Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 2.6 x 3 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0031RGL1G
• Item model number: HDR-CX550V
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,819 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 6, 2010

Product Description

Capture stunning 1920 x 1080 high-definition video and 12 Megapixel still images with the HDR-CX550V, which employs an "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for superior low-light performance and 64GB of embedded flash memory. 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

138 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't overlook this Sony!, March 26, 2010

By 

Po "pofoto" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Electronics)

Okay, so I'm about to be a dad due April 12th, and while I was looking for a camcorder wide enough for the delivery room, I was struggling with the Canon VIXIA HF-S21 that is due to be released on April 15th. However, let me state the highlights of the Sony HDR-CX550V which swayed my decision why I went for the Sony to suit my own preference:

Compact and Lightweight (something my wife wants over holding my Canon 5D2 and lenses)
Wide Angle 26.3mm Photo
Wide Angle 29.8 mm Video to 298mm (On the Canon it is 35mm equivalent 43.5-435mm which is longer)
12 Mega Pixels still images
10x Optical Zoom
Stabilization which works really well
Takes both SD-HC (this is great) and Sony memory sticks (I don't use them)
Built-in 64GB Flash memory.
Excellent low light shooting
Includes GPS geotagging (which I haven't used yet, I keep it turned off for now)
3.5" LCD (921K)
Dolby Digital 5.1ch recording with Built-in Zoom Mic, which I haven't really tested to say how good the results really are, but off-the-bat the results are very acceptable.

It is also very easy to set up and operate, not a lot of digging for menus to get it recording right! You simply either swing open the LCD or pull out the viewfinder (having one is plus for me) and it turns on and after a few second, you can hit the record button. Vice-versa to turn-off.

Shoots in HD and records in 1080/60i and this equates to it being 24p or 30p via software when editing, this is argued extensively on forums, but the HDR-CX550V does not let you specify, which may be a good or bad thing depending on your own preferences. Having said that don't let the 1080/60i put you off, since this is the same with all other camcorders I have seen including professional camcorders. The 24p or 30p on the Canon HF-S21 also records at 60i.

I think ultimately making a choice on either the Sony or the Canon, you won't be disappointed, however, to me the main highlights are that this is a very compact camcorder with excellent touch screen (this one works!) and shoots wide to long instead of normal to long, and has excellent low light results as well as support for SD-HC flash media and a wonderfully sized LCD display.

I ended up buying the BC-TRV Travel charger and the NP-FV100 battery, although is larger than the supplied battery it is still small enough that it shouldn't bother you when you require the extra juice for extended shooting which is about 15 hours at High-quality HD mode.

Image results are great for such a small system, very satisfied.

Update: April 12, 2011.
***********************
Okay first off, apologies to all those that asked questions in the comments. Unfortunately I don't have the time to go over each question, but here is a short feedback after a year of use towards my personal usage and preferences. I don't shoot in extreme circumstances, such as a heavy metal rock concert or middle of a field with no lighting what-so-ever! I have shot in noisy market streets, and noisy restaurants to dimly lit rooms with no extra accessories.

Okay, this time I was able to shoot my son's first birthday party a couple of days ago. A month or so ago, a couple of weddings. A short trip to Asia. So here are the highlights:

Menu continues to be simple to use.
The camera stability feature still works extremely well hand held. Just don't expect miracles if your hands happen to be the exact opposite!

A whole day and evening banquet(Not continuous) for a wedding shoot, the extra battery and internal memory provided enough juice and storage needs.

HD quality is above average at best and that's good enough for me, now do understand this, I don't believe any home camcorder can perform beyond much past this point to date. So do understand the satisfaction level this will provide you. Yes it is short of a prime lens mounted on a DSLR like the 5D Mark II shooting video, and is costing so much less and much easier to operate as well.

The camera continues to be so simple to use, that you flip open the screen to turn it on, press the record button to start recording (duh!) and press again to stop, and flip close the screen to turn it off. This alone can give both me confidence and whoever I pass the camcorder to that they will do a satisfactory job (no experience needed)! With the exception, do tell them not to shoot portrait orientation :P Camcorders don't work that way!

