Sony DCR-DVD505 Camcorder Review

How these options are arranged on the camcorder is not immediately apparent. When in still mode, you are only presented with options for 4 MP, 1.9 MP, 0.3MP, and 3MP widescreen. Movie mode has its own set of still sizes, one for taking stills when shooting video in 4:3 mode (3MP), and one for taking stills when shooting video in 16:9 mode (2.3MP). You can set up in the menu whether you would like stills to save to the MemoryStick of the DVD. The fact that you can simultaneously take 3MP stills while shooting video is a strong point in favor of this camcorders still capabilities.

The MemoryStick slot (left) and the flash (right).

In terms of manual control, you get most the same features found in video mode. Exposure, focus, Spot Focus, Spot Meter, Color Slow Shutter are all found in the front of the menu. You’ll also find the self-timer, which delays the picture being taken for 10 seconds after the shutter button is released.

A flash is located directly above the lens. This flash can be set can high, normal, and low levels, turned off entirely, and be set for auto use, forced use, or turned off entirely. Flash levels are in the menu. The flash on/off button is located on the back of the camcorder’s body. The DVD505 offers red-eye reduction, also located in the menu.

The DVD505 has an effective still resolution in 4:3 aspect ratio of 1990K pixels, or 2MP. In 16:9 aspect ratio, there is an effective still resolution of 1490K pixels, or 1.5MP. How then, you might be asking yourself, can the camcorder produces stills of 2304 x 1728, or 4MP? By the process of interpolation, I would reply. Interpolation is a digital process whereby the camcorder splits some or all of the actual pixels and does its best to estimate what colors should be in the new pixels. In our opinion, the stills look excellent, and the high still resolution score backed us up. That said, this is not the same quality of picture that you would find in a dedicated still camera with a 4MP sensor. But for a camcorder, these are some impressive numbers.

Still Resolution (12.1)
The DCR-DVD505’s stills were tested for resolution by shooting a standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. In 4:3, shooting in the 2304 x 1728 size, the camcorder produced an approximate resolution of 1207770.8. In 16:9 aspect ratio, shooting in the 2304 x 1296 image size, the camcorder produced an approximate resolution of 601977.6.

This is an excellent score for still resolution, as the chart below illustrates. The DVD505 trailed only the JVC GR-X5, which took stills at a much larger size of 2560 x 1920, or 5 MP.

Still Performance (9.35)
The DVD505 produced stills that were extremely sharp (confirmed by the high resolution score). Once again, there were hints of the blue noise that seems to appear in so many Sony camcorders. We thought that a whole new imager might make a difference, but the problem must lie in the processing system. The blue noise appeared primarily in the red portions of the spectrum. Color performance was fair; it lacked the strength that the video had in the same light. The blues appeared best, while the greens appeared flat.

By comparison, the DVD403 had the same saturated look in its stills that we found in the video performance. This made for a welcome change from the typically flat look of camcorder stills. That said, the colors are not entirely accurate, just strong.

The best hybrid of last year was the JVC GR-X5, a powerhouse of a camcorder that delivered stills up to 2560 x 1920. By appearance, the stills were sharper and richer than the DVD505, but not by much. The reds were strong, which seemed to charge the magenta and yellow portions of the spectrum with life. It had the same flat green tones of the DVD505, though.

The Canon DC10 scored well in still performance last year, with only a resolution of 1280 x 960. While the picture was sharp and very bright, there were definitely noise issues. Color performance was weaker than the DVD505.

Finally, the Panasonic VDR-D300 produced stills up to 2048 x 1512. The picture was very sharp and the color performance about even with the DVD505. Noise, however, was an issue for the D300, and the picture showed signs of too much in-camera sharpening, something that did not occur in the DVD505. The larger resolution sizes made all the difference to put the DVD505 over the top.