Sony HDR-CX550VE

Auto Mode (10.22)

iAuto is the camcorder's dedicated auto mode.

Sony does a good job with automatic controls on most of its camcorders and the HDR-CX550V appeared to follow this trend. The camcorder even includes a dedicated auto mode button (labelled iAuto), which is essentially a reincarnation of Sony's "Easy Mode" button that was a staple on previous models (but was mysteriously absent on last year's products). We like this dedicated auto mode button and it is a very useful feature for beginners.

Automatic exposure adjustments with the CX550V are smooth and the transitions take just the right amount of time. We didn't notice any choppy alterations in light levels as we moved from bright to dark scenes—the camcorder handled each transition with ease. Autofocus adjustment was similarly smooth and quick. The camcorder sometimes had difficulty with its automatic white balance, but usually colours would look okay after a few moments. If you don't want to deal with odd colour tones at times, we recommend using a manual white balance or trying one of the two white balance pre-set options.

The HDR-CX550V is outfitted with a special Low Lux mode that is meant to improve video performance in low light situations. The Low Lux mode does two things: it boosts gain levels (thereby making the image brighter) and it allows the shutter speed to drop down to 1/30 of a second (similar to what auto slow shutter options usually do). The thing that is different about the Low Lux mode on the CX550V as compared to last year's Sonys is that you can manually set the shutter speed on the camcorder in conjunction with the Low Lux mode. This means you can utilise the gain-boosting effect of Low Lux mode without having to deal with the choppy motion produced by a 1/30 of a second shutter speed.

Zoom (5.5)

Zooming is primarily done by using the top-mounted zoom toggle on the HDR-CX550V. This toggle is similar to what you'll see on most consumer camcorders and it works reasonably well. The camcorder doesn't have any constant zoom speed settings, but you can control zoom speed variably by pushing the toggle harder or softer.

There is also a secondary set of zoom buttons that can be displayed on the LCD (the left side of the screen). These buttons aren't great—they're small, they don't allow for variable zoom speed control, and it is easy to accidentally miss them and press another part of the screen (which makes the buttons go away). Canon has similar touch-buttons on its LCD, but they are designed much better (and they allow for variable zoom speed control). We suggest sticking with the zoom toggle on the CX550V whenever possible; it's definitely your best option for controlling zoom.

You can control zoom speed variably with the zoom toggle.		The alternate zoom buttons are on the left side of the LCD.

Zoom Ratio (3.77)

The HDR-CX550V's lens is equipped with a measly 10x optical zoom. There are a lot of camcorders out there with much larger zoom ratios than this, although most flagship models have optical zooms in the 10x to 15x range. If you want a longer zoom, you're best bet is to check out a mid-range HD model—many of which have optical zooms of 30x or more. The CX550V also has a 120x digital zoom option, but using it will degrade image quality (so we don't recommend it).

Zoom Comparisons
Wide Angle	Mid Zoom	10x Zoom

Focus (7.0)

You can adjust focus manually on the HDR-CX550V by using the front-mounted control dial, or by tapping touch-buttons on the LCD. The control dial is obviously the preferable method here as it offers more precise control. The touch interface does have its advantages, however, mainly in the form of spot focus. This feature allows you to tap a portion of the screen that you want to bring into focus and the camcorder will do so automatically.

Manual focus adjustment on the Sony HDR-CX550V		The control dial is great for manually adjusting focus.

Exposure (8.8)

Like focus, exposure can be set using the touch-screen interface or by rotating the control dial. The camcorder has a lot of incremental exposure adjustment, but it doesn't include a numerical display when setting exposure values. You can also tweak the camcorder's auto exposure system by using AE Shift. Setting AE Shift to negative values will enable the camcorder's auto exposure system to underexpose your image, while setting AE Shift to positive values will boost the auto exposure system.

