Small camcorder with prosumer video quality.

Jerry K wrote on 1/15/2015, 11:31 PM

I recently borrowed my sons Sony HDR-CX330 camcorder and used it over the Christmas holidays. I was very surprised how good the video quality was for such a small camcorder with a 1/5.8 CMOS sensor. This Sony camcorder can produce video quality that matches or exceeds many prosumer camcorders. Here are some of my pros & cons.

Pros.
Great dynamic range.
Great auto white balance. Colors are very true indoors and out doors.
Great auto iris.
Amazing video quality. Could easily be used for B roll.
Nice and small fits in my jacket pocket.
Decent audio.
Records AVCHD 1920 x 1080 Full HD 60p or 60i up to 28 mbps.
Very long battery life. Rated at 3 hours with supplied battery.
Good stabilizer not the best but good.
Nice 26.8mm Wide-Angle Sony G Lens with 30X optical zoom. F1.8 on wide.
Built in Wi-Fi with NFC.

Cons.
No microphone or earphone jack.
Wi-Fi not great and limited to MP-4 3Mbps video.
Wi-Fi photo transfer no problem
Sony claims you can take still photos while recording video but this will not work in all video record modes like 60p mode.
Low light video is good if you have a decent lit room otherwise the video is very grainy and that's with the low light setting turned off. Even with low light setting turned off this camcorder has a nice bright picture indoors with a decent lit room.

Now that I returned my son's camcorder I'm thinking of buying one for home use and the price is under $220 on Amazon or B&H.

I find it hard to believe that a camcorder with such a small sensor can produce such good video and have such great dynamic range.

If anyone on this forum owns one of these small Sony camcorders with the 1/5.8 CMOS sensor I love to hear your thoughts and experience.

Jerry K.

Comments

ritsmer wrote on 1/16/2015, 3:18 AM

I have been enjoying these SONY camera types for years - and the video quality always surprised me positively.
Wanting such a camera for B-roll I would consider the newest (CES 2015) version: HDR-CX405 which besides all the CX330 features also manages XAVC S HD at Approx. 50Mbps if you need it.

If you stick to the CX330 it has got the newest Bionz X processor too which really was yet another noticeable quantum leap in video quality.

craftech wrote on 1/17/2015, 9:29 AM

The differences show up in low light with most of these small cameras. So for B roll they might work as long a you have plenty of light.

John

JohnAsh wrote on 1/17/2015, 11:38 AM

I've been looking for a small camcorder, but it does not need to be as small as this one.

The priority for me is the best stabiliser possible in such a camera. A couple of years ago I bought a Panasonic V500.

Stabilisation when filming from a car is amazing. And, generally, handheld shots are good especially when panning or tilting. But, when holding the camera still, the stabilisation system adds something I can only describe as a shimmer to the shot. The slightest of wobbles. If find this very annoying though I doubt anyone else notices it.

Is there something I can try to prevent this, I wonder? If I could cure this problem, I would definitely stick with what I've got!

JohnAsh wrote on 1/17/2015, 1:01 PM

Just a thought. I record in Interlaced rather than Progressive mode (1920k1080/
50i not 1920k1080/50p). (I found that my editing PC is really not up to handling Progressive video.)

Could it be that the stabiliser is optimised for Progressive recording, I wonder?

ritsmer wrote on 1/18/2015, 3:16 AM

IMHO SONY's current Balanced Optical Steadyshot is very strong in stabilizing.

Here is something about how it works: https://community.sony.com/t5/Camcorders/CX760v-locking-GYRO-Stabilizer/td-p/164937

As to stabilizing in post the stabilizer has to zoom more or less into the picture - and zooming in is always an issue with interlaced media.

Some years ago I used the "New Deshaker" from Guthspot because it could make an artificial frame a instead of zooming in.

The best stabilization is done in the camera, however, because the cameras stabilization also suppresses the cameras own motion blur.

BRC wrote on 1/18/2015, 4:43 AM

I bought a Sony PJ530e about 10 weeks ago to compliment my HDRFX1 and FX7 - now getting old. This camera has the 'Balanced Optical Steadyshot' system and was therefore of interest when shooting where it was not possible to use a tripod.

So far I am delighted with the camcorder, in particular the 'Steadyshot' feature. I shot a gig of around 70 minutes entirely handheld, sitting down and, due to a cold, some coughing. I wouldn't claim that it is perfect though the stability was far superior to anything I have used in such way before. I previously had a Sony TG3 which I used with a 'Mini MotionCam' stabiliser' and achieved very smooth flowing footage when moving, though tricky if outside in much more than a strong breeze. The result with the PJ530e are definitely smoother and much easier to handle than the TG3 set-up, particularly as being handheld it can be kept close to the body.

The video and still images are very good and should satisfy the needs of all but the most discerning eye. There are a number of Sony cameras with this facility and worth having a look at, I suggest.

BRC

JohnAsh wrote on 1/18/2015, 12:37 PM

Thanks for this. I was wondering if there are any views on using the Sony system for handheld filming from a car (mainly looking forward through the windscreen/shield). As mentioned, I do find the Panasonic system on my V500 excellent for this. It seems to lock onto the road ahead and keeps the image rock steady provided you don't zoom in too far which is asking too much!

wwaag wrote on 1/18/2015, 3:07 PM

I have used a few Sony camcorders over the years for in-car recording starting with an HC1 in 2006, but never hand held. I've always used some type of mount for filming through the windshield. My requirements have been: 1) power from the car battery; 2) a wired remote for stop-start; 3) a small tripod head for pan-tilt; and 4) a mic-in for audio (I now use a Zoom H2N). I found that only Sony handycams meet these requirements. After the HC1, I used the older CX-160 and now the CX-430V with its balanced optical stabilization system (BOSS). I got best results from the CX160 with stabilization turned off completely. For the CX430V, I use its standard stabilization setting--the active using BOSS, though more stable, seems not quite as sharp. An added advantage of the CX-430 is that it records GPS position. It also has a thread mount for filters and a hood, which some of the newer models have omitted completely.

wwaag

BRC wrote on 1/19/2015, 9:04 AM

In view of the comments and questions here I decided to travel by bus into a town 6 miles away and used my PJ530e to capture just over 10 minutes of the journey to test the Balanced Optical Stabilising.

Being a diesel, single deck bus there was enough normal vibration, however to ensure I maximised this I rested my arm holding the camera against the window - that definitely ramped up the shaking. The windows of the bus were covered in road dirt, as is normal this time of year, and gave a good reference point for comparing against the buildings along the road, on which the camera was focused.

The result was much better than I anticipated with very smooth movement of the focused images whilst the dirt on the windows could be clearly seen 'bumping about' against that background. Just to add to this try-out the bus seemed to find most potholes in the road to give a nice solid thump to the chassis. That motion could be detected in the video footage but in a very smooth, minimal deviation, which I put down to my arm moving rather than any loss of stabilisation.

I won't share the video as it must be one of the most boring bits of video I have ever shot (others may disagree). However, it does show that the BOS does work and, in my opinion, very well.

BRC