Sony DCR-DVD505 Camcorder Review

The Easy mode button is located on the left side of the camcorder. When activated, it will restructure the formerly overwhelming touch screen menu into a five button, one page menu that provides access only to still media, clock set, finalize, beep and format. All other menu options for image and camera alterations are no longer accessible.

By contrast, the standard auto mode will grant a limited amount of manual control, though users can still shoot in this mode without making any adjustments. It is possible to make manual adjustments to white balance, exposure, focus and zoom through options located within the touch screen’s P-menu. The auto controls reacted positively in general, with the 5.9mm CMOS chip allowing quick changes to exposure and focus levels.

There are two spot mode options with the Sony DCR-DVD505, spot focus and spot metering, accessed via submenus located within the P-menu when shooting in the standard mode. When these options are engaged, the user can touch the area of the LCD where adjustments should occur. While these options performed well in situations where there were only two or three simple variables, the camcorder struggled with complicated situations where a variety of subjects in close proximity to one another caused incorrect or entirely absent metering. Although certainly offered a better performance when compared to the results achieved with the 2.7-inch LCDs of other Sony camcorders, the 3.5-inch screen still wasn’t large enough to provide accurate measuring most of the time.

The Sony DCR-DVD505 does have some preset shooting mode options which can be entered by pressing the P-menu and scrolling until the program AE submenu is selected. The program AE modes will give point-and-shoot users who are acquainted with menu navigation but are still uncomfortable with manual shooting an in-between ground. These general shooting modes will tailor the camcorder’s image parameters to react more specifically to certain scenes, which supposedly makes for better footage than if the scenes were captured in basic auto mode. The program AE modes on this camcorder are limited compared to models sold by Canon or Panasonic, and users can only select from Spotlight, Portrait, Beach & Ski, Sunset & Moon and Landscape options.

Overall Manual Control (3.0)
The manual controls for the Sony DCR-DVD505 are a limited group of options that will leave the manual control enthusiast hungry for a DVD camcorder from Panasonic. This emphasis on the auto control on Sony camcorders in lower price ranges isn’t surprising; however, it does come as a surprise when the initial MSRP of $1099.99 is taken into consideration. With a price like this it would seem appropriate for Sony to at least include control options for shutter speed or aperture.

Menus for the manual controls are entered by pressing the P-menu insignia in the lower right corner of the LCD when the camcorder is not in Easy mode. The P-menu is three pages in length with an illogical structure and incomplete offerings that are displayed as opaque rectangular buttons on a live view screen. To ameliorate this problem, the user of the DCR-DVD505 will have to personally restructure the menu with the available tools. This task is tolerable for the savvy camcorder user, but it will quickly overwhelm anyone with less knowledge or little patience.

The default P-menu has access to the following controls: setup, finalize, still media, smooth slow record, surround monitor, exposure, spot focus, fader, spot meter, focus, program AE, format, unfinalize, microphone record level, color slow shutter, beep, language and P-menu setup, all in that order. Think about it and you’ll realize that the order of these features makes absolutely no sense. Even if all the controls needed for quick shooting are located within this menu, most users will find it necessary to restructure the menu just to be able to make timely adjustments.

Not all manual controls are listed in the P-menu, and this is where things become even more problematic. The manual controls are actually listed in the administrative menu, entered through the setup button on the first page of the P-menu. White balance must be accessed this way, for example. Once in the setup or administrative menu the list of options must be controlled until the appropriate submenu is selected. In this case the submenu is “Camera Set.”

Those movements are both needlessly time-consuming and fairly overwhelming. If this is a DVD camcorder for the point-and-shoot market, the placement of the white balance control within this labyrinth is sure to permanently keep timid users shooting in only the most basic of shooting setups. This is unfortunate; manual white balance can dramatically improve camcorder accuracy and image quality. To moving this feature in-menu to a more convenient place, users must enter the P-menu, select the P-menu set up and finish with the add button. At this point, the overarching administrative menu will be entered and the menu sorted, now with the white balance option. This seems absurd. How about providing manual controls in the P-menu from the start?

While the P-menu provides a six button display over a live view, the administrative setup menu is displayed as a list menu with five categories, with full submenus displayed as lists when scanned and displayed as buttons once a submenu is opened for alteration. This means that once a category menu has been opened it is possible to scan from one category to the next without having to exit and re-enter through the next menu option. This does speed up navigation although it will be initially intimidating to the novice user.

The category menus are: camera set, pict. appli., media set, standard set and time/langu. The options for all of these menus are as follows, beginning with the camera set menu options: program AE, spot meter, exposure, white balance, auto shutter, spot focus, focus, flash set, super NS, NS light, color slow s, self timer, digital zoom, SteadyShot, fader, digital effect, pict. effect, smth slw rec, demo mode, format finalize, unfinalize, disc title, rec mode, still media, mic ref level, sur monitor, LCD/VF, memory remaining, rec lamp, beep, disp output, setup rotate, a. shut off, sub-t date, clock set, area set, dst set and language. Needless to say, this list is exhaustive, and unless users are comfortable with camcorders this administrative menu will take some getting used to before it can be easily navigated. Navigation is accomplished through the up and down arrows on the left side of the LCD screen.

Zoom (8.0)
The DVD505 has an excellent zoom control. The primary zoom device (don’t forget, the DVD 505 has two) is a design of the “raised nubbin” variety, located on the upper right rear of the body. The toggle is couched on the front and back by small plastic shielding. It seems like these would get in the way, but they have a good feel and would likely protect the toggle from snagging on clothes or fabric and ruining a rather pricey investment.

