Performance

The Sony DCR-DVD505 ships with a 2000K (1910K effective) Advanced HAD 1/3-inch ClearVID CMOS sensor, something we haven’t seen on a DVD camcorder thus far. While a CMOS sensor was used on last year’s DCR-PC1000, it has yet to appear on a DVD camcorder in Sony’s, or anyone else’s, product line. Hopefully, the video performance of such a sensor can surpass the performance of the DCR-PC1000. It certainly could, with significantly more pixels and the new ClearVID technology.

According to Sony the ClearVID technology produces a wider dynamic range and higher processing speed than a conventional CCD, as featured on Sony’s other DVD camcorders. It also tilts the pixels at a 45 degree angle, which improves picture quality. In addition, the DCR-DVD505 boosts the number of green pixels, which is the color that registers the most detail to the human eye. However, the reader will note that the DCR-DVD405 features more pixels overall than the DCR-DVD505 (3,310K gross). Similar to the DCR-DVD405, the DCR-DVD505 will use the Primary Color Filter for improved color performance. This guy is a tough one to predict; we’ll have to wait for testing to really discover what’s going on behind the cosmetics.

Low Light Performance

It is pretty easy to image the DCR-DVD505 performing better in low light than all of Sony’s DVD camcorders of last year and most this year. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the DCR-DVD405, a camcorder with more pixels that still lacks the ClearVID CMOS. It will also be interesting to see how it stacks up against the DCR-HC96, Sony’s top-of-the-line MiniDV camcorder this year, which has a 1/3-inch 3000K (2050 effective) CCD. Like the DCR-DVD505, the DCR-HC96 features Sony’s Primary Color Filter, which may yield similar results as far as colors go.

Format

Compression

The DCR-DVD505 features standard DVD compression The DCR-DVD505 uses MPEG-2 video compression with JPEG still images, and audio is Dolby Digital 5.1. This is one of the major drawbacks to the DVD format; you sacrifice quality (extra compression) for convenience and the ability to say that you have the first DVD camcorder on the block. News: it’s not that cool anymore.

Media

Sony DVD cams used to have an edge on Panasonic’s; Sony’s recorded to DVD-RW discs while Panasonic’s only recorded on DVD-R/RAM. This allowed the user to reuse Discs on the Sony, which was nice. But, alas, those halcyon days are over; this year, Panasonic DVD camcorders come with the added bonus are recording on not only DVD-R/RAM disc but, you guessed it, also DVD-RW. The playing field has become increasingly competitive, to be sure.

Editing

The editing capabilities for DVD camcorders have always been extremely limited, and the DCR-DVD505 offers few solutions to this problem. Most serious editing programs cannot yet import DVD footage. Perhaps a better editing system will soon emerge to address these issues. But thus far no improvements have been made in this department over last year’s models.

Tour

**The Front **

The front of the Sony DCR-DVD505 features the camcorder’s large Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with a 30mm filter diameter, similar to that of the DCR-DVD403. In fact, much is similar between the body types of these two camcorders, especially their fronts. Both the DCR-DVD505 and DCR-DVD405 feature a flash above the end of the lens barrel on the front, an interesting placement. Below the barrel’s end, the camcorder’s slopes quickly away from us, with the camcorder’s infrared sensor.

**The Right Side **

The right side of the DCR-DVD505 contains the camcorder’s DVD disc mechanism, similar to many other DVD camcorders of the past. The user’s hand grasps the camcorder here, and Sony has wisely elevated the upper lip of the disc mechanism to give the right hand’s fingers a conveniently lofty perch.

**The Back **

The back of the DCR-DVD505 looks impressively stuffed with… well, stuff. Most prominently, it features the camcorder’s battery pack with an opaque plastic MemoryStick DUO slot cover (oddly reminiscent of that on the DCR-HC90—ah, those were the days!) above it, squeezed in between the battery and the camcorder’s color viewfinder. An inconveniently slim record button is located to the right of the battery, with an excellently located flash-option toggle button above. Above this is a slider knob that has unfortunately been appearing more and more on Sony camcorders over the years. This knob, when slid, switches between the camcorder’s video / still modes. This is all well and good, but I’d rather have a more secure device administering my mode selection; one slip of the thumb, and I’m in a whole new reality.

**The Left Side **

The left side of the DCR-DVD505 is reason enough to buy this camcorder. It contains the camcorder’s enormous widescreen LCD screen (3.5"). This is a welcome sight, as it’s been a few years since a manufacturer has been this generous with an LCD screen on an affordable consumer cam. Below the LCD’s large folding panel, the DCR-DVD505 features a slender panel of buttons for Play/Edit mode and back light.

To the right of these buttons are a series of ports, conveniently located. They include the remote jack, the camcorder’s proprietary A/V input/output port, and the DC input. The camcorder’s USB port is located just above the DC input, though covered by the camcorder’s LCD screen. Other buttons shielded by this panel include Easy mode, Wide Select (to select16:9 or 4:3), and Battery Info./Display. The playback speaker is also located here.

