Customer Reviews

Sony HDR-CX550V 64GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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)

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.

I had a Canon HFS200. I returned it. Great overal camcorder, but one deal killer. No wide angle lens. I was constantly backing up, and telling my kids to back up, so I could get them in the frame, and I still missed a bunch of shots. With the Canon, a wide angle adapter would have been an essential tool, and I just wasn't willing to incur the extra expense and weight.

I looked at the Panasonic TM700 as an alternative. I was intrigued, but right or wrong, the fan noise issue scared me off (see reviews), as well as the fact that the files are apparently difficult to edit (also see reviews). I know that there are many people that swear the fan noise is no big deal, and swear that you can work with the files, and swear that the Panasonic is the best camcorder on the market, but.....

I opted to go with the Sony primarily because of the wide angle lens. The Sony has the equivalent of a 29mm wide angle, the Panasonic was 35mm, and the Canon was 43mm. Since alot of the video I shoot is of the family, inside my house, I wanted the widest angle possible. Right now, the Sony is it.

Things that I like about the Sony:

-Wide angle lens....probably the #1 reason to buy this camcorder
-Excellent picture quality
-Excellent low light capability in general, with 2 additional low light modes (night mode and low lux mode)
-Excellent stabilization....nice for shooting walk around videos
-Large (3.5"), bright, high image quality LCD
-EVF (not the best, but at least there is one, which is important if you are shooting outdoors in bright sun)
-Nice menu system....like the look and feel much better than the Canon HFS200. (This is probably more of a personal preference)
-Nice ergonomics....feels good in your hands (at least for me and I have large hands)
-64gb flash memory.....unless you shoot several hours of video a day, and shoot for days on end without downloading to your computer, you should be able to get by without ever having to use SD cards (unless of course you want to).
-Easy to get files out of the camcorder and into your computer for editing with the supplied Sony software.

Things I don't like about the Sony:

-Only 10x zoom.....15x would have been nice. Heck, even 12x would have been better than 10x.
-The wide angle is a blessing and a curse. Wide open it is excellent in virtually all lighting situations. Zoomed in, in even moderately low light situations, you lose ALOT of light, and the zoom becomes essentially unuseable since the images become VERY dark. For me, this is a minor tradeoff. I just know not to zoom in very much in low light situations. Not a big deal for me, but it might be for you.
- No wind screen. Outdoor videos in moderate wind produce a noticeable sound. I'm planning to buy an aftermarket wind guard myself for about $20, so I'm not anticipating that this will be a major problem for me.
-Supplied Sony software is great for getting the video out of the camcorder and into the computer, but that's about it. Strongly suggest you use a separate editing program. I use Cyberlink PowerDirector and am having good results with the video that I've shot with the Sony. There are many other editing programs, but that is for another review.
-Price.....prices flucuate dramatically, but generally The Sony doesn't stray from around $1000-$1050 anywhere. I've seen the Panasonic and the Canon pop into the mid to high $700's here on Amazon, so on any give day the Sony can be about $200-$250 more than either of them. That's a pretty substantial price premium (around 20%), so if you're on a budget, or if you don't really care about the wide angle lens of the Sony, this may not be the camcorder for you.
-I would say the Photo quality is good to very good, but not excellent. In my opinion, the photos that came out of the Canon were noticably better. If you are looking to carry only one piece of equipment for videos and photos, just something to consider. Personally, I don't plan on taking very many photos with my camcorder. The ones I did shoot with the Sony, with a little editing in Photshop Elements, were fine.

Overall, I am really liking my new camcorder. I didn't give it a 5 star rating for the negatives noted above, but definitely a solid 4 star. Again, Canon and Panasonic produce some excellent camcorders, so the main reason to buy the Sony in my opinion is the wide angle lens. That is by far the most distinguishing characterstic. To me, it has made a HUGE difference. Coupled with the fact that overall video quality is excellent in all lighting conditions, excellent stabilization, and the files are easy to edit on your computer, I would highly recommend this camcorder.

Note: In other reviews, you may see people mentioning confusion because 3 files are generated when you download the video to your computer (.m2ts, .modd, .moff). I was confused myself until I researched it. I can safely tell you to ignore the confusion. The m2ts is the file that contains the video and the audio, and is easily handled by any of the current crop of video editing software. The other 2 files are nothing but marker files used by the Sony software to keep track of the video clips in the organizer, and store data about the clips. If you re not planning on using the Sony software to organize and edit your videos, then you do not need to concern yourself at all with these files. Even if you are, they have absolutely nothing to do with the video and audio itself, and thus you will never need to do anything with them.