The zoom control is extremely sensitive to touch. The slightest nudge sets it in motion at a slow crawl. In total, we found about three speeds possible, depending on pressure. The only problem with the zoom placement is its proximity to the built-in mic, located mere inches away. A quick release of the zoom and the snap-back will surely register on your soundtrack.

There is a second, less sensitive zoom control on the bottom edge of the LCD panel, which consists of a W and T button. This is a fixed speed zoom, which corresponds to the medium speed of the primary zoom control. While it may be considered a redundant control, given the great feel of the primary zoom toggle, one cold argue that if all the manual control is already taking place on the LCD, you might as well put a zoom control there too.

The zoom controls on the LCD panel.

For the sake of nitpicking, we really like what we’ve seen on the Canons this year, which feature three pre-set zoom speeds in addition to a variable speed control. It’s an upper-end type of feature that has trickled its way down to their entry level ZR series. We hope other manufacturers take note.

Zoom Power/Ratio (10.0)
The DVD505 is capable of reaching an optical zoom of 10x and a digital zoom of 120x. The optical zoom may seem small compared to the stratospheric zooms of camcorders like the Panasonic PV-GS39, but larger imagers are not capable of reaching those ultra zoom levels. Instead, thankfully, they limit themselves to more modest and certainly more sensible levels. Even at 10x, a tripod is a good idea.

120x digital zoom is also a sensible choice. Don’t get wowed by camcorders offering 800x and 1000x zoom. At that level, you’ll have no resolution quality left. Digital zoom is a digital process that degrades image quality. 120x is pushing the limits, but you’ll still be able to make out far away subjects. A tripod is a necessity anywhere near this level. If you just need a boost over the 10x optical and don’t mind loosing image quality, you can cap the digital zoom at 20x.

To monitor where you are in the zoom, there is a bar in the upper left corner of the LCD. The bar is split, and you’ll have to hit the zoom toggle a second time to make it jump the break and start using the digital zoom. It’s the little things like this that make people like Sony camcorders. They are user-friendly, that’s for sure.

Focus (4.0)
The focus on the DVD505 is no better than on any other Sony consumer camcorder. Our advice is generally very simple: don’t use it, unless the auto focus is straining and your subject is not in motion.

Focal control is located in the menu. When you select “Manual,” a set of icons comes up that is all too familiar to those of us tiring of the bad manual focus on most camcorders. On one side is a picture of a mountain; on the other, a man. Between them lies the vast expanse of a scale, marked by little slashes of unknown increments. If you want to focus on a subject far away, tap, tap, tap on the mountain. If your subject is close up, poke that man.

Manual control on this camcorder is the epitome of all that is bad with touch screens. First of all, even though the resolution of the screen is 211K, high by consumer cam standards, that’s still not an incredibly sharp image. It’s a rough approximate of what the picture will look like on a real monitor. Secondly, the tapping. It’s like being in a Ginger Rogers movie. Frankly, we’re all tapped out. Thirdly, the instrument by which you are supposed to determine the correct focus has your greasy, dirty finger prints all over it, smudging up the frame. How can you even see the picture through that grease trap? I don’t know--which is why we recommend that you leave the DVD505 in auto. Sonys have great auto control, and the focus seemed to fail rarely in our testing. If you need a simple adjustment between two or three large subjects of varying distance, try the Spot Focus, described above in Automatic Controls.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.0)
Exposure control works much like focus, which you can read about in tragic detail above. Found in the menu, exposure is adjusted in EV steps, a combination of aperture and shutter speed. The details of the nature of this combination are not explained, though, and no numerical values are given. There is a sliding scale on which a cursor moves when a user taps plus and minus icons, as if to simply make the image be “more bright, please” or “less bright, please.” On that level, it works quite well; it’s simple and effective. The image does indeed get brighter or dimmer.

At this price point, however, we feel that some pro-level control is not too much to ask. All Panasonics feature independent aperture control in F-stops. Upper-end Canons offer Aperture priority modes, which are not wholly independent, but at least they offer better control.

Shutter Speed (0.0)
There is no shutter speed control on the DVD505. No, even at the $1000+ mark; Sony is sticking to its guns and not offering any of the features that they reserve for their highest-end consumer and prosumer markets, starting with the HDR-HC1, which had shutter control from 1/4 to 1/10000 of a second.

White Balance (7.5)
The manual white balance controls are located in the menu. In addition to two presets, Indoor and Outdoor, the DVD505 offers Sony’s One Push manual control. Thankfully, the DVD505 has a customizable menu, and the white balance can be pulled from the depths of the menu and onto the front page. White balance is one of those manual controls that users should get very used to setting. A proper white balance can make all the difference with a shot by creating a healthy color balance. For those who don’t know, it involves nothing more than pointing the camera at a flat, true white surface (a piece of paper will do) and tapping the icon that looks like a rectangle sitting atop two triangles. There, your white balance is set. Just be sure to reset it every time you change locations or light sources.

Gain (0.0)
The DVD505 has no manual gain control. All Panasonics this year offer a manual gain control from 0dB to 18dB. Most JVCs give you the choice of turning their auto gain control on and off, as well as an auto gain control with Auto Slow Shutter.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
The DVD505 has no other manual control.