The Top

The top of the DCR-DVD505 comes equipped with the Advanced Accessory Shoe, Sony’s shrunken, proprietary-fit accessories shoe, which is able to accommodate the featured add-on, a Bluetooth wireless microphone and receiver. This mic system does not come included, but if purchased, can take advantage of the 5.1 channel Dolby Digital Surround Sound audio feature. Behind the shoe is the camcorder’s extendable and bendable viewfinder with the camcorder’s photo button and zoom toggle to the left.

Auto / Manual Controls

Picture & Manual Control

Many of the changes made from last year’s DVD camcorders have taken place in the camcorder’s design and imaging specs rather than automatic and manual controls. Here’s the rundown.

• Automatic Control *
  

The DCR-DVD505 features Sony’s Easy mode, accessible by use of a button underneath the camcorder’s LCD screen. This mode drastically simplifies things by reducing nearly every control to an automatic setting. Sony has long been known for ease of use, so buyers of this cam are bound to appreciate this feature. These automatic controls are very much in line with the quality that Sony has been producing over the past couple years. They provide good smooth transitions when you need them; they’re less choppy and more accurate than you’ll find on most manufacturers.

Of course, the obvious 'automatic control' or rather, ease of use feature of the DCR-DVD505 is the DVD format, which makes playback and sharing video much easier. In addition, the ease of use features like Spot Focus and Spot Metering which allow you to ocuh an area of the screen and the camcorder will automatically adjust focus or exposure to that area. All around, the DVD505 is an incredibly easy to use camcorder.

*Overall Manual Control *

The DCR-DVD505 features the same manual controls as last year’s top Sony camcorders. There is manual control over zoom, focus, and exposure, with Sony’s predictable lack of available manual shutter speed adjustment. This has never been Sony’s strong suit, and nothing has changed here. Expect comparable manual control to that on the DCR-HC85, with a few added smoke-and-mirrors perks to distract you from what you could be controlling instead. For example, instead of manual shutter speed adjustment, Sony has graciously provided zebra patterning. 

Our other complaint (ubiquitous to Sonys camcorders this year) is the touch screen LCD replacing nearly all dedicated buttons on the body. Touch screens can be beneficial for some situations, such as low light. But generally, you’d rather not get your greasy fingers all over the part of the camcorder that you use to judge image quality. Then there’s the inconvenience of touching button after button instead of a simple scroll bar. But it looks like Sony has no plans to alter their allegiance with this choice, so we welcome comments from touch screen fans explaining why they like it.

Zoom

The DCR-DVD505 features the same zoom specs as the DCR-DVD405, with a 10x optical zoom and 120x digital. While the 10x optical zoom is nothing to write home about, the camcorder’s zoom toggle (featured on most new Sonys this year) is very smooth, though perhaps a placement that’s a little more in line with the index finger would be better. Variable speed zooms are available with a little coordination.

*Focus *

Manual focus is, unfortunately, only available for adjustment within the camcorder’s touch screen menu. This makes adjustment a more involved and more tedious process than it would be with something like a focus ring. Focus is adjusted along a horizontal meter by tapping the actual LCD screen of the camcorder, which may cause some shaking in the recorded image. At least actual focus length information is given as you tap (18mm-2.5mm)

*Exposure (Aperture) *

Exposure is also clumsily operated within the camcorder’s touch screen menu. While tapping and shaking of the image might not be too much a problem in this instance, there aren’t any F-stop readings which would have made manual adjustment more fulfilling.

Shutter Speed

There is no manual shutter speed adjustment on the DCR-DVD505.

White Balance

Manual white balance adjustment is fine, and because white balance is generally set before recording rather than during, the necessity of entering the camcorder’s touch screen menu might not be as much of a problem as it is with other manual controls. White balance options include Auto, Indoor, Outdoor, and One Push (manual).

Gain

There is no manual gain on the DCR-DVD505. Look to Panasonic’s new camcorders for this.

Still Features

**Still Features
**The stills from the DCR-DVD505 could be quite impressive, if the specs are anything to go by. With only 2000K pixels in its CMOS ClearVID sensor, the DCR-DVD505 captures stills at 2304 x 1728 or 2304 x 1296 in widescreen at 4.0 MP apiece. Apparently the ClearVID technology makes this possible. It is unclear how these stills will actually look like— or become—four megapixel images, but we promise to get to the bottom of this in our upcoming full review. Still options include: 4.0MP, 3.0MP, 1.9MP, and 0.3MP. All of the manual controls available in video mode are available in still mode.

Handling and Use

Handling

The DCR-DVD505 offers decent handling. With the coupling of the DVD mechanism’s overriding of the top of the camcorder and the extreme size of the LCD providing optimal visualization, the camcorder exceeds in it ability to provide handheld operation. However, the zoom toggle could be better placed, more in line with the index finger (maybe my hands are just deformed). This placement isn’t a problem when shooting with a tripod, but really, who uses a tripod with a DVD camcorder?