Exposure control on the Sony HDR-CX550V

Exposure Control Comparison Sony HDR-CX550V 33 manual increments -4 to +4 auto exposure shift Panasonic HDC-TM700 -5 to +5 (11 increments) Canon HF S21 -11 to +11 (23 increments) JVC GZ-HM1 -6, to +6 in whole number increments

Aperture (6.75)

Aperture adjustment is called iris on the Sony HDR-CX550V, but the feature may not be easy for first-time users to discover on the camcorder. You can only set iris using the control dial, which means you won't find the option anywhere in the menu (except under dial control settings). We're not too bothered by this because the dial is great for setting the aperture, but we're unsure why Sony would include focus and exposure adjustment in the menu while leaving out aperture and shutter speed.

Aperture control on the Sony HDR-CX550V

Aperture Control Comparison Sony HDR-CX550V Aperture Priority Mode: f/1.8, f/2, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/3.4, f/4, f/4.8, f/5.6, f/6.8, f/8, f/9.6 Panasonic HDC-TM700 Manual Aperture: f/1.5 (open), f/1.7, f/2.0, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/3.4, f/4.0, f/4.8, f/5.6, f/6.8, f/8.0, f/9.6, f/11, f/14, f/16 Canon HF S21 Aperture Priority Mode: f/1.8, f/2.0, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/3.4, f/4.0, f/4.8, f/5.6, f/6.7, f/8.0 JVC GZ-HM1 Aperture Priority Mode: f/2.8, f/3.4, f/4, f/5.6

Shutter Speed (8.8)

For years Sony has held out on offering manual shutter speed and aperture control even on its flagship camcorders. With  the HDR-CX550V, however, the company has finally decided to include these lovely manual controls. Like aperture, shutter speed can only be controlled using the manual dial on the CX550V (you won't find it in the regular camcorder menu). The camcorder has quite a few shutter speed options, including three slow shutters below 1/60 of a second and a few very fast shutters—topping out at an ultra-high 1/10000 shutter speed (yes, that's four zeros).

Shutter speed control on the Sony HDR-CX550V

Shutter Speed Control Comparison Sony HDR-CX550V Shutter Priority Mode: 1/6, 1/12, 1/25, 1/50, 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/150, 1/215, 1/300, 1/425, 1/600, 1/1000, 1/1250, 1/1750, 1/2500, 1/3500, 1/6000, 1/10000 Panasonic HDC-TM700 Manual Shutter Speed: 1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/750, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, 1/8000 (plus 1/30 with Auto Slow Shutter) Canon HF S21 Shutter Priority Mode: 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000 JVC GZ-HM1 Shutter Priority Mode: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/80, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000

White Balance (7.5)

Sony doesn't include too many white balance pre-set options on the CX550V, but it does have a good manual white balance feature and it has WB Shift option. The manual white balance works quickly and all you need to do to activate it is point the camcorder at a white object and press the "one push" white balance button. The WB Shift setting can be used to alter the colour tones and give your image a warmer or cooler look. Since the camcorder has this WB Shift option, we're not all that upset by the fact that it only includes two white balance pre-sets (Outdoor and Indoor).

White Balance options on the Sony HDR-CX550V

White Balance Control Comparison Sony HDR-CX550V Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, Manual, WB Shift Panasonic HDC-TM700 Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Indoor 1, Indoor 2, Manual, WB Shift Canon HF S21 Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom JVC GZ-HM1 Auto, Manual, Fine, Cloud, Halogen

Gain (0.0)

Sony may have added shutter speed and aperture control on its 2010 flagship camcorders, but manual gain control is still not an option on the HDR-CX550V. All of the other flagship camcorders in this set offer some kind of manual gain settings, although JVC only lets you turn auto gain control on and off.

Colour & Image Controls (2.0)

Other Manual Controls (3.5)

Manual Controls Summary
Control	Sony HDR-CX550V	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	JVC GZ-HM1
Focus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Exposure	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Aperture	Aperture-priority	Manual	Aperture-priority	Manual
Shutter Speed	Shutter-priority	Manual	Shutter-priority	Manual
White Balance	Manual, WB Shift	Manual, WB Shift	Manual	Yes
Gain	No	Manual (with aperture opened fully)	AGC Limiter	AGC on/off