Color Saturation level could be a little more vivid and the backlighting response with regards to white balancing are the only improvements I can think of for video quality. Neither of which are bad, just feels average. Physically, the size is small and lightweight. Only other thing is the top hot-shoe (I don't own any accessories), but did try to mount a 3rd party LED light, but couldn't, because the hot shoe is recessed into it's own slide-away compartment, it was too small to slide my LED light.

I continue to shoot stills with my DSLRs, so I cannot comment on the stills from this camcorder.

My original rating stands, the camcorder has been reliable but well looked after (It still looks like new for the amount of times I have used it), I have used it often, lent it out, played back and recorded. I love what this camcorder gives me for the money in both video quality and sound. I hope this helps that little bit more.

90 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A camera for MAC users - the Sony HDR-CX550V, April 27, 2010

By 

Ryberg (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Electronics)

After comparing many camcorders and recording technologies I picked this camcorder for the following reasons:

1. I decided on flash memory because you do not have the sound of a tape drive or a hard drive and the camera is more compact. 64GB gives you hours of recording time without the need to change miniDV tapes or buying extra memory cards. Copying the highly compressed video files to a MAC or PC takes minutes for hours of video. Compare this to miniDV tapes - hour for hour.

2. Quality low light performance is great on this model and far exceeds my old Sony HC-1.

3. This camcorder has a wider angle lens than most camcorders which to me is more desirable. The drawback is that such a 10x lens cannot zoom in as close which is fine unless you go on a safari.

4. The image stabilization is phenomenal. You could have a tremor and the picture is rock solid. You can walk with the camera and the picture is smooth. If you make a sudden movement you can see the picture lag and move less abruptly.

5. The touch screen menus take some exploring. You can customize "My settings" with buttons you wish to have at your finger tips. The only wish I have would be another recording button for one handed operation when you do not use the wrist strap.

Best accessory: the under water housing

7. Finally, this camcorder works great with MACs. Image Capture and iMovie recognize the camcorder and you can work with these applications as usual. Final Cut Pro works equally well, but instead of Log and Capture you have to use Log and Transfer (Shift Cmd 8)

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Satisfied Mac and Sony Owner, October 10, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Electronics)

I purchased the very first consumer HD video camcorder that Sony introduced back in 2005, the HC1. It was a beautiful well-built camcorder that I never thought I would end up parting with.

The problem with the original HC1 camcorder was that it was tape based and it didn't reproduce great images in low light situations.

I do a lot of video work for trade shows throughout the year. My job is to go out and videotape vendors and their products. I often work under low-light conditions and I do all my editing on a Macbook Pro. The editing process has always been somewhat tedious due to the fact that I had to transfer all the tape footage to the Mac in real time. Tape an hour of footage -- expect an
hour to transfer it.

I really needed to upgrade my camcorder to one that was better in low light and would transfer faster to my Mac.

For the past two years I was hesitant to upgrade to a newer camcorder. There were horror stories about how AVCHD camcorders interacted with Macs. Still, every time I had to transfer footage from my tape based camcorder I found myself cursing under my breathe. I felt it was time to take the risk and upgrade to AVCHD.

All in all, I think the upgrade was a good choice.

Compared to the Sony HC1 the CX550V feels like a toy. It's certainly smaller and extremely more lightweight than its predecessor. However, the tradeoff is that it feels like a plastic toy.

The one thing you immediately admire about this camcorder is the beautiful 3.5 LCD screen which is vivid and vibrant. It's a real treat being able to watch your live recording on this gorgeous screen that holds up well in bright light conditions.

The menu system, however, is not the most intuitive to understand. You really have to dig through layers of menus to find things. As with everything else, the more I used the menu the easier it became to find everything. Just was never especially keen of touch menu screens. It gathers fingerprints rather quickly. A dial and button would have been a better choice.

