to worry about storage and memory. The video quality is the highest you can get, Zooming is very clear. Excellent shaking control when moving. Vivid colors, excellent low light quality, bright very strong flash

Ghiath

Originally posted at

2010-03-01T19:00:00

This is my first High Definition Camcorder and I wanted the best. I definitely got it with the xr520v. The videos and pictures are beautiful, the active steadyshot is amazing, as well as the low light quality. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a top quality consumer camcorder.

sborrick

Originally posted at

2009-12-30T19:00:00

This is one of the best camcorders, currently available in Market, all feature are very strong and pro. compact in size and smart in shape. Excellent lens result, Head phone input is great too, for personal monitoring. Active hot shoe is amazing. 240 GB HDD is enough for HD/HQ recording. While the main draw back of this package are. Less battery timing, Mic input, distort when plug with amp or computer or tape to recieve Direct Signals. and No HDMI cable included in package. Over all it's the best piece among its competitor like PANASONIC, JVC and other

Salimudassir

Originally posted at

2009-12-17T19:00:00

This is more of a question regarding the cameras ability to transfer. Can the operator transfer video clips from the hard drive to the memory stick in camera? Any response from those who have the camera or Sony tech would be much appreciated. Planning on buying the camera in the new year, just wanted to know if this was possible. Cheers

Cambot

Originally posted at

2009-12-07T19:00:00

This is by far the best camera I have ever used . and talk about detail, I am doing shoots for santa. and you can literally see all his hairs in his beard. Even the Photographers were saying the stills had great composition . The pictures when Printed on a Kodak 5250 Printer set to best levels using Glossy paper amazed both customers and the 3 photographers at the "Starving Artist" in Astoria Oregon. what amazed them was it was a video camera that was taking the stills. They were surprised to see that the camera had a built in flash. I can only find one small flaw in the whole thing, the pictures while using the still side of the camera at 12 meg are darker . where as if one shoots using the video side at 8.3 meg. But even with this one tiny issue still leaves an impression on those using the DSLR cameras. but it does have issues with capturing a fast moving object.but, then that is what video is for isn't it? it would be nice to get a shot of a fast flying plane. The Video side how ever is exceptional for my budget. this camera suits my needs just fine for now. Sony you did a great job. Oh eh on the GPS great job but, it would have been nice if we could at least see the block were on and it would be Nice when we zoom in on the map that either a warning comes up or something instead of a tan screen. Perhaps a slightly more detailed 2d map would be nice and please something for the MAC users. I would have selected Yes on recommending this product to a friend but, I haven't any at the moment that can afford this product.

Lee98632

Originally posted at

2009-11-26T19:00:00

For the longest time I wanted to buy a camcorder and camera in HD and when I saw Sony's new addition to the family I said this baby is mine. I bought the camcorder just this past October a few days before traveling to Mexico for a wedding and as of now best purchase ever. Please with quality and image. Clear when recording, still getting to know the camera and best of all camera, taking pics as well. The only thing I wished for was to purchased extra longer battery life for this kind of events. Video recording and taking pics at the same time kills your battery life fast ....so please buy a more longer battery life. Other than that THANKS SONY :o)

Paris7685

Originally posted at

2009-10-07T20:00:00

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.

CADDMANDU

Originally posted at

2009-07-31T20:00:00

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.

Alumnostudios

Originally posted at

2009-07-13T20:00:00

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.

CptBlargy

Originally posted at

2009-07-10T20:00:00

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

Roger459

Originally posted at

2009-06-24T20:00:00

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."

Quryous

Originally posted at

2009-05-19T20:00:00

They say it is 12MP camera, however it is the interpolated resolution, the sensor is 6MP. However the picture qulityu of video and stills is still great.

Gillu

Originally posted at

2009-05-18T20:00:00

I was gifted this camcorder, while I had bought myself a Canon hf-s100 at the same time. Which did I keep?,... First of all, this is a great camcorder. IF your looking for a simple point and shoot camcorder, this is probably the perfect one this year. It has great video image, and the new sensor does a great job eliminating noise. The wb was usually spot on, but the af was a bit slow in certain conditions. The photo stills could be better. Its interpolated 12mp vs its native 6mp settings weren't much different. What is lacking on the xr series is the serious lack of manual controls. Comparing the Xr to the Canon hf-s,... the hf-s had a bit more sharpness and color saturation but more noise. During bight day not much difference could be seen, but at in low light, the xr showed lower noise. They did about equal at night, the hf-s showing a bit more detail while the xr again showed a bit less noise. Where the hf-s trumps the xr is in manual controls. The hf-s offers 1080p mode by 30p or 24p. Something sorely missing in the xr. Also aperture and shutter controls along with db limit and a few other abilities allow a more diverse camcorder. Where the hf-s loses out is the ois. The xr's ois is the best there is this year. Now Sony, please listen up, Give us the manual controls that are offered by Canon and Panasonic., such as the Aperture and Shutter controls, a db limit or iris control would be nice also. The others have these options and allows for more broad shooting conditions. Especially the photo mode in the xr. Its very simple. Please give us these options. All other major reviews state this as the major issue. If they can add these features thru a firmware upgrade, This would be the King of Camcorders for 09. As is, for novice and travelers the Xr is a good choice, for video pros the hfs has seems to have more appeal. I would personally keep the Hf-s but since I was gifted the xr520v, I'll keep it. There really isn't much difference in video quality, just miss the manual controls and 1080, 24p mode. And one thing about gps.. why so basic with such big hdd? at least give use option to update maps. I mean I travel thru Asia often, and there are no maps of S. Korea or China..

