Sony Handycam HDR-XR350V Camcorder Review

Sony HDR-CX550V Comparison

With an MSRP of $699, the Panasonic HDC-HS60 is one of the best mid-range HD models for your money. Right now, Panasonic is even selling the HDC-HS60 at a slight discount for $630, and it is hard to find a better deal than that in the mid-range HD camcorder market. So, for a bit more than $300 less than the Sony HDR-XR350V, the Panasonic HDC-HS60 gets you similar performance, more manual controls, and a much lighter body design. The Panasonic also has a longer optical zoom (25x) than the Sony.

In the HDR-XR350V's defense, however, there are a few features that give the Sony and edge over the Panasonic. The XR350V has a slightly larger internal hard drive, a wider-angle lens, and it did better than the HS60 in our noise and stabilization tests. Still, the Panasonic HDC-HS60 compared very favorably with the Sony HDR-XR350V in most of our testing, so the difference in video performance for the two camcorders was not that significant.

We definitely recommend the HDC-HS60 if you're looking for a good mid-range HD model in the sub-$1000 price range. So, unless you can find a ridiculously good deal for the Sony HDR-XR350V, we're adamant that the Panasonic HDC-HS60 gives you far more bang for your buck.

/r:render