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Sony Handycam HDR-SR5 review: Sony Handycam HDR-SR5

Sony Handycam HDR-SR5

Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories
Lori Grunin
4 min read

7.0

Sony Handycam HDR-SR5

The Good

Neat face index feature; bundled dock.

The Bad

No eye-level viewfinder; no wind filter; no USB port on camcorder, just on bundled dock; annoying touch-screen interface; cables not ubiquitous yet for mini-HDMI connector.

The Bottom Line

An uninspiring entrant in Sony's HD camcorder lineup, the Sony Handycam HDR-SR5's video quality and performance simply don't deliver for the price.

With its sub-$1,000 street price, HD video support, hard-disk-based recording, and Sony provenance, the Handycam HDR-SR5 certainly seems like a bargain. Mostly, however, the SR5 simply confirms my belief that decent HD video will still run you more than $1,000. (But spending another $300 or so to upgrade from the 40GB SR5 to the 100GB SR5C, doesn't count.)

If you discount the small touch-screen LCD and lack of an eye-level viewfinder, the SR5 has a perfectly serviceable design. With its shiny silver-and-matte-black duotone body, it lacks the sophistication of the 7-series models, but that's pretty typical for the camcorder B-list. At about 1 pound, 3 ounces, it weighs down a jacket pocket but is pretty comfortable to hold during extended shooting. As you'd expect for the money, it feels solidly built, with nice touches such as a sliding jack cover, an electronic lens cover, and a sturdy tethered hotshoe protector.

The rest of the controls on the body sit in the places you'd expect to find them: zoom switch, photo shutter, and power/mode switch fall under your index finger, while the stop/start record button lies under your thumb. A tiny button for turning on the flash (for still photography) sits between the power and record controls. On the left side of the gripping ridge formed by the hard disk enclosure is the NightShot switch. Underneath the LCD you'll find the buttons for for completely automatic operation (Easy), cycling through the display options, and launching thumbnail views, plus the slot for the Memory Stick Pro Duo that's required for shooting still photos.

Also typical--at least for Sony--you operate almost all of the camcorder's functions via the touch-screen menu system. As I've said before, and will repeat ad nauseam, the 2.7-inch LCD is too small for comfortable touch-screen operation. You have to press the tiny navigation icons with the very tips of your fingers, something that gets even more difficult in colder climes. Thankfully, there are larger, easier to press icons for adjusting exposure compensation, white balance, focus, and choosing scene modes. (For more comments on the design, see the slide show.)

Along with its duo of siblings--the tape-based HDR-HC5 and the DVD-based HDR-UX5--the SR5 uses Sony's 1/3-inch, 2.1-megapixel ClearVid CMOS sensor, recording video at 1.4-megapixel (HD) or 1.1-megapixel (SD) resolution before upsampling and encoding to 1080i HD (1,440x1,080) or SD (720x480), respectively. The 40GB model will hold almost 5.5 hours of best-quality video, while the 100GB model will hold 13 hours. It also shoots photos at native 1.4-megapixel (16:9) or 2.0-megapixel (4:3) resolutions, despite the grandiose 4-megapixel claim on the body, which refers to a maximum interpolated resolution. It sports a 10x zoom Zeiss T*-coated lens and 5.1 Dolby surround-sound recording.

Unlike the higher-end SR7, there's relatively little in the way of manual controls--just those mentioned previously. Since I don't normally shoot people when testing camcorders, I did overlook an interesting feature in my evaluation of the SR7, which also appears in the SR5: Face Index. This will provide thumbnails of every recognizable face in a clip and allow you to jump directly to that bit of the video during playback. Other post-shoot-friendly features include a mini-HDMI connector--though the cables are still quite pricey--and a bundled dock with one-button disc burn.

By most performance measures, the SR5 fares okay. From a cold start, it takes about 8.5 seconds for the hard disk to spin up and be ready to shoot, and recording generally starts instantaneously when you press the button. The SteadyShot image stabilization works well throughout the zoom range and doesn't seem to mess with panning, and the autoexposure adjusts accurately and quickly to changes in scene illumination. However, the autofocus seems quite sluggish compared to that of other Sony models I've used (as well as to competitors'), frequently taking several seconds to lock on to a new subject, even in good light.

And speaking of light, the automatic white balance renders overly cool colors under a variety of light sources; that, combined with a propensity for seriously blown-out highlights, results in some very washed-out looking video. (You can see a couple of image samples here.) Nor is the video sufficiently sharp, thanks to the relatively low-resolution sensor. To produce decent HD video you need a sensor with an effective video resolution of at least 1.6 megapixels (1,440x1,080), making the sensor the last place you want to cut back for an HD camcorder. Yet it's the first place most manufacturers chop for consumer models. There's a visible difference between the video from the SR5 and the similarly street-priced Canon HG10, with its native 1,920x1,080 resolution--as well as the significantly more expensive SR7. I also wish Sony would punt the 5.1-surround microphone instead, and replace it with a really good directional mic.

The Sony Handycam HDR-SR5 isn't a bad camcorder, but if you're going to spend the money for an HD model--as well as endure the hassle of dealing with AVCHD video, you might as well go for one with superior video. And before even considering the 100GB SR5C, remember that for almost the same price you can get the much-better SR7--the difference in video capacity is trivial in comparison.

7.0

Sony Handycam HDR-SR5

Score Breakdown

Design 7Features 7Performance 7Image quality 7