I'll save the long winded review since so much has been said. It came down to two cameras for me the Panasonic 770 and the Sony 550. I had a chance to compare the two and the Sony won out because:

1. Wider Angle Lens - the Panasonic was going to require a wide angle addition ($25 - $75),
2. Storage - the Panasonic was going to require a 32Gb card to match the Sony storage ($35 - $75),
3. Fan Noise - I found the Panasonic was picking up too much fan noise for my taste - using gain control in manual I was able to reduce the fan noise to nearly inaudible, but it was going to require I use the camera in manual all the time...not an option.
4. Underwater Housing - I had a housing from a past Sony camcorder, which despite the housing kit stating it was for an earlier version, it works just fine. Its not a frequently used accessory, but boy does it make for some cool shots. The reason it works is becuase the new camcorders still use the Sony "half moon" shaped connector which allows the housing to control the camera in this case.
5. Smart Doors - the 550 doors (the things that cover the charge port, mic port, etc.) slide neatly out of the way - most other camcorders have doors that dandle on a plastic hinge. Its not a huge thing, but its nice to have the camera look and feel tidy when plugging in accessories.

Add all this up, and I think you get something close to your moneys worth for the more expensive Sony.

I will give slightly better marks to Panasonic for color - the colors seemed more vivid on the Panasonic. Sony's colors seem real, but maybe a touch muted - not enough to really matter for me though.

Low light performance - In darker settings I liked the Sony...using just two CF bulbs in lamps, I can easily film, producing a picture that looks natural and well lit. White balance has been perfect so far.

Quick Update (12/22/2010) - Camera is still going strong and I am loving it. Its been one of the most satisfying electronic purchases in a while. I have been using it with Final Cut Express on my Mac, and editing has been pretty easy -- would help if I knew Final Cut a bit better, but I am learning fast now that video is SOOOOO much easier to import without having to transfer from a tape.

This has been a very interesting process. I finally decided to get a camcorder after a couple of years of research and a couple of projects working overseas with pros. Those guys were getting amazing results using older consumer cameras- thought I'd get into it.

This review will hit on some issues that have been overlooked in other reviews I've seen. Others have reviewed the photographic aspects of these camcorders quite well already.

As I shopped for a camcorder, top priority was an Electronic View Finder (EVF). This important feature only comes on top-of-the-line models and eliminated most camcorders from consideration. I chose to test and compare the Panasonic HDC-TM700 and the Sony HDR-CX550 side by side.

In the process, I discovered that the Sony HXR-MC50u appears to be the exact same camcorder as the CX550- but comes with a proper lens hood and a zoom mic. It's crazy that the same lens hood isn't offered as an accessory for the 550!!

First I got the Panasonic TM700. Nice camera! I'd list it's faults as:
*No Standard Def mode
*Poor to Lousy EVF Resolution
*A body RATTLE- the manual says this is normal!!!
*Must remove battery to plug in power supply
*Small LCD screen
*Mode Knob not ergonomically located, bump-able
*Rubber flaps covering Mic/Headphone and Accessory Shoe will no doubt break off someday.
*No decent editing software for 1080/60P video (their software allows you to convert to MPEG2)
*Most computers will have a hard time even simply playing 1080/60P video-buy new computer!

It's good points
*Superb top res video quality
*Small size, comfortable to use
*Lower Price

After a week of using the Panny, the Sony HDR-CX550V arrived. Another very nice camcorder.

The Sony CX550/MC50 faults:
*GPS? Sony why did you bother? This is a camcorder, not a routefinder!!!! A waste of money, space and effort.
*EVF is small field, mainly good for aiming the camera. EVF diaopter adjuster very hard to use
*Built-in Mic appears to have problems with right-channel bias, changes when zoom is used.
*Poor design of lens barrel- uses small 37mm filter diameter with flash OUTSIDE of threads. Previous reviewer notes to use adapter ring to 52mm, then lens hood, but this (and Sony's own lens hood on the MC50) both block the flash.
*Doors on A/V R and DC IN are weak and obviously may break off

550 Good points:
*EFV decent resolution
*Standard Def Mode
*Very wide angle lens
*DC power could be used while recording
*No rattles!
*64gb storage means I'll never need an SD card
*Much better hand strap than Panny
*Night shot mode is a sweet bonus
*Big, high res LCD screen
*Nice slider doors cover Accessory Shoe, Mic/headphone, HDMI, SD card access. Too bad about the weak hinged plastic doors on A/V and DC as noted above.

The Sony is marginally bigger than the Panasonic. The weight is so close to the same as to not matter.

The Panasonic suffers a bit from fan noise. Users in very quiet environments will may be bothered by it.

The 550 should ship with the bigger NP-FV70 battery. The dinky FV50 is all but useless.

