[Updated: July 9, 2009 @ 8:56am] Following in the footsteps of the hard-drive based Sony Handycam HDR-XR500V and HDR-XR520V released earlier this year, the newly announced Sony Handycam HDR-CX500V and HDR-CX520V are updated and flash-memory based versions of the camcorders. Like their predecessors, the CX500V and CX520V (which are identical to each other save for the built-in 32GB and 64GB of flash memory respectively) can capture full 1920×1080 high-definition video and up to 12-megapixel still photos, and include many of the same features as their hard-drive siblings, including the ability to geotag video and photos using built-in GPS receivers.
As with the XR500V and XR520V, you should remember that unlike geotagged still photos, there’s no set standard yet for storing metadata with a video file, so the GPS data that Sony stores in an associated file can’t be used by most applications. The camcorder’s Map Index feature, however, lets you search and find recorded scenes by location (or view where the scene was captured).
The new cameras improve upon their predecessors’ Active Mode Optical SteadyShot image stabilization feature by adding 3-Way Shake Canceling, which reduces hand shake in three directions (adding electronic image stabilization for lateral-roll shake to the existing optical image stabilization that corrects for vertical and horizontal shake). The new models also improve upon face and smile detection features by adding a new Face Touch function that allows you to select a face to be prioritized by touching the detected face onscreen. With Face Touch is activated, the Smile Shutter feature will automatically take a still photo only when it detects a smile on the prioritized face (even while shooting video). Additionally, the new camcorders will automatically convert content to 60p output when connected to a compatible HDTV, and can down-convert to standard-def internally for burning DVDs.
Look for the new camcorders to ship in September, with the 32GB HDR-CX500V selling for about $1,100 and the 64GB HDR-CX520V selling for about $1,300.
[Updated: The original post erroneously listed flash memory storage amounts in MB rather than GB.]
