The video quality on this camera IS good, even in near dark conditions it blows most camcorders away. Unfortunately you don't mention how bad the mic/sound capture quality actually is ...
@mralan1969uk Hi....I might have mentioned the microphone quality somewhere here, but maybe I didn't. In the interest of full disclosure, the mike quality is less than thrilling. I have older generation snap cameras with tiny hole mikes, and they sound much better. As for the video, it has the same issues as all small imager cameras do. In low light, the video noise goes up, the compression has a battle, and they apply a filter that makes it all look soft. It's the territory.
@Sukhoirc I might have run the thing through Sony Vegas 7. Why I don't know. I thought maybe Youtube wouldn't work with AVC files. It does. You can upload the camera files with no issues, and Youtube does the rest. It was my first time dealing with these files, so I had some odd ideas about stuff.
@Sukhoirc Oh I remember why I ran it through Sony Vegas 7 (video editing software). So that I could put the comments on the video regarding the performance of the camera. Plus changing it to WMV9 files.
Thanks for checking out my video "WoW, Sony..." I think the camera is a small wonder for its price. I use it mainly for snapshot type situations for Cat Ivan or Hummingbird videos. 10x zoom works wonders. I don't worry about sound quality, my videos usually use music tracks. Great camera. Thanks for showing your experience...
Here's the thing about the low light noise. These small CMOS imagers and the small glass on these digital snap cameras just can't suck up as much light as the larger dedicated HD cameras. So there's video signal boost noise, and when you compress that noise, you make more noise. The other problem is that YouTube further compresses the noisy signal, and you get evern more noise. Still for under 300 bucks, it's a pocket size miracle. For trips you can't beat it.
@X41N3 I went and checked the European version manual for the HX5V. It says it will do 50i in the 1920X1080 mode, which is what is compatible with the European TV sets. I'm can't be sure but you really ought to check the deep menus, because there are a bunch of frame rates and pixel size settings for movies. There may even be a 60i setting, just in case you bring your Euro version of the HX5V across the pond and try to use it on American std TVs. (60i). 25fps is slow and not smooth.
@calvertthedad i tried every setting possible, i actually bought in the hope that the SONY NL websites had some mistakes about the 25fps/50i thing. In fact i noticed another issue..it can only record a maximum of 30 min. Some sort of weird limitation since my memory card had plenty of space left. The other thing i don't like is the microphone, it's really bad and the position is exactly where i would normally place my finger. So this baby is going back to the store.
@X41N3 I can't argue about the microphones. They don't sound very good. I have an older Canon, and it produces much better sound. Both cameras however seem to place the mic openings right where fingers end up. The 30 min record time limit is probably on a single clip. You can probably fit much more on a single mem chip with multiple clips. That's a file size limitation inherent to the camera OS. I think everybody has that issue. But hey, if you don't like it...take it back !
At a practical level, I've charged the thing up overnight, and done a full day of tourism taking maybe 30 or 40 shots, and maybe 10 or 20 minutes of full HD video, and I haven't seen the battery life bars start to slip. One thing I've heard is that if you leave the GPS mode on, it will eat up battery life like crazy. I have it off. I'm not particularly concerned about posting snapshots on Picassa with precise GPS data. It might come in handy on a hike in the wilderness sometime.
The manual claims that the fully charged battery will last 155 minutes in "recording" or an equivalent of 310 pictures. For the 310 pictures the manual also says this assumes the display is set to "normal", one shot is taken every 30 seconds, the zoom is put through one cycle, the flash is used overy other shot, it's powered up and down once every ten shots, that the ambient temp is 77 F, and that you're using Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo. Presumably generic SDHC might have an effect on that.
Awesome recap and demo video. I picked up the same camera last week and I can't complain. Interestingly enough, YouTube recognizes the raw .MTS files and will allow you to upload the files--directly from your memory card into YouTube's server, given you don't need any post edit. Please share with me any other findings whether it be post-edit processes or any filming tips/tricks!
@mvytem2 : I did notice the youtube friendliness to native .mts files, so I was wasting my time doing a change to wmv.
The still camera has some nice tricks. A 2 shot mode that handles high contrast situations, combining the two shots in camera. Also does a low light 6 shot, combined to one picture. There are lots of other modes I'm still exploring. Unless you need pro sound or a really long lens, the HD and the competent stil with 10-1 zoom makes this a do it all camera.
@calvertthedad definitely. the HDR, pano-sweep and 10 burst function makes this camera well worth having. I have a DSLR and there are occasions when an SLR isn't ideal. This camera, like you said is a do it all camera. Well worth the wait (for the price drop), as it was originally 350 MSRP when it was first released.
Now if I could only find a way to convert the 1080i HD video into the "cinematic" film look. Various projects call for diff. "looks".
The video quality on this camera IS good, even in near dark conditions it blows most camcorders away. Unfortunately you don't mention how bad the mic/sound capture quality actually is ...
mralan1969uk 1 week ago
@mralan1969uk Hi....I might have mentioned the microphone quality somewhere here, but maybe I didn't. In the interest of full disclosure, the mike quality is less than thrilling. I have older generation snap cameras with tiny hole mikes, and they sound much better. As for the video, it has the same issues as all small imager cameras do. In low light, the video noise goes up, the compression has a battle, and they apply a filter that makes it all look soft. It's the territory.
calvertthedad 1 week ago
Exelent test!!
lalo272 3 months ago
Beautiful house.
adoromotoviagens 4 months ago
What coverter did you use? It seems as though it did a good job... why not use the 30fps mode though? Then you wouldn't need to convert.
