Sony HDR-UX5 4MP AVCHD DVD High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
- Record 1080i high-definition video directly to DVD
- 2.1-megapixel ClearVid CMOS sensor; Real-Time HD Codec engine
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens; 10x optical/80x digital zoom
- 2.7-inch widescreen touch-panel Clear Photo Plus LCD
- DVD-R/-RW/+RW and +R DL (Dual Layer) compatible
Rating: 5 of 5
Awesome Camcorder
This camcorder is awesome. The quality of video is great. It is very versatile & gets the job done.
Rating: 4 of 5
Excellent
I think that the HD is in progress, because when I record in HD HQ, I can't edit the recorded material in the cam before finished the DVD.
I don't have been used all the facilities of the cam recorder.
Thanks.
I don't have been used all the facilities of the cam recorder.
Thanks.
Rating: 5 of 5
Would highly recommend
For the product & technical illiterate, this is a great camera. For those who know a little bit more, it is an excellent camera. Easy 2 set up, use & edit. Placing the dvd directly into the camera is the best! Finalise it, & walk right over 2 the DVD player...Awesome!
Rating: 4 of 5
Sony AVCHD means Sony Blu Ray disc player
The price of this SONY HDR-UX5 camcorder is a bit high. Also, you cannot just purchase this camcorder without also getting a Sony blu-ray disc player because you need a Sony blu-ray disc player 2 play the disc on your tv set if you are shooting with high def. Sony uses a video compression scheme called AVCHD 2 encode the high def video, so your disc with AVCHD video cannot be playback with regular dvd player. You can use the software that comes with the camcorder 2 playback the AVCHD video on your pc but I would rather watch my high def video on the big screen. On the pc, image size 4 AVC HD is 1440x1080 & MPEG2 SD is 720x480 which is about 4 in by 2 in. The quality of the video & audio is good & the 4M still photo is acceptable. In-door video is good if you have proper lighting. You can shoot at the screen of your tv set & get comparable result when you show the recording later on the tv set. Auto flash has three settings (high/normal/low) 2 give you sufficient lighting 4 still photo. I do not have problem shooting photo indoor.
The camcorder ($700) is expensive. On top of that, you need money 4 the accessories.
1. You have two choices of video format- HD OR SD. With HD, you should get the sony blu-ray disc player because the High def is AVCHD 1080i & can be playback on your tv with sony blu-ray disc player. Without a sony blu-ray disc player, you can playback the high def video by connecting the video camera 2 your tv set with the supplied component video cable. You will not be able 2 play "the disc" by itself using a regular dvd player if it is recorded with HD video. With SD, it is MPEG2 video. So, 4 SD, you can play your 8cm disc without the blu-ray disc player. For high def, you should get a Sony blu-ray disc player. I think of the Sony blu-ray disc player as an important accessory 2 the UX5.
2. Using the supplied battery(FH60), the recording time 4 SD (on SP mode) is about 75 min. I upgraded the battery 2 FH70 & I expect 2 get about 150 min. So I do not need 2 run back 2 my hotel 2 charge the battery when I was only halfway through shooting at the Great Wall. The mini dvd+rw disc records 30 min (single-sided, 1.4GB). If you want 2 record continuously on a single disc, consider using dvd+r DL. In SD (on SP mode), it is about 55 min.
3. If you record with dvd-rw disc, you can split or trim the video & that is all the editing function you got from sony. Or, you can use Nero 8 Ultra Edition 2 edit High Definition content in AVCHD format. Roxio easy media creator 10 & Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus will edit AVDHD. I don't know whether EMC 10 down-converted your footage. Certainly, it is much less expensive than doing it on the mac with Final Cut Studio 2. On the mac, you need Intel Core 2 Duo, Quartz Extreme graphics card, Mac OS X v10.4.9 or later, at least 2GB of RAM, Final Cut Pro 6 which is included in FCS 2. If instead, you use imovie '08, which is included with iLife '08; it will downgrade the high def 2 480i. To me, it means it is not high def anymore.