I discovered that Standard Definition mode is still necessary in the real world. Much of what I shoot are "utility videos" -more to preserve the content than create a visual work-of-art. Examples would include lectures, interviews, classroom settings, meetings... where several people will look at it just one time for the information. Standard Def is easier to work with, everyone can play it easily, doesn't take up much data space.

The better view finder, Standard Definition Mode, and ability to plug in DC power weigh in favor of the Sony. The Night mode is a big bonus for my applications. I will be adding:
Telephoto adapter
Extra battery and maybe a separate charger
Lens hood, adapter and filters
Accessory Shoe Adapter
Video light(s)

I already have a big collection of mono and stereo microphones and headphones for various applications.

Built in viewfinder, high amount of internal memory, large high resolution flip out screen, and extremely sharp accurate color balanced video are positives. Location of still picture button and high price are negatives. .

Combination of built in color viewfinder and 64 Gb of internal memory made the CX550V a logical choice for me. I prefer using a viewfinder when outside in bright light and there were not many other camcorders on the market with viewfinders other than much more expensive and bulky pro level units. Also high on my wish list was having enough storage capacity for a full vacation. Combination of large internal flash memory and ability to store extra on SDHC cards fit the bill. With a 32 Gb SDHC card in addition to internal memory I should have 9 hours of recording capacity even at the highest resolution. At FH setting (17 Mb/sec vs. 24 Mb/sec) there is 11 hour 25 minutes recording capacity with the SDHC card and internal memory.

Effective street price was about 15% less expensive than Canon HF S21 I also considered. While the CX550V does not have Canon's unique dual SDHC card slots, otherwise they seemed quite similar. At least now Sony is providing the option of SDHC cards rather than only their own more expensive memory chips. The camcorder cost savings helped finance some accessories. Nevertheless it is disappointing that there are not less expensive options for those who feel that an eye level viewfinder is important. Anyone who shoots outside in bright light should consider the viewfinder important.

Videos are extremely detailed - at least equal in both sharpness and detail compared to the highest resolution of what is on cable and more detailed than most. Also, results have been comparable in sharpness to most commercial Blu-ray discs. Color also seems well saturated and natural. Skin tones, in particular, are very natural with default color balance settings. The iAuto setting seems to do a very intuitive job of keeping focus and exposure adjusted quickly and correctly for most video. SteadyShot function also does a very effective job of smoothing out video when hand holding the camcorder while shooting.

The 3.5" flip out LCD provides a large, very sharp view. The touch screen simplifies the amount of buttons, but the menu list requires a lot of scrolling to get to some functions. Fingerprints can build up quickly. I was concerned about cleaning the LCD because it is touch sensitive, but there is a power button that will shut off the LCD while cleaning it so that no settings will be inadvertently changed.

The color eye level viewfinder provides a bright image regardless of outside light conditions. It should also provide slightly better battery life than when using the flip out screen. Pulling out the viewfinder turns on the camcorder. It would be nice if the viewfinder pulled out farther than it does when using a larger than standard, long life battery. Compared to my previous camcorder that had a black and white viewfinder, the image seems smaller and more distant. Viewfinder image is also not as bright as my previous camcorder. Still the viewfinder offers a solid alternate to a washed out view on the LCD screen when taking video in bright sunlight.

The built in GPS seems more of a novelty than something all that much useful. However one potential benefit is automatic adjustment of time zone so that video is tagged with the proper date and time for local location. Otherwise, location tagging is only available while video is in camera or when using the included PMB software. The operating manual indicates there is a CX550 model that would appear to not include GPS, but that model does not seem available in the states. It could have provided a more economical alternate to those who wanted the primary features of this camcorder. Given a choice, I would rather have a viewfinder than the GPS feature.

PMB software that comes with the camcorder is useful for moving video from the camcorder to a computer, but otherwise is lame compared to most commercial HD video authoring software available.

One of the few things I do not like about the physical design is the location of the still picture button. It is too close to the zoom control. It is not locked out when taking videos, except when shooting at the highest 24 Mb/sec recording setting. While that can permit taking stills while shooting video, inadvertently pressing the button that can easily happen will create an unwanted picture. That has already happened many times while shooting, but perhaps in time my finger will remember the zoom button location. I would also prefer for camcorders to ship without a battery included, giving the buyer a choice of a longer life battery without paying for one that will seldom be used.

While there are a couple of things I might like to change, the features and spectacular video make this camcorder a worthwhile choice for anyone willing to consider buying one in a flagship price range.

The HDR-CX550V is a useful improvement with a significantly wider angle lens than the previous 500/520 version from 2009. It is as if you put a 0.7x wide adaptor on the lens of the earlier version, which is a very welcome feature. The zoom is now 10x instead of 12x, but for indoor use I had little use for the long end of the zoom. (However, people shooting wildlife may want a tele-adaptor.)

