- 1920×1080 Full HD Recording w/12MP still image
- 240GB Hard Disk Drive
- 1/2.88″ 6MP back-illuminated “Exmor R” CMOS sensor
- Optical SteadyShot image stabilization w/ Active Mode
- Wide Angle G-Lens (26.3mm) with 10x Optical zoom
Product Description
Capture stunning 1920 x 1080 high-definition video and 12 Megapixel still images with the HDR-XR550V, which employs an “Exmor R” CMOS sensor for superior low-light performance and a 240GB internal hard disk drive. Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with Active Mode and 3-way Shake Canceling enables you to capture remarkably smooth video from wide angle to full telephoto shooting.
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Sale Price: $1,287.95
Total Costumer Reviews:(7)
This is not a review of the camcorder. Amazon is listing a battery to “buy together” with it but the battery does not fit it. We’ll be returning the 2 extra batteries and ordering the right ones.
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I ordered this camera in mid-April, based on Amazon’s incentive offer of a free battery pack to be included if purchased from Amazon. At that time Amazon did not note that this product would be sent by a third party. When the camera arrived, there was no battery pack. Amazon’s reply to my query? ” So sorry, we can do nothing about it, just return the camera for a refund (within four weeks of receipt).”
Amazon – ever hear of corporate responsibility? Or is your policy simply to stick buyers with whatever, and put the burden of remedy on them? What an attitude! I work at an Embassy overseas, and it takes 3-4 weeks to recive shipments. I was planning to use the camera on a holiday next week. Bottom line people – Amazon will not stand behind any camera purchases from this site. Buy direct only from a professional camera dealer.
FYI, this is the second problematic experience I’ve had with Amazon recently – a computer game I ordered via Amazon came as a blank disc. Potential buyers, you have been warned.
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Pros:
* High quality video
* High quality still photos
* Internal hard disk drive, means no switching tapes
* Can use MemoryStick Pro Duo or SD memory cards
* Manual focus knob
* Small size
Cons:
* LCD touch screen still could use improvement
* I don’t like that it turns on the moment you open the LCD panel
* No Firewire port, USB is much slower than Firewire for data transfer
* The GPS geotagging is limited to working only with the Sony software, which does NOT work with Macintosh. Geotagged photos are NOT recognized by iPhoto’s “places” feature. Sony should have used real geotagging technology, instead of their proprietary geotagging which requires their proprietary software!
* The stupid thing is Sony took the time to include a Mac version of the Product Registration but NOT the software on the disk included with this camera.
* Doesn’t include an HTMI cable, these things are cheap enough to supply one of Sony wanted to. I can buy an HTMI cable online for around $2-$3.
Overall, the video quality is good, but it leaves room for improvement.
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I bought this camera to accompany my other Sony Z1U which shoots HD on HDV tapes using the HDV compression. This camera records the newer AVCHD compression onto a 240 GB hard drive, which is absolutely awesome. Even at the highest quality setting, I could record over 1900 minutes before having to delete anything. And when you’re ready to capture, simply hook it up with USB, and your computer recognizes it as a disc. To edit the footage, you will need to convert the footage into Apple ProRes or Apple Intermediate Codec (if using a Mac, of course). Macintosh can not, at the time of writing this, edit the AVCHD footage NATIVELY (i.e. without converting it). I hear the new Final Cut 8 which is coming out soon should be able to do it. For the Windows users, I have a friend who edits ACVHD using a Pinnacle System and he doesn’t need to convert.
The quality is GREAT- actually is sharper and looks better than my Sony Z1U, which cost $5000 when I bought it 4 years ago. Go figure. I definitely recommend this camera. I bought it to experiment with the new codec and planned to return it, now I think I’m going to keep it as a second cam. I love not having to record to tape all the time. It’s so easy to capture! Get one!
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This camera has great balance of Automatic and Manual featues that integrate well. The My Menu setting lets you put all your most important manual features up front so when the Intelligent Automatic feature needs tweaking their fix is right at your fingertips.
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