Cyw88

Originally posted at

2009-04-11T20:00:00

Previous reviews have commented that this camera and the 120 gig versions don't work with Mac OSX. That is just not true. If you have Intel Mac and OSX 10.5 and and iLife 09 iMovie and or iPhoto it works perfectly importing without a hitch and editing without a hitch and sharing on DVD, itunes and Apple TV. This is an awesome camera, with incredible movie and still capability. It is a perfect Mac counterpart.

hsattert

Originally posted at

2009-04-06T20:00:00

I've always been a Sony user so I may be somewhat partial. I just purchased my XR520V and it is simply, a great camcorder to have. Although Sony has ensured its uncomplicated and ease of use, there are no compromises when it comes to workmanship, ergonomics, or quality of pictures/videos. The colors are simply amazing and very much what you would expect from SONY. The video and audio qualities are captivating. I use it with my HD TV and PS3. The results: pure entertainment. One important improvement or update that Sony can make is to its PMB software and the available playback themes installed on the camcorder. Sony, please add more themes.

TravelingAsh

Originally posted at

2009-03-13T20:00:00

all i can say is that this camcorder is the best camcorder ive ever purchased hands down! the only con that i have about this camcorder is that i can not find a a longer life battery that is compatible with this model! can any one help?

HEAVENLYFOUR

Originally posted at

2009-03-04T19:00:00

I love this camera and the easy of use, my technically challenged girlfriend learned how to use this camera in about 2 hours. I am very pleased with the software and the easy of burning a compatible disc for viewing and the steady shot is the best i every seen and the 1080 is also amazing . The smile detector I feel takes 2 many pictures at time but you do catch some amazing shots with it . The con i found is the camera is a little small for my big hands can barely fit it under the strap and its so tiny its hard to control the zoom with my large hands , but overall i would recommend it and its a great value to get a excellent digital camera and a hd 1080i camcorder you cant beat this one!

Bigwillz

Originally posted at

2009-02-20T19:00:00

I am exited about the latest version of Sony’s HDR-XR520V 240GB High Definition Handycam® Camcorder. With all the new features and Sony’s commitment to quality this camcorder should really be a pleasure to use. I particularly like the GPS possibility it’s improved mega pixels . etc etc. I have several Sony camcorder including the HD 60 GB SR 7 as well as the DVD 505 but this new XR 520 should really eliminate the need to carry my Canon 50 D with me to Europe. I am counting the days……

VWKW

Originally posted at

2009-02-02T19:00:00

I love my SR12, with 5MP native resolution, Carl Zeiss lens. Not sure if XR520 would impress everyone by only <1 MP native resolution improvement and the Sony G lens.... TBD......

Teruterubotsu

Originally posted at

2009-01-13T19:00:00

Sony misses the mark by not supporting 1080p............once again Canon leads the camcorder game

DDhir

Originally posted at

2009-01-10T19:00:00

I'm an ardant life-long fan of SONY in general and especially for its VAIO and Handycam series, the exquisite technological marvels of 21st Century. My first possession of a SONY Handycam happened on 03/01/2007 when I was in Germany. I feel I'm really lucky to have my first handycam itself as a HD AVCHD Handycam (HDR-SR1E) with Dual Memory (HDD, Memory Stick) Support, especially a 30GB HDD Medium which was very cool! From that day on, I'm very fascinated by my SONY Handycam, its Quality, Features, Compactness, and not to forget, its Looks! I also see that SONY constantly adds New Handycam Models with more and more advanced technology, keeping them as undoubted Market Leaders ["like.no.other"! :-)] by staying at the cutting-edge of Technology. Thus, of late, I feel that the Handycam that I own is a bit outdated, though it is only 2 years old, thanks to the tremendous speed at which SONY has advanced its Technology. So, I have been already looking for a New Model so that I can once again have the pleasure of holding the Latest & Best of SONY Handycams. I even almost locked on to SONY HDR-SR12E. But, somehow my gut feeling was saying me that SONY will surely come up with a New Model very soon, that would be a Block Buster Flagship! I have been even almost on a daily basis looking their web pages recently. And, Today, my joy knew no bounds when I saw SONY HDR-XR520V... Man, This is it, This really is it!!! The one that I have been waiting for!!! Just have a look at the Specifications... and tell me if you are still sitting on your seat! It has the BEST of EVERYTHING that anyone can imagine and still a lot MORE!!! I'm just eagerly waiting for the time it is available... and I'm Counting!!!

Muthukumar

Originally posted at