If you record outdoors with the sun in or near the frame edge, and you are at full-wide or within 5% of the zoom range of full wide, you may observe a surprisingly bright, sharp "blue dot" (search YouTube for examples) which is unlike the typical and expected circular or iris-shaped lens flares I've seen in 12 years of serious amateur photo/video, and 4 years of professional video and photography work. Some users cannot reproduce the phenomenon. Individual users may or may not find this a concern; check the examples online to see if it bothers you. I would expect the appropriate sized lens hood to prevent the problem if the sun or light is far enough out of the frame, although a hood cannot help if the sun is in-frame.

The Sony CX550V 64GB camcorder has a compact form factor and good build quality. The EVF could be bigger with a rubber eyeguard to shield off ambient light. The LCD does not work well in bright sunlight. However, there are two shortcomings that require a customer workaround.

1. Focused lens flare appears as a blue dot when shooting against a bright sky at the widest zoom. I have posted a workaround on YouTube:

[...]

2. The camera does not come with a wind cut feature. The wind noise can be instrusive when recording on a breezy day. Using a DIY windscreen made from the acoustic foam of a Shure A58WS can significantly reduced the wind noise. This workaround is posted on YouTube:

[...]

All consumer camcorders has some shortcomings in one way or another, at least there are easy workarounds to bypass the Sony's limitations.

eagle3x8

Best overall Camcorder in its class. Most bang for Buck

The best features, ranked in order of what I thought was best for my needs.
1. The wide angle lens (29.8-298mm).
2. large 3.5 inch screen
3. Very good Low Light / IR Night Mode
4. 64 GB Flash Memory
5. EVF at high quality
6. 5.1 Stereo Mic

Features I wished the Sony had:
1. 8 or 12 Megapixel CMOS instead of the 6 Megapixel. HD still looks amazing though
2. 12x or 15x zoom I like the wide angle more so not a big deal to give up big zooms.
3. No wind screen
4. Dont find GPS useful

I was looking for a camera that had the most features, for the best price. I ended up looking at Panasonic HDC-TM700, Canon Vixia HF S20 and Sony HDR-CX550V. I actually went to a store that had all 3 models so I could compare.

All were around $1000-1100 in price, but I found the Sony to be the most comfortable, and had the best overall features. The features that sold me on the Sony was the wide angle lens (29.8-298mm), the good low light/night shot IR mode, 3.5 inch screen, 64 GB Flash memory, EVF, and Comfort in my hand.

Zoom/Lens
The Canon has a 43-435mm zoom, not wide enough for my taste, but good zoom for distance. Anything beyond 200mm does not interest me as I am rarely that far away to make that matter.

Touch Screen / EVF
The large 3.5 inch screen was amazing, sharp and easy to use for my fat fingers, compared to the Panasonic and Canon. Panasonic being the worst of the 3 for size, and the Canon touch screen was hard to use I thought.
EVF is a must, Panasonic had it but the Sony looked sharper and cleaner. Canon only has it on the S21 model for $300 more

Low Light
I tested the low light option by having the sales guy take all 3 cameras into a back stock room and shut off the lights, then recorded some footage, then turned on my cell phone as a low light source in the room, and shot some more footage. The Sony did the best overall with this test. Sharp clear well lit images compared to the other two, but the Panasonic did a decent job as well.
Autofocus was great on the Sony, and image stabilization worked better than I expected.

I cannot speak to the quality of the pictures from the Canon/Panasonic on my home TV, but on a 42" HDTV the Sony playback looks amazing. Sharp, clean, and clear.

Audio
I also liked the 5.1 audio, which the Panasonic had, but Canon did not. Outside the Sony does pickup wind if it is a particularly windy day (20+mph winds) The Panasonic seems to have a wind screen feature that the Sony Lacks.

Optical SteadyShot image stabilization w/ Active Mode

Storage
64GB on the Sony, 32 on the Panasonic and 32 for Canon unless you go with the HF S21 but that model is $300 more, and not worth that price for only 32 more GB and nothing else that I could see.

All of them take still photos while recording, which is also nice.

To re-cap, I went with the Sony cx550V because in every category that I could see, Sony tied or exceeded the other camcorders in the same price range. And my number one feature was the extra wide angle lens and built in light and night mode ability. For me these are most important. 64GB is more than enough, but I have a 8gb backup chip in the camcorder. It was the most comfortable in my hand as well, and feels like a solid camera. Hope this review helps you out, as you will not be disappointed with the Sony CX550V if you have ~$1100 or so to spend.