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Model
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| Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HDR-XR550V | HDR-CX505V |
| European name ? | HDR-XR550VE | HDR-CX505VE |
| US name ? | HDR-XR550V | HDR-CX500V |
| lowest US price | 960 $ | 951 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | August 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD SD MPEG2
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo
| Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2 MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 240 GB | 32 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Sony
| Sony
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 29,8 mm | 42,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/2,9 inch | 1/2,9 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 4150000 Pixel | 4150000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/10.000 | 1/1000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/6 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | | Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | | No
|
| Peaking ? | | No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| No
|
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | | No
|
| Adjustable color ? | | No
|
| Cinegamma ? | | No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | | No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | About Special Equipment
| About Special Equipment
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| No
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 510 g | 370 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 590 g | 450 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FV50
| Sony NP-FH60
|
| Battery capacity | | 1000 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 70 mm | 62 mm |
| Width | 74 mm | 65 mm |
| Depth | 143 mm | 125 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 5 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| - |
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 201600 Pixel | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 3,0 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 921000 Pixel | 230000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| No
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| No
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| No
|
Audio
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| 5.1 Internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | | No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo hard drive SDHC card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 6631000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 4000 x 3000 - Max
| 3640 x 2160 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Specials | GPS with geo-tagging functionality | -50 upscaling in playback mode - image stabilizator corrects hand rotations - GPS receiver built in
|
Product Shots
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
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| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| luminance resolution | | |
| chrominance resolution | | |
| lens distortion | | |
| test small ISO image | | |
| noise / internal microphone | | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode ? | | |
| Test image 12 lux optimized ? | | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Very good | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Good |
| Color performance ? | Good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 390 | 328 |
| Pros | + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + wide angle + Display with high resoultion
| + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + six freely configuarable display buttons
|
| Cons | - image characteristics cannot be modified - no focus or exposure assist
| - no microphone and headphone jacks + mediocre display resolution - upgradeable only with expensive and proprietary MemorySticks
|
| Conclusion | The wide angle (which shrinks a little with active image stabilization) as well as the low light performance is better than on all competing modells.But in terms of sharpness, manual control options and color reproduction the Sony is not quite on par with the class winners.The automatics work solidly in a Sony-typical way.Remarkably good is the high-resolving display, but a focus assist option is nevertheless missed when setting the focus manually. | for now, the low-light image quality rules superior in the sub 1000 Euro camcorder class.The great dynamic range when using the factory settings as well as its abandonment of moving part makes this cam interesting for independent filmmakers.On the other hand there are some features missing, there is no histogram, no zebra, no exposure time control, no sharpness helper and no image adjustment. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | HDR-XR550VE and saving on external media
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