Sony Handycam HDR-XR520V Camcorder Review

by Kaitlyn Chantry
Published on Apr 25, 2009 8:20 AM

 
Intro Product Tour
Color & Noise Performance Motion & Sharpness Performance
Low Light Performance Compression & Media
Manual Controls Still Features
Handling & Use Playback & Connectivity
Audio & Other Features Canon HF S100 Comparison
Panasonic HDC-TM300 Comparison Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Comparison
Conclusion Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Core Specs
Year 2009
Format Hard Drive
Class Consumer
HD
Lens
Filter Diameter (mm) 37.00
Focal Distance Minimum (mm) 5.50
Focal Distance Maximum (mm) 66.00
35mm Focal Distance Minimum (mm) 43.00
35mm Focal Distance Maximum (mm) 516.00
F-stop Minimum 1.80
F-stop Maximum 3.40
Wide Angle (degrees) 47
Image Stabilization Optical (OIS)
Imager and Processing
Sensor Type CMOS
Sensor Count 1
Sensor Size (inches) 1/2.88
Video Pixel Count (gross) 6631000
Video Pixel Count (effective) 4150000
Still Pixel Count (gross) 6631000
Still Pixel Count (effective) 6000000
Compression and Media
HD Video Format AVCHD
SD Video Format MPEG-2
Frame Rate(s) 60i
Secondary Audio Format Dolby Digital (2ch)
Primary Audio Format Dolby Digital (5.1ch)
Primary Media Hard Drive
Secondary Media Memory Card
Tertiary Media None
Memory Card Type Memory Stick PRO Duo
Included Media Capacity 240GB HDD
Maximum Recording Time (highest quality in minutes) 1750
Recording Quality Option(s) HD FH (16Mbps), HD HQ (9Mbps), HD SP (7Mbps), HD LP (5Mbps), SD HQ (9Mbps), SD SP (6Mbps), SD LP (3Mbps)
Included Software Picture Motion Browser Ver. 4.2.00
Manual Controls
Zoom Control Type(s) Toggle
Optical Zoom 12
Advanced Zoom 0
Digital Zoom 150
Manual Focus
Manual Focus Control Type(s) Dial
Focus Assist / Peaking
Manual Exposure
Manual Exposure Steps 30
Manual Aperture
Manual Aperture Steps 0
Minimum Aperture (f/) 0.00
Maximum Aperture (f/) 0.00
Manual Shutter Speed
Manual Shutter Speed Steps 0
Manual White Balance
White Balance Presets Auto, Indoor, Outdoor, Manual
Manual Gain
Manual Gain Steps 0
Manual Noise Reduction
Audio Dubbing
Auto / Easy Mode
Face Detection
Color / Image Control(s) AE Shift, White Balance Shift, x.v. Color
Low Light Mode(s) Low Lux mode, Nightshot infrared mode
Scene Mode(s) Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Beach, Snow
Other Manual Control(s) Guideframe, Wide select, Conversion Lens, Tele Macro
Still Features
Still Image Resolution(s) Interpolated: 4:3 - 4000 x 3000 (12M), 16:9 - 4000 x 2250 (9M); Native Resolution: 4:3 - 2880 x 2160 (6.2M), 1600 x1200 (1.9M), 640 x 480 (0.3M)
Flash
Flash Settings Auto, On, Off; Red-Eye Reduction On, Off; Intensity Normal, High, Low
Simultaneous Video / Still Recording
Self Timer
Manual ISO
Manual ISO Steps 0
ISO Minimum 0
ISO Maximum 0
Continuous Shot
Bracketing
Still Media 240GB HDD, Memory Stick PRO Duo
Still Media Included 240GB HDD
Body
Body Type Horizontal
Weight (g) 590.00
Width (mm) 71.00
Height (mm) 75.00
Length (mm) 137.00
Body Color(s) Black
LCD Size (inches) 3.20
LCD Resolution (pixels) 921000
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Resolution 0
Viewfinder Diopter Adjuster
Video Light
Connectivity
Composite (RCA) output
Composite (RCA) input
FireWire
Audio-only AV input
S-Video
USB
Component output
Component input
HDMI
Headphone output
Mini Microphone input
LANC / Control L
Accessory Shoe
Accessory Shoe (Hot)
Included Wireless Remote
WiFi
GPS
Other
Replaces HDR-SR12
Sister Model Down HDR-XR500
Included Battery NP-FH60
Battery Life (minutes) 92
Other Features Drop Sensor, Smooth Slow Recording, Fader
Ratings Weight
Color 7.31 2
Noise 12.16 1
Motion 8.30 1
Video Sharpness 10.59 4
Wide Angle 9.40 0.8
Low Light Color 7.45 1.25
Low Light Sensitivity 3.24 1.5
Low Light Noise 11.07 1.25
Audio Features 5.25 1
Compression 8.75 1
Media 10.14 1.5
Editing 6.75 0.75
Auto Mode 10.22 0.5
Zoom 5.50 0.75
Zoom Ratio 4.34 0.5
Focus 7.00 0.7
Exposure 8.50 0.65
Aperture 0.00 0.65
Shutter Speed 0.00 0.6
White Balance 7.50 0.55
Gain 0.00 0.5
Color & Image Controls 2.00 0.5
Other Manual Controls 3.50 0.5
Still Features 10.38 0.8
Still Color 10.94 0.6
Still Noise 2.15 0.6
Still Sharpness 6.97 1
Ease of Use 5.25 1.25
Handling 6.50 1.25
Stabilization 8.48 1
Portability 3.51 0.8
Battery Life 4.60 1
LCD & Viewfinder 12.22 0.6
Menus 4.00 1
Playback 5.50 0.3
Connectivity 6.25 0.8
Other Features 5.50 0.5
Total250.383 
 



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