Sony XR520V

Sony’s flagship XR520V hard drive camcorder boasts some pretty impressive features in a small, compact design. The massive 240 GB hard drive ensures you have enough free space to last your entire vacation.

The XR520V looks like every other camcorder out there. It is built for right-handed people and has a flip out LCD screen on the opposite side. The microphone is positioned on top of the camera, right above the lens.

Standout Features

• Built-in GPS Receiver
• 240 GB Hard Disk Drive
• 12.1 MP Still Image Resolution
• Full 1920 x 1080 High Definition Video Recording

Features

The Sony XR520V has a built-in GPS receiver that allows the user to Geotag their photos and videos. In addition, the GPS receiver will also automatically change the clock to the proper time zone. You can also view your current location on the LCD display and choose to play back videos based on location.

It will be hard to completely fill the entire 240 GB hard drive. The massive storage unit can hold up to 101 hours of high definition video footage in long play mode. Sony’s HDD Smart Protection helps protect the hard drive in case of sudden drops.

The XR520V uses a rather large 1/2.88 inch Exmor R CMOS sensor. This increases its low light sensitivity and improves overall image quality at any light. This sensor also allows the still camera to shoot at 12.1 megapixels. The sensor also provides enough pixels to record full 1080p high definition video. Still images can even be shot while recording video at the same time.

Audio is recorded in 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. The micro also has a built-in zoom feature, which in a sense, zooms the audio when you zoom in on a subject.

Images are viewed easily on the 3.2 inch widescreen LCD display. The display is packed with 921,000 pixels. Menu screens are navigated via a touch screen interface built-into the panel.

Summary of Reviews

The experts liked the face detection feature found on the Sony XR520V. The camera seeks out the faces in the picture and puts a white box around them just to let you know it’s doing its job. The GPS geotagging option was a neat feature that automatically tagged each shot with precise coordinates.

Users found the XR520V easy to use. Sometimes the camera would take too many pictures on face detection mode. The users also found the GPS feature fun and easy to use. Users would liked to have seen 1080p included on the camera, however, the camera does record at 60 frames per second which Sony says gives a smoother image than 1080p at 30 frames per second.

Summary

The Sony XR520V combines advanced features into a stylishly compact design. The camera is easy to use and provides excellent picture quality.