Sony HDR-TG5V

Still Features (9.15)

The Sony HDR-TG5V doesn’t have too many still features, especially when you compare it to some of the impressive photo/video hybrid camcorders that are on the market. The camcorder can take still photos at a maximum resolution of 2304 × 1728, which is just under 4 megapixels. The TG5V’s effective pixel count in still mode is just under 2-megapixels, however, which means its highest native resolution for photos is 1600 × 1200. This is a far cry from the native 9-megapixel capability on the JVC GZ-X900. Even so, our performance testing showed the Sony HDR-TG5V to take decent still photos, despite its minimal specs and features.

The camcorder can capture still photos while recording video, but sizes are limited to 2016 × 1134 (2.3 megapixels) when shooting in HD, and 1512 × 1134 (1.7 megapixels) when shooting standard definition video. These size choices are a bit odd, considering they don’t match the resolution of the recorded video (1920 × 1080 for HD and 640 × 480 for SD). Again, you can only capture photos in these sizes if you do so while you are recording video, and these sizes cannot be changed in the camcorder’s menu.

The TG5V prominently features a flash located around the lens on the front of the camcorder. The flash offers a Redeye Reduction feature, has three brightness levels (Low, Normal, and High), and can be set to auto, on, or off. There’s also a self-timer on the camcorder, but it can only be set to 10 seconds.

All the manual controls available in video mode are also usable in still mode. In fact, the menu really isn’t any different in still mode—all the video-specific controls are still there. When you select a video-specific option, the camcorder switches into video mode when you make a selection (and vice versa with photo-specific controls). This can be a bit confusing, as the camcorder doesn’t do a good job specifically outlining what features work only in video mode or only in still mode.

Face detection is one feature that is probably more useful in still mode than video mode. The TG5V has an interesting feature called smile detection that automatically snaps a photo when your subject smiles. You can also set it to work while recording video by turning on Dual Capture smile detection. The setting works surprisingly well, although the camcorder definitely reads mouth movement as smiles on occasion. To avoid this, you can set the smile detection sensitivity to Low, which only takes photos when your subject gives a big smile (detection sensitivity can also be set to High or Normal).

The color accuracy on the HDR-TG5V’s photos was very good. The camcorder measured a color error of just 2.98—significantly better than in our bright light video testing. That is also a better error number than any of the models we used as comparisons throughout this review. To make things even more impressive, the TG5V managed an excellent saturation level of 97.61%.

The HDR-TG5V produced bright colors in its still photos, and its image had a slight warm, orange look. This is contrasted by the cool, grey tone on the Sanyo VPC-HD2000’s still photos. The JVC GZ-X900 also rendered strong, vivid colors (106% saturation), but its image was also darker and more contrasty than the TG5V.

Noise levels weren’t terrible in the HDR-TG5V’s still photos, but it measured more than double the amount of noise than it did in our bright light video testing. The camcorder averaged 0.92% noise in our still image testing, which is slightly less than both the JVC GZ-X900 and Son y HDR-XR520V measured. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 had the lowest still noise levels of this set, with 0.77%.

Since the Sony HDR-TG5V only has an effective pixel count of 2-megapixels for photos, we didn’t expect much from it in our still sharpness test. The camcorder didn’t do half-bad, however, and it actually came close to matching the results from camcorders with much higher still image resolutions. At best, the TG5V measured a horizontal sharpness of 1953 lw/ph with 15.2% oversharpening. Its vertical resolution came in at 1140 lw/ph with 6% undersharpening. These numbers aren’t that much worse than what the Sony HDR-XR520V and JVC GZ-X900 were capable of, which is quite a shock considering those camcorders have much larger sensors and much higher pixel counts.

The HDR-TG5V’s performance isn’t top-ntch, however, and there are many better camcorders out there for capturing still photos. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and VPC-CG10 both put forth impressive still sharpness results, as did the high-end Canon models (HF S11, HF S10, and HF S100), and the JVC GZ-HM400.

Other Features (3.50)

Smooth Slow Record

This feature allows you to capture slow-motion video by increasing the frame rate to 240fps (4x faster than regular 60i). Unfortunately, Smooth Slow Record clips are limited to only 3-seconds in length, which are then played back as 12-second clips. Smooth Slow Record can definitely be a useful feature, and Sony markets it as an excellent way to capture a golf swing, but we found it a bit confusing to use. Sony doesn’t explain the setting very well, so you need to play around with it a few times before it can be used correctly. The JVC GZ-X900 and HM400, as well as the Samsung HMX-R10 and Sanyo VPC-HD2000, also have slow-motion recording options.

GPS

Allows you to tag and organize your media based on where the footage was captured. The map system on the HDR-TG5V is surprisingly detailed, although it is a bit unwieldy to navigate. You can zoom in and out of the map using the camcorder’s zoom toggle, and you can also move the map by dragging your finger along the LCD touchscreen. We can see taking advantage of the GPS feature during a family road trip or long vacation, but for most every-day shooting it isn’t very useful. The GPS did occasionally take a while to determine out our current location, and leaving the GPS turned on for a long period of time will likely diminish the camcorder’s battery life.

Fader

A fade-to-black or fade-to-white can be added to the beginning or end of your clips by using the Fader setting. Each time you want to add a fade, you must go into the camcorder’s menu and turn on the fader feature (the setting turns off automatically after each time you use it).