Sukhoirc 7 months ago
@Sukhoirc I might have run the thing through Sony Vegas 7. Why I don't know. I thought maybe Youtube wouldn't work with AVC files. It does. You can upload the camera files with no issues, and Youtube does the rest. It was my first time dealing with these files, so I had some odd ideas about stuff.
calvertthedad 7 months ago
@calvertthedad Oh OK, that's really good then.
Sukhoirc 7 months ago
@Sukhoirc Oh I remember why I ran it through Sony Vegas 7 (video editing software). So that I could put the comments on the video regarding the performance of the camera. Plus changing it to WMV9 files.
calvertthedad 7 months ago
@Sukhoirc I see you have the answers to my questions above! Good video and description - very helpful, I think I may buy one now.
Sukhoirc 7 months ago
Thanks for checking out my video "WoW, Sony..." I think the camera is a small wonder for its price. I use it mainly for snapshot type situations for Cat Ivan or Hummingbird videos. 10x zoom works wonders. I don't worry about sound quality, my videos usually use music tracks. Great camera. Thanks for showing your experience...
FunnyAccent1 9 months ago
Here's the thing about the low light noise. These small CMOS imagers and the small glass on these digital snap cameras just can't suck up as much light as the larger dedicated HD cameras. So there's video signal boost noise, and when you compress that noise, you make more noise. The other problem is that YouTube further compresses the noisy signal, and you get evern more noise. Still for under 300 bucks, it's a pocket size miracle. For trips you can't beat it.
calvertthedad 1 year ago
Video: "...there's a fair amount of low light noise."
The low light actually looks a lot better than many of the more expensive, dedicated camcorder videos on YouTube, Vimeo.
NewbToob 1 year ago
The camera has an large number of movie formats and here they are:
1920 X 1080 60i AVC (i is interlaced)
1440 X 1080 60i AVC
1440 X 1080 30P MP4 (p is progressive)
1280 X 720 30P MP4
640 X 480 30P MP4
But there is no 1280 X 1080 format, nor does it do any 60P frame rates.
calvertthedad 1 year ago
@calvertthedad i hate my hx5v..it only does 25fps at every single setting. european version is different i guess
X41N3 8 months ago
@X41N3 I went and checked the European version manual for the HX5V. It says it will do 50i in the 1920X1080 mode, which is what is compatible with the European TV sets. I'm can't be sure but you really ought to check the deep menus, because there are a bunch of frame rates and pixel size settings for movies. There may even be a 60i setting, just in case you bring your Euro version of the HX5V across the pond and try to use it on American std TVs. (60i). 25fps is slow and not smooth.
calvertthedad 8 months ago
@calvertthedad i tried every setting possible, i actually bought in the hope that the SONY NL websites had some mistakes about the 25fps/50i thing. In fact i noticed another issue..it can only record a maximum of 30 min. Some sort of weird limitation since my memory card had plenty of space left. The other thing i don't like is the microphone, it's really bad and the position is exactly where i would normally place my finger. So this baby is going back to the store.
X41N3 8 months ago
@X41N3 I can't argue about the microphones. They don't sound very good. I have an older Canon, and it produces much better sound. Both cameras however seem to place the mic openings right where fingers end up. The 30 min record time limit is probably on a single clip. You can probably fit much more on a single mem chip with multiple clips. That's a file size limitation inherent to the camera OS. I think everybody has that issue. But hey, if you don't like it...take it back !
calvertthedad 8 months ago
Can the camera shoot video at 60fps and 1280 x 1080p ?
gamefreak648 1 year ago
At a practical level, I've charged the thing up overnight, and done a full day of tourism taking maybe 30 or 40 shots, and maybe 10 or 20 minutes of full HD video, and I haven't seen the battery life bars start to slip. One thing I've heard is that if you leave the GPS mode on, it will eat up battery life like crazy. I have it off. I'm not particularly concerned about posting snapshots on Picassa with precise GPS data. It might come in handy on a hike in the wilderness sometime.
calvertthedad 1 year ago
The manual claims that the fully charged battery will last 155 minutes in "recording" or an equivalent of 310 pictures. For the 310 pictures the manual also says this assumes the display is set to "normal", one shot is taken every 30 seconds, the zoom is put through one cycle, the flash is used overy other shot, it's powered up and down once every ten shots, that the ambient temp is 77 F, and that you're using Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo. Presumably generic SDHC might have an effect on that.
calvertthedad 1 year ago
Whats the battery life like on this cam?
SeaDevil96 1 year ago
Awesome recap and demo video. I picked up the same camera last week and I can't complain. Interestingly enough, YouTube recognizes the raw .MTS files and will allow you to upload the files--directly from your memory card into YouTube's server, given you don't need any post edit. Please share with me any other findings whether it be post-edit processes or any filming tips/tricks!
mvytem2 1 year ago
@mvytem2 : I did notice the youtube friendliness to native .mts files, so I was wasting my time doing a change to wmv.
The still camera has some nice tricks. A 2 shot mode that handles high contrast situations, combining the two shots in camera. Also does a low light 6 shot, combined to one picture. There are lots of other modes I'm still exploring. Unless you need pro sound or a really long lens, the HD and the competent stil with 10-1 zoom makes this a do it all camera.
calvertthedad 1 year ago
@calvertthedad definitely. the HDR, pano-sweep and 10 burst function makes this camera well worth having. I have a DSLR and there are occasions when an SLR isn't ideal. This camera, like you said is a do it all camera. Well worth the wait (for the price drop), as it was originally 350 MSRP when it was first released.
Now if I could only find a way to convert the 1080i HD video into the "cinematic" film look. Various projects call for diff. "looks".
mvytem2 1 year ago
Surely the CIA had these suckers 10 years ago.
chrisatpc 1 year ago