Sony DCR-DVD508 Camcorder Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on Sep 27, 2007 4:20 PM
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (7.0)
The Sony DCR-DVD508 (Review, Specs, $0.00), like most Sonys, once again showed excellent auto responses in most conditions. The auto exposure is based on a smart evaluative model, which considers the entire image and adjusts accordingly. In complex shots with lots of highlights and shadows, the exposure adjusts incrementally and smoothly as the camcorder drifts around.
The auto white balance sometimes tends to push the image toward the warm, which generally improves skin tones. It did not veer as far as the JVC GZ-HD3 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $679.00) or GZ-HD7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1529), which was excessive. We prefer an accurate balance, which can be achieved by performing a manual white balance.
The auto exposure is decent, but this was the area where we found ourselves using the manual controls most frequently. When a smaller object was placed in the center of the frame and background was on a different plane of focus, it tended to focus on the much larger background. Unfortunately, there is no way to change the auto exposure method (such as options for Evaluative, Center-Weighted, and Spot auto focus, which can be found on some camcorders).
Also included in the camcorder are a host of one-touch controls that allow for very simple manipulation of image quality without having to understand the principles of photography. Think of them as manual controls with training wheels. Two of them are Sony-specialties you won’t find anywhere else. Spot Focus and Spot Meter are both located in the Camera menu. When activated, a frame appears around most of the picture on the LCD. You simply touch the area of the screen you want either focused or exposed.
The camcorder has a series of AE modes, called Scene Selection in the Camera menu. Settings include Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Candle, Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Beach, and Snow.
The mode dial on the Sony DCR-DVD508
Overall Manual Control (5.0)
Despite being the top standard definition camcorder in Sony’s line, the manual control set is not particularly robust. Sony has strong feelings about how to distinguish its consumer product line from its professional line. It restricts advanced controls like aperture and gain from the consumer, and very rarely include shutter speed (only the HDV camcorders have shutter speed this year). Of course, Sony does a good job of packing in a few one-touch controls, described above, that allow the shooter to have a little control over image quality.
There are a couple of actual manual controls on the DCR-DVD508, but they are of middle quality. The best is probably exposure, which is effective and easy to use. White balance is relatively simple and adjusts quickly. The worst control is focus, mostly due to the fact that the operation is done entirely with the touch screen. The screen is cluttered with icons and fingerprints that obscure your view.
Overall, the manual control package certainly could have been improved by an interface other than the touch screen. Many of the high definition models feature a scroll wheel or dial to help with focus and other controls. It would have been nice to see it on Sony's top model in this class.
Zoom (5.0)
The DCR-DVD508 has a low-profile zoom toggle located on the top of the body toward the right rear, placed for use with the index finger. A slightly larger toggle would have been preferable, because as it is, part of your finger slides across the surrounding plastic. With the built-in microphone so close, it’s bound to pick up some of that sound from time to time.
Sony did a great job with the pressure sensitivity of this toggle. At a light touch, you can get a very slow, controlled crawl all the way across the 10x optical. This is certainly more useful for budget amateurs than a camcorder like the JVC GZ-HD3, which only has a crawl from 1x to 3x, then speeds up. The Sony DVD508’s fastest zoom is quite fast, taking only 2 seconds to move from one end to the other. In all, we were able to achieve three distinct speeds. Of course, the best option is what Canon offers, a great variable speed zoom like this, plus the ability to fix the zoom speed to fast, medium, or slow.
Zoom Power Ratio (10.0)
The Sony DCR-DVD508 has an optical zoom of 10x, the standard for most high-end consumer camcorders. Why isn’t it higher if you’re paying so much, and why do cheaper camcorders have a bigger zoom? The answer has to do with some basic optical laws. In these compact devices, the size of zoom is relative to the size of the imaging chip. Trust us, you’d rather have a big imager than a big zoom. Anything past 10x and a tripod is pretty much required.
