Sony HDR-CX350V 32GB High Definition Handycam Camcorder
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The picture quality is great but it’s useless because the camera doesn’t connect to iMovie on a Mac OS X 10.5. It doesn’t connect to Movie Maker on a Windows XP computer either. The only way to get video off is through the proprietary Sony software, which only comes for Windows; there is no version for Macs. Once you’ve exported the video from the camera into the Sony application, you have to export it out as mpg or wmv file before you can use it in iMovie/Movie Maker. A real flaw.
Rating: 1 / 5
Just a quick note that the newer 2010 equivalent of the CX500V is the CX550V, not the CX350V. The sensor size alone tells us that, as do a number of forum conversations about the 2010 lineup. That’s not a knock on the 350, it’s just a clarification.
My rating is coincidental, I can’t post this note without it. I have a CX500V and expect this camcorder would perform well in its class.
Rating: 5 / 5
I played with this camera in a local store along with the Canon Vixia lines. I decided to go with this one for the following reasons:
- Does SD video, the Canon only can do HD, may not be used alot but if you are not ready to start with HD because you do not have a fast PC it creates a path to get to HD.
- Steady shot and fast focus work very well, you will want to stick to the optical zoom, I found the 177x digital zoom adds a lot of noise to the video.
- It includes software to burn your videos to disc, the Canon cameras do not.
-Small size, I just drop it into my camera bag, It is smaller than a can of soda. I have DSLR lenses that are smaller size than this camera.
-Many options, such as video format, exposure, wide-tele lens, zoom mic., but is also easy to use on the basic settings and takes very good video on the basic settings.
- Very good low light video and many manual settings.
-32gb built-in memory, can store 4hrs of the best video for blue-ray! or use to 13 hrs of dvd quality!
Cons:
-Expensive, considering there are cameras in the $300-400 range that have similar features, this one performs much better.
-GPS – while neat, could be left off as I do not see a lot of benefit, and also uses battery faster, still kinda of neat.
-Expensive batteries – you can expect to pay about $70 US to get another battery, but they last about 2 hrs of continuous use.
-No optical viewfinder, this would be a nice addition especially in very bright sunlight, but the built-in screen is still very bright.
I would recommend this camera from the quality video and easy to use features, it should last many years providing both excellent video and also great still photos. You should also be aware this either requires a fast PC with DVD or blue-ray burner, or Sony makes a burner station that this camera plugs into that will burn discs directly, no pc needed. I don’t think many people would be unsatisfied with this camera.
Rating: 5 / 5
After trying to decide between mid-priced Canon Vixia and Sony HD models, I settled on this one first and foremost because it has a wide angle (27mm for stills and 29mm for video)lens. I have tried low-quality screw-on attachment lenses on camcorders in the past and they always distort the image. This is a fantastic lens and gives you all the benefits of wide shooting without accessories (cheap or otherwise). What’s more, when I do want to use the wide angle attachment, I get a very wide fisheye!
So far, I have been very satisfied with the image quality, features, and performance of the camera, but I have only used it for about 24 hours so I will have to update soon.
But if you are torn between camcorders, consider the lens on this one if (like me) wide angle is important to your shooting.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’m going to be short and to the point here. I need a camcorder for the type of business I run so image quality is very important to me. When watching the videos back on an HDTV, the quality is absolutely amazing to me. The Handycam has come a long way! I did a test video outside at night with only the street lamps to light the environment. I was totally floored when I imported it on to my computer to realize that there was very minimal grain. When shooting outdoors during the day, the sensor does an amazing job of automatically adjusting the exposure depending on your orientation with the sun.
I cannot complain about the camera itself, but be warned that finding a program to edit and convert and compress your avchd files (the format the camera outputs to) can be challenging. Since this is a review on the camera and not the software, I will not let this factor into my five star rating. But you do need to consider this if video editing is as important to you as it is in my case. I’ve tried Window 7 Movie Maker and Pinnacle Studio HD and they both have their flaws. W7MM is a terribly unfriendly program to try and edit with using any creativity whatsoever, and Pinnacle has a little problem with dropping the frame rate when converting into WMV format.
In short, camera = excellent, avchd = maddening.
EDIT – If you desire to edit the AVCHD files much like you could with the old Windows Movie Maker for XP, the Pinnacle Studio HD is what you need. By far the best program I’ve found, but you need a pretty powerful system to handle it. If you have this program, editing is no longer an issue.
Rating: 5 / 5