These new barrel-oriented Sony DVD camcorders, the DCR-DVD405 and DCR-DVD505, handle much better than the other DVD camcorders of lower price put out by Sony this year, namely the DCR-DVD105, DCR-DVD205, and DCR-DVD305. The raised lip of the DVD mechanism provides an added bonus to the handling not found on others of these DVD camcorders. A similar design is apparent on Sony's new hard disc camcorder as well, the DCR-SR100.

LCD/Viewfinder

One of the major selling points for the DCR-DVD505 over the DCR-DVD405 is the humongous size of its LCD screen. The camcorder features a 3.5" screen, a size seen only on a few other Sonys, including the HDR-FX1 and the elusive, and discontinued, DCR-PC55. The screen features 211K pixels, and offers a tremendous viewing experience for everyone involved. I for one am thoroughly satisfied. The camcorder also features a color viewfinder with 123K pixels, the same as the DCR-DVD405.

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

******Audio**

The DCR-DVD505, like the DCR-DVD405, and the DCR-DVD403 before them, are Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound center microphone-ready, the potency of which can be monitored using the feature of like name in the camcorder’s touch screen menu. I think this is more of a gimmick than the general public needs. (It seems that way—why else would Sony be putting on everything else?) Be that as it may, it can’t hurt; just don’t be suckered into the PR tempest. Many simple playback software programs are not licensed by Dolby and will reduce the sound track to simple stereo. Using Bluetooth technology, you can broadcast this signal a hundred feet too, which is admittedly pretty cool.

The camcorder, unfortunately, features Sony’s proprietary accessory shoe, making it impossible to buy anything other than Sony brand products for this cam. In addition, the DCR-DVD505 features no mircophone input or headphone jack, so you are incredibily limited in your audio options. The camcorder features an A/V input/output just below the LCD screen, which is, guess what, proprietary as well. Cables for this one come included, however; don’t worry. Anyway, this allows for analog to digital conversion as you can run all your old analog tapes into the DCR-DVD505 and archive the footage onto DVD disc.

VCR Mode

The DCR-DVD505 features a different playback mode from last year’s DVD camcorders, and frankly, it’s better. Access to this mode is available by pressing the Play/Edit button located under the LCD screen panel. The display on the LCD features a nifty graphic of a disc with a small bubble indicating which type of disc you are recording/playing back from (the Sony DCR-DVD505 records to DVD-R,+R, and -RW discs). You can press the different tabs to view your recorded stills and movies on either disc or memory stick. Display options include deciding whether or not you want the thumbnails of motion pictures to actually play as a thumb (sort of like DVD chapter thumbnails playing in a DVD menu screen).

Ports

The DCR-DVD505 features a number of ports, all located below the LCD panel. These include the camcorder’s A/V input/output as well as a DC input. Also, a USB port is located underneath the LCD screen itself. These are standard DVD camcorder ports with the added bonus of an analog input.

Other Features

Other Features*

Smooth Slow Recording--*This is a feature unique to the DCR-DVD505. This feature records at four times the normal rate (240 fps rather than 60 fps). Like a fast shutter speed would, this effects allows for fast moving images (like cars, planes, and trains, and the occasional person) to be recorded with more detail and less blur. While containing no more data than a normal 60 fps segment, the resulting footage recorded with such an effect shows action slowed down and offers a very convincing slow motion look. Smooth Slow Record can only be initiated in 3-second intervals, making 3 seconds of real-time video playback in 12 seconds.
**

*Super SteadyShot--*This is Sony’s electronic image stabilization effect featured on many of their camcorders. It is not optical.

Comparisons / Conclusion

Conclusion

The Sony DCR-DVD505 is a hard one to give a concrete judgment. I suppose most of the answer to the riddle lies in the results of the new imaging technology at work in this camcorder. Usually, we’ve seen that CMOS camcorders perform worse than standard CCD camcorders when you look at two chips with similar specs; however, the performance gap is narrowing and that could change. After all, we’ve haven’t seen a CMOS chip with this many pixels used in a camcorder either. Furthermore, it would be interesting to see how those four megapixel stills will turn out, particularly as they are emerging from a 2MP sensor.

Other than the imaging system, the DCR-DVD505 doesn’t really offer much more over any of last year’s Sony DVD camcorder line. As an improvement over the DCR-DVD403, it offers an (expectedly) better imaging system, a few negligible new features, and a new design. However, since the DCR-DVD403 was such a good camcorder there isn't a ton to improve on. What we would like to have seen: more advanced options, audio options, some less compressed video - aren't on this camcorder. The huge, 3.5" LCD is special, and if it’s a really important feature to you, go ahead and dig out that credit card. But the wiser soul would wait to see how the DCR-DVD405 performs and try to save a few bucks. Buy the kids some new shoes instead with your cash, and sit tight while we take a closer look.