So, as I've said before, AVCHD means get a Sony blu-ray disc player, shoot in high def & show your footage on the big screen like it is meant 2 be.
[...].
The camcorder ($700) is expensive. On top of that, you need money 4 the accessories.
1. You have two choices of video format- HD OR SD. With HD, you should get the sony blu-ray disc player because the High def is AVCHD 1080i & can be playback on your tv with sony blu-ray disc player. Without a sony blu-ray disc player, you can playback the high def video by connecting the video camera 2 your tv set with the supplied component video cable. You will not be able 2 play "the disc" by itself using a regular dvd player if it is recorded with HD video. With SD, it is MPEG2 video. So, 4 SD, you can play your 8cm disc without the blu-ray disc player. For high def, you should get a Sony blu-ray disc player. I think of the Sony blu-ray disc player as an important accessory 2 the UX5.
2. Using the supplied battery(FH60), the recording time 4 SD (on SP mode) is about 75 min. I upgraded the battery 2 FH70 & I expect 2 get about 150 min. So I do not need 2 run back 2 my hotel 2 charge the battery when I was only halfway through shooting at the Great Wall. The mini dvd+rw disc records 30 min (single-sided, 1.4GB). If you want 2 record continuously on a single disc, consider using dvd+r DL. In SD (on SP mode), it is about 55 min.
3. If you record with dvd-rw disc, you can split or trim the video & that is all the editing function you got from sony. Or, you can use Nero 8 Ultra Edition 2 edit High Definition content in AVCHD format. Roxio easy media creator 10 & Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus will edit AVDHD. I don't know whether EMC 10 down-converted your footage. Certainly, it is much less expensive than doing it on the mac with Final Cut Studio 2. On the mac, you need Intel Core 2 Duo, Quartz Extreme graphics card, Mac OS X v10.4.9 or later, at least 2GB of RAM, Final Cut Pro 6 which is included in FCS 2. If instead, you use imovie '08, which is included with iLife '08; it will downgrade the high def 2 480i. To me, it means it is not high def anymore.
So, as I've said before, AVCHD means get a Sony blu-ray disc player, shoot in high def & show your footage on the big screen like it is meant 2 be.
[...].
Rating: 4 of 5
Pretty good but it could be better
I upgraded from a Sony DCR-HC30E that was 3 years old 2 this new HD camera & these are the pros & cons that I have found:
Pros:
* High definition. Pretty amazing quality on good light conditions even when conected 2 a 32" Samsung LCD TV that is only HD Ready (not full 1080i)
* 16x9 rather than 4x3 format
* Power adaptor is smaller (important when travelling)although the power cable could also be shorter & smaller.
* Faster transfer 2 PC (not at viewing speed like old tape camera)
* More efficient 4 archiving the original videos in external HD (about 1/3 of disk space).
* Direct one-cable connection 2 TV with Standard HDMI connector
* Simple PC Software provided 2 view AVCHD files & 2 convert into regular Video DVDs (although it can take the whole night 2 genereate a DVD of 15 min)
Cons:
* Much bigger & heavier than my old camera. Now I need 2 think twice before taking it 4 my next trip.
* Being realistic can only record 15 min instead of 1 hour of video, before changing the DVD.
* Editing AVCHD files require a lot of processing power. Now I need 2 upgrade both my PC & my video editing software.
* Not possible 2 record both high def & standard def in the same DVD
* All disks have 2 be finalized before being able 2 read on a PC, & this is a slow operation that can take up 2 5 minutes. So better 2 transfer videos through USB if you haven't had 2 remove the DVD from the camera because you ran out of disk space.
* Battery duration. Battery supplied is NP-FH60 rather than NP-FH70 & sometimes won't last 4 2 DVDs of 15 minutes each.
* Only as emergency photo camera since quality of photos is way below my old Canon Ixus 2 Mpixel camera.
* Photos taken during video recording are even worse
* Memstick is not provided, so unless you buy one, you cannot even try it as a photo camera.
* I bought a Mem stick of 1GB. This is the same capacity than the DVDs, but you cannot recrd video 2 the memory stick!