Amazingly, Sony decided to cap the digital zoom at 20x. Normally, manufacturers try to sucker consumers by slapping on ridiculous digital zooms, sometimes as high 1200x. By limiting it to 20x, you’re only blowing up the pixels to twice their normal size. Considering the native resolution of this CMOS chip, that’s not too destructive to the image.
Focus (3.5)
The manual focus is by far the weakest control on the Sony DCR-DVD508, as well as pretty much every Sony that relies on a touch screen. A look at the screenshot below indicates at least part of the problem. Once engaged (via the Camera menu), the screen becomes incredibly cluttered with graphics and icons. It looks like CNN during their graphic designers’ days of worst excess. A good portion of the time, we couldn’t even see what it was we were trying to focus on.
The second problem is that the LCD is only 2.7-inches with a resolution of 211,000 pixels. While this is good for a camcorder, it’s still not enough to get a sense of true focus, especially when shooting in low light or outdoors.
The third problem is all that touching on the screen adds an ever-growing layer of finger grease, reducing visibility even further. When a glare comes across the screen, there’s no chance of manually focusing.
Any camcorder that uses a joystick – Panasonic, Canon, and JVC, primarily – has an advantage over Sony in this regard. The best of the high definition Sony camcorders this year all include a dial on the side of the lens barrel that allows for much better focus control.
Exposure & Aperture (4.5)
The exposure control is located on the second page of the Camera menu. When activated, the camcorder has the same problem as the manual focus – the screen becomes too cluttered with graphics. However, it’s a little easier to gauge exposure without seeing everything in the shot than it is to focus.
The manual Exposure in action
To adjust exposure, tap the plus and minus buttons until the picture looks properly exposed. In all, there are 33 increments. The only way to tell where in the exposure range you are is to look at the cursor on the progress bar. A numerical value of the increments would have been helpful. If you’re not sure how to properly adjust for exposure, try engaging the zebra patterns, found in the Movie Settings section of the Home menu.
The DVD508 does not offer direct control of the aperture.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
The Sony DCR-DVD508 has no shutter control, which is a real shame for the top model in any category. Nearly all camcorders from other manufacturers include a Shutter Priority mode. Panasonics include independent aperture and shutter.
There are two Auto settings for shutter that can help in low light. The Auto Slow Shutter control, located in the Movie Settings section of the Home menu, allows the auto shutter speed to drop from its normal 1/60 to 1/30 of a second.
The Color Slow Shutter option is located in a different part of the menu entirely. You can find it in the third page of the Camera menu. It’s much more severe than the Auto Slow Shutter. When engaged, it allows the shutter to drop considerably lower. The manual does not state how low, but we estimate it to be somewhere between 1/2 and 1/4 of a second.
White Balance (5.5)
The white balance options are located in the third page of the Camera menu. In addition to the Auto setting, the Sony DCR-DVD508 includes Indoor, Outdoor, and One Push (Manual) settings. Making a manual white balance adjustment is as simple as tapping the One Push button, then the button below it with the internationally recognized white balance icon. We found the manual adjustment to be very accurate in most lighting conditions.
The White Balance submenu
Gain (0.0)
There is no manual gain setting on the Sony DCR-DVD508. Only Panasonic camcorders offer this option in its consumer line.
Other Manual Controls (3.0)
Zebra Patterns - When engaged, the zebra feature creates striped lines across any area of the frame that is overexposed. There are two settings, 70 and 100. These numbers correspond to the IRE level (an exposure value) at which you want the lines appear.
Guideframes - When this option is engaged, a pair of horizontal lines vertical lines appears, creating a 9-grid pattern to help you set up your shots with the “rule of thirds.” These lines do not get recorded onto your final footage. Canon and Panasonic both offer this feature with more variations, like changing the number or the color of the lines.
Tele Macro - The Tele Macro feature helps with focusing on small, detailed objects. We did not find it all that helpful.