Sony Handycam HDR-XR520VE

Colour (7.68)

The Sony HDR-XR520VE provides the impressive colour performance that we come to expect from a top-of-the-line camcorder. The colour error is just 4.56 and the saturation is a healthy 93.47%. The most notable colour discrepancies come from the green and pink ranges, which are heavily skewed in bright light and low light conditions. You might also notice that the XR520's processing seems to darken the image. This is probably just the automatic controls kicking in to dampen the 3000-lux lighting conditions. In the real world, the dimmer image could prevent overblown highlights. Unfortunately, it could also limit the effective dynamic range of the camcorder. If you're shooting in an area with a mixture of bright and dark lighting, the darkened image might cause you to lose information in the shadows. Manual exposure control can correct this, but a lot of consumers shoot exclusively in auto mode—even on a camcorder like the XR520. (More on how we test colour.)

Colour Accuracy Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Sony HDR-XR520VE produced a colour error of 4.56 and a saturation level of 93.47% in our bright light colour testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the colour error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular colour.)

The XR520 offers very little in the way of alternate colour modes. There is no vivid/neutral setting, as you'll find on the top models from Canon and JVC, and no soft skin mode, saturation controls, etc. There is, however, a white balance shift tool, which allows you to manually tweak the white balance. This is an unusual setting for a consumer camcorder, so we shot some footage with the white balance shifted to ±4 (below).

Sony HDR-XR520VE Colour Modes
Auto	100% Crop
WB shift +4	100% Crop
WB shift -4	100% Crop

The bold, vivid colours are impressive when compared to most camcorders on the market; the XR520 is a worthy flagship model for Sony's 2009 line-up. However, the XR520 does not come out ahead when compared to top models from other manufacturers. For the most accurate colour performance, you will want to consider the surprising JVC GZ-HD320, which had mediocre sharpness and low light performance, but an exceptional colour accuracy of 2.04. Combined with a saturation of 98.41%, this might be the best colour performance we've seen in a consumer camcorder. The JVC has some other elite company, however: top-of-the-line models from Canon, Panasonic, and Sanyo also outperformed the Sony HDR-XR520VE. All three recorded a colour error around 4 and most have a superior saturation to that produced on the XR520.

Sony HDR-XR520VE Colour Comparisons
Sony HDR-XR520VE	Canon HF S100
Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sanyo VPC-HD2000

The charts above, all shot at 3000 lux, will give you an idea of the colour performance when compared to top models from Canon, Panasonic, and Sanyo. Again, all four camcorders produce excellent images in bright light; the Sony is just a bit less accurate and less saturated than the competition. In the crops below, you can especially see how the XR520 image is darker than the others. Luminance does not impact colour error—a camcorder can produce an accurate hue, but have a darker or brighter image—but it does impact what your footage will ultimately look like.

	Close-Up Colour Comparisons
	Ideal	Sony HDR-XR520VE	Canon HF S100	Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Red
	Ideal	Sony HDR-XR520VE	Canon HF S100	Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Green
	Ideal	Sony HDR-XR520VE	Canon HF S100	Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Blue
	Ideal	Sony HDR-XR520VE	Canon HF S100	Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	Sony HDR-XR520VE	Canon HF S100	Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Skin Tone 2

As you can see from the crops above and the score comparison chart below, the Sony HDR-XR520VE has good colour performance, but can't quite keep up with the Canon HF S100, Panasonic HDC-HS300, or the Sanyo VPC-HD2000.

Colour Performance Scores

Noise (6.21)

While the Sony was not able to produce colours with the vibrancy and accuracy of the competition, it did pretty good in the noise department. The picture is clear, registering just 0.89% noise. This is a good performance, especially for a camcorder with such a sharp image. We found that many of the camcorders with very high sharpness were also registering high noise levels, since blurrier images tend to obscure fine noise. The HDR-XR520VE manages to excel in high sharpness and fairly low noise—perhaps a result of the new back-illuminated Exmor-R sensor. (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparisons
Sony HDR-XR520VE 100% Crop	Canon HF S100 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-HS300 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop

When you're comparing the best of the best, there's little difference between bright light performers. The XR520 does produce slightly lower noise levels than the Panasonic and the Sanyo, but the difference is hard to see with the naked eye. The Canon HF S100, however, has visibly higher noise levels, especially near the busier parts of the chart. Though the Sony and the Canon have great, clear, video, the Canon registered nearly three times the amount of noise in our testing lab.

Noise Score Comparisons