* Camera is slow 2 start recording since you press the record button, so you may loose the first two seconds. In addition it is slow powering up.
* No multi TV System. I bough in the US & therefore is NTSC only, but I want 2 use it in Asia Pacific & in Europe. Fortunately I have a multisystem TV.
Pros:
* High definition. Pretty amazing quality on good light conditions even when conected 2 a 32" Samsung LCD TV that is only HD Ready (not full 1080i)
* 16x9 rather than 4x3 format
* Power adaptor is smaller (important when travelling)although the power cable could also be shorter & smaller.
* Faster transfer 2 PC (not at viewing speed like old tape camera)
* More efficient 4 archiving the original videos in external HD (about 1/3 of disk space).
* Direct one-cable connection 2 TV with Standard HDMI connector
* Simple PC Software provided 2 view AVCHD files & 2 convert into regular Video DVDs (although it can take the whole night 2 genereate a DVD of 15 min)
Cons:
* Much bigger & heavier than my old camera. Now I need 2 think twice before taking it 4 my next trip.
* Being realistic can only record 15 min instead of 1 hour of video, before changing the DVD.
* Editing AVCHD files require a lot of processing power. Now I need 2 upgrade both my PC & my video editing software.
* Not possible 2 record both high def & standard def in the same DVD
* All disks have 2 be finalized before being able 2 read on a PC, & this is a slow operation that can take up 2 5 minutes. So better 2 transfer videos through USB if you haven't had 2 remove the DVD from the camera because you ran out of disk space.
* Battery duration. Battery supplied is NP-FH60 rather than NP-FH70 & sometimes won't last 4 2 DVDs of 15 minutes each.
* Only as emergency photo camera since quality of photos is way below my old Canon Ixus 2 Mpixel camera.
* Photos taken during video recording are even worse
* Memstick is not provided, so unless you buy one, you cannot even try it as a photo camera.
* I bought a Mem stick of 1GB. This is the same capacity than the DVDs, but you cannot recrd video 2 the memory stick!
* Camera is slow 2 start recording since you press the record button, so you may loose the first two seconds. In addition it is slow powering up.
* No multi TV System. I bough in the US & therefore is NTSC only, but I want 2 use it in Asia Pacific & in Europe. Fortunately I have a multisystem TV.
The HDR-UX5 2.1 Megapixel High Definition DVD Camcorder records straight 2 a 3-inch DVD-R, -RW, +RW & +R DL (Dual Layer) media formats. You can record 1080i high-definition video & capture every second with 10x optical/80x digital zoom & in 5.1ch surround sound. The HDR-UX5 is capable of recording & playing back both High Definition (HD) & Standard Definition (SD) video. 1/3-inch ClearVid CMOS Sensor provides stunning detail & clarity with exceptional video 1080 lines of resolution in HD Mode or 530 lines of horizontal resolution in SD Mode. Carl Zeiss lenses have an advanced optical multi-layer coating that offers less glare & flare with increased contrast. The 2.7-inch Wide (16:9) LCD screen provides excellent viewing clarity with improved resolution 4 multiple viewing angles. The picture stabilization system uses motion sensors 2 detect & compensate 4 camera Shake without compromising picture quality. SteadyShot Image Stabilization Scene Modes - Beach, Candle, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Sports Lesson, Spotlight, & Sunrise & Sunset Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output HDMI Connection Output Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T Lens Viewfinder - Wide (16 - 9), Color (123K Pixels) Built-in Microphone - Stereo 35mm Equivalent Optics/Lens - 41.3-485mm (16 - 9 Camera Mode), 50.5-594mm (4 - 3 Camera Mode), 40.4-404mm (16 - 9 Memory Mode) & 37-370mm (4 - 3 Memory Mode) Shutter Speed - Auto, 1/2 - 1/500 (Scene Selection Mode) Dimensions - 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 x 5 3/8 inch (82 x 82 x 134mm) Weight - 1 pounds 5 ounces (600 grams) with disc & battery
($309.12)
Buy Sony HDR-UX5 4MP AVCHD DVD High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Now!