This camcorder has built-in 64GB flash memory as well as the ability to take SVCHD and Sony memory cards which really expands upon the amount of storage options you have here.

The overall quality of HD recording you get from this camera is excellent. You get well detailed video reproduction with vibrant, natural colors. Image stabilization works exceedingly well. In low-light this camcorder really exceeds its predecessor, the HC1. There is far less noise introduced into the picture and much more detail to be seen. It's really astounding to see the quality of video this camcorder reproduces which rivals that of broadcast. Although I was disappointed that companies are still not incorporating 3CCD chips into camcorders at this price range the gap seems to be closing between consumer and prosumer camcorders as far as the quality of video is concerned. I can see how well consumer HD camcorder technology has evolved in the past 5 years.

The wide angle video lens on this camcorder is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I love the fact that I have the ability to capture a wider range of video. The downside is Sony switching from its gold standard Carl Zeiss to its G lens. Hard to say how much the video quality is effected though I have read reviews by more discerning critics who say video quality is somewhat compromised by the change. Compared to my 5-year-old HC1 I find the video quality to be superior here, though one has to question if its the lens or the overall evolution of the technology itself. I will say that I'm not particularly happy about Sony dumbing down to 10x optical zoom in a flagship camcorder like this.

The battery that comes with this camcorder will not get you more than an hour of footage. I purchased the NPFV70 battery instead of going with the larger NPFV100 which adds too much bulk and weight to the camera. I did notice that there is quite a heavy drain on the battery. I believe I only got under 4 hours of LCD viewed recording with the NPFV70. Also, found that unless the battery is totally recharged you will get a false reading on battery power remaining time. The camcorder went from indicating 2 hours to 10 minutes in mere moments. Have not had enough time to see if this a consistent problem with battery indication feature or perhaps the fact I did not have time to totally recharge the battery. I will say that I read on a discussion forum of another Sony CX550V owner having the same battery indication issues. As I noted, I think the NPFV100 is just too heavy and bulky. Buy two NPFV70 batteries for long days of recording just to be safe.

The camcorder does include a 12 megapixel still camera which I totally have no use for since I usually carry around a DSLR on my other shoulder. Another feature I don't necessarily personally find useful is the built-in GPS. However, for those that take a lot of footage and forget the finer details of where it was taken, I can see how this feature might remotely be useful. Oh, and speaking of shoulder, this camcorder lacks the inclusion of a shoulder strap (and perhaps even the necessary brackets to accommodate one), making you rely on the hand strap instead.

As far as working with a Mac....

I own a Macbook Pro 2.8 GHz Duo core 4GB Ram.

Using iMovie '09 I plugged the CX550V into the USB port. iMovie immediately recognized it. Brought up all the segments I shot with checkboxes beneath them to indicate which ones I wanted to transfer over. Fortunately, all the clips were full-length. I heard other camcorders split everything up into 1-2 minute segments. Fortunately, if I took 10 minutes of footage, that was the length of the clip being transferred.

My hopes were that the overall transfer time of AVCHD would be faster than TAPE. In reality, it could have been, if not for the fact that iMovie takes the AVCHD footage and then converts it into its own Apple Codec. This takes additional time. Overall, I would say that AVCHD to iMovie is faster than real-time tape, however on my Macbook only marginally. I expect once I move up to an i7 Macbook Pro the transfer speed will be even faster.

The point I am making here is that this camcorder does play very nice with Macs. Even on my Duo Core Macbook which is now considered outdated technology, there was no sense of extreme resource hogging during the transfer.

You will lose 5.1 sound with the Mac transfer as from what I understand, iMove '09 does not support it. I also understand that any footage taken with image stabilization may cause conflicts with video processing. For that reason I have chosen not to use image stabilization whenever I want to work with iMovie.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the Sony CX550V. Compared to their first HC1 camcorder one can certainly say they don't build these things like they used to. However, one must admire that 5 years since, Sony has been able to manufacturer lighter and smaller consumer camcorders with improved video and low light performance.