Sony Handycam HDR-XR500V

Despite wearing a set of duds that looks like little has changed from last year's Handycam HDR-SR11 and HDR-SR12 twins, the HDR-XR520V and HDR-XR500V have had a massive overhaul of the underlying electronics and mechanicals. Like the cheaper HDR-XR200V, the 500-series cameras feature a new CMOS sensor. Dubbed Exmor R — no, we have no idea why you'd want more exes — this new sensor features back-illumination, in which the photo diode is placed above the metal wiring and transistors, the opposite of a conventional front-illuminated sensor. Sony claims that this improves low light performance; during our brief hands-on session with the camera, noise levels seemed lower, but we weren't able to verify if this was at the expense of sharpness or anything else.

Rearing its head for the first time on a consumer camcorder is Sony's in-house G lens, offering 12x optical zoom. Of more interest is an improved optical image stabilisation system, dubbed Optical Active SteadyShot in Sony speak, which is claimed to offer a 10-fold improvement. During our brief walk and shoot test, it produced unerringly smooth footage despite our best efforts to walk with an awkward gait and shaky palm. It will be interesting to see what level of image degradation is incurred for using this optional IS mode — according to reports and Sony staff, there's a slight loss of clarity at the edges in wide-angle mode and isn't really suitable for telephoto work.

A new standard inclusion is a GPS receiver, which allows for geotagging one's filmic masterpieces. The camera comes pre-installed with worldwide maps with major arterial routes, allowing you to browse your footage by location on camera. The XR520V comes fitted with a 240GB hard-disk, while the XR500V gets half that.

Downside
You can thank the rapid decline of our Pacific peso for the steep asking price of AU$2,499, a significant price increase from the AU$1,899 SR11, which it effectively replaces. Yes, you could argue that it debuts a whole host of new technology (active image stabilisation, new sensor design and GPS receiver) but this is the first time in a long while that a new high-end camcorder has offered more for, well, more.

The XR520V retains the 3.2-inch, 920k pixel touchscreen LCD from its predecessor, as well as its rather deceptive megapixel claim. The LCD cover screams "12.0 megapixels!", neatly ignoring the fact that its sensor has 6.6 million usable pixels, with the camera guessing or interpolating the rest.

Outlook
We're counting down the sleeps until the new Handycam range hits stores across Australia in March 2009, so we can give the XR500V a full run through its paces. Based on our hands-on first take, the XR520V and XR500V have the makings of more than worthy successors to SR12 and SR11, as well as the SR8/SR7 and SR1 before them. As long as you've got enough change that is.

source : http://www.cnet.com.au/sony-handycam-hdr-xr500v-339294752.htm