Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Just wanted to confirm that this DOES work on a Mac
Comment: This camera has received a lot of really good reviews, but I almost didn't buy it because of the guy here who said it won't work with a Mac or iMovie. I just received mine today, so I haven't played around with it too much yet. But the first thing I did was record a short clip and then plugged it into my Mac to see if it works. It works perfectly fine, with nothing to install or anything. I have an iMac that was bought in 2009, running Snow Leopard, and iMovie 09. With iMovie opened when I plugged the camera into the usb, it automatically recognized it without me doing anything. I simply selected the clips I wanted to import and clicked the button. Works perfectly
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't work on a Mac
Comment: The picture quality is great but it's useless because the camera doesn't connect to iMovie on a Mac OS X 10.5. It doesn't connect to Movie Maker on a Windows XP computer either. The only way to get video off is through the proprietary Sony software, which only comes for Windows; there is no version for Macs. Once you've exported the video from the camera into the Sony application, you have to export it out as mpg or wmv file before you can use it in iMovie/Movie Maker. A real flaw.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice camera - easy to use too!
Comment: I played with this camera in a local store along with the Canon Vixia lines. I decided to go with this one for the following reasons:
- Does SD video, the Canon only can do HD, may not be used alot but if you are not ready to start with HD because you do not have a fast PC it creates a path to get to HD.
- Steady shot and fast focus work very well, you will want to stick to the optical zoom, I found the 177x digital zoom adds a lot of noise to the video.
- It includes software to burn your videos to disc, the Canon cameras do not.
-Small size, I just drop it into my camera bag, It is smaller than a can of soda. I have DSLR lenses that are smaller size than this camera.
-Many options, such as video format, exposure, wide-tele lens, zoom mic., but is also easy to use on the basic settings and takes very good video on the basic settings.
- Very good low light video and many manual settings.
-32gb built-in memory, can store 4hrs of the best video for blue-ray! or use to 13 hrs of dvd quality!
Cons:
-Expensive, considering there are cameras in the $300-400 range that have similar features, this one performs much better.
-GPS - while neat, could be left off as I do not see a lot of benefit, and also uses battery faster, still kinda of neat.
-Expensive batteries - you can expect to pay about $70 US to get another battery, but they last about 2 hrs of continuous use.
-No optical viewfinder, this would be a nice addition especially in very bright sunlight, but the built-in screen is still very bright.
I would recommend this camera from the quality video and easy to use features, it should last many years providing both excellent video and also great still photos. You should also be aware this either requires a fast PC with DVD or blue-ray burner, or Sony makes a burner station that this camera plugs into that will burn discs directly, no pc needed. I don't think many people would be unsatisfied with this camera.
Customer Rating:
Summary: wide angle G lens sets it apart
Comment: After trying to decide between mid-priced Canon Vixia and Sony HD models, I settled on this one first and foremost because it has a wide angle (27mm for stills and 29mm for video)lens. I have tried low-quality screw-on attachment lenses on camcorders in the past and they always distort the image. This is a fantastic lens and gives you all the benefits of wide shooting without accessories (cheap or otherwise). What's more, when I do want to use the wide angle attachment, I get a very wide fisheye!
So far, I have been very satisfied with the image quality, features, and performance of the camera, but I have only used it for about 24 hours so I will have to update soon.
But if you are torn between camcorders, consider the lens on this one if (like me) wide angle is important to your shooting.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Video is terrific; menus, not so much
Comment: i hate giving this camera a 5-star review, but at the end of the day the quality of the video deserves 5 stars. i bought this to use a handcam camcorder and that's why it is getting 5 stars. i am upgrading from a very, very good 3CCD Panasonic PV-GS400 miniDV camera that i've loved (bought in 2005ish). i was ready to move away from MiniDV and to HD, but i've been waiting for the right price/features and figured this CX350V would fit my needs. i was hesitant to go with a product that had no reviews at the time, but the previous cameras that this is built upon had good reviews and this upgrade was not cutting back.
i just spent the past week in San Diego and i did not take a still camera and decided to use the CX350V for everything. my review is based on this one trip.
PROS:
*my videos easily import into iMovie on my Mac. i didn't have to do anything other than plug the camera in.
*camera powers up and is ready ultra fast
*steady shot works very well
*size -- this camera is even smaller than i imagined. if you look at the user supplied photos you'll see 1 that i took with an iPhone with the camera next to a pop can. this photo doesn't do the size of the video camera justice. it's a really nice size, but still fits in my hand just right.
*when you open up the LCD the camera turns on in video mode and is ready. when you close the LCD the camera automatically turns off. you don't have an on and off button otherwise. so far this has been really good; however, i wanted to check a cable to a port that was inside the LCD wall and to do this i had to turn the camera on. no biggie.
*video quality is beautiful. i shot all sorts of shots in the morning and at night inside and outside, near water and in parks . . . all gorgeous. even coming from the Panasonic PV-GS400 left me impressed. it's hard to believe a camera this small can do video so well.
*audio quality with the built-in mic is terrific.
*GPS on shots (geotagging) is easy to use. i think the battery drains more quickly if you leave GPS on, but i have a backup battery and have yet to have this be an issue (i have yet to need the second battery in a single day either).
*the Sony Carrying Pouch for Sony Handycam® Camcorder (Blue) bag fits the camera well. it's actually bigger than it needs to be so i could easily fit a second battery in the bag . . . but it was awkward. i may look for a better fitting bag down the road, but that's only because this camera is small enough to go with a smaller bag and that's a bonus.
*price . . . the price really fluctuates on this camera. i bought it here for about $870 and then found it for $799 with free shipping here from Portable Guy. i returned it to Amazon to get my $70 back (sans shipping) and bought it for $799. now i see the price is up across the board. odd. but the price i bought it for seems like a good deal for a just released product of this quality. i was ready to buy it at $870 so you can still get a good deal, i think.
CONS:
*menu system is very tedious (you can create a custom menu, i've read, but i have yet to figure it out). little things that i would use often are buried (e.g., i want to use a little SDHC card instead of the built-in memory from time to time and i wasted about 2 minutes trying to find it in the menu system. i actually found it and then realized later that i had only switched it for photos and not for video when i meant to do both -- you have to do it twice for that to work.
*still photos are good quality when your settings are correct. unfortunately, the the changes i needed to make while taking pictures one night were too difficult to figure out (e.g., turning auto flash on or off) in the time i was allotted so i missed some shots and others were just complete dark. using the menus more quickly could have fixed this, but i didn't have time to play in menus and just wanted the shots. i have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5K 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) and i was thinking i'd sell it, but now i realize it will still need to go with me unless i can figure out how to more quickly change settings on the CX350V when i need to do so for still shots.
*i took a photo of my son with 2 parrots on his shoulder in Seaport Village (San Diego). if i zoom in to the original size of the photo i can notice that the image clarity is lacking for what i have come to expect. for a 7 Megapixel still image this is not very mind blowing especially considering how much better HD video looks on this camera.
*taking photos doesn't feel nearly as natural as shooting video. i much rather prefer a dedicated still camera where both hands can more easily hold the camera steady while shooting the shot. i suspect this is probably the case with almost any camcorder and perhaps you'll have a different experience.
i have a screen protector for my Lumix DMC-TZ5 camera LCD screen and i had extra film strips. so i cut one to fit this CX350V perfectly. the menus still work and all that jazz, but i no longer have to worry about finger prints and smudges on the actual LCD screen. i'd recommend doing this until a properly fitting screen protector is released.
|
|
