This little beauty is a pocket sized wonder that offers true 1920 x 1080 video capture. A Hybrid camcorder, you can capture to either the removable Memory Stick PRO Duo media or the built-in 16GB built-in flash memory.
When played back on a TV set, the video is exceptional and the camera is very fun to use. As part of my testing process, I usually hand it over to my kids. They are used to getting cool little camcorders to play with but this time around, I am going to have to have a very difficult time prying this little wonder out of their hands!
TG5V also includes a 2.7" LCD touch panel screen for intuitive menu navigation and a 1/5" CMOS sensor for capturing high quality 2.3MP video and 4MP stills. It also features 10x optical zoom and SteadyShot image stabilization. In addition to these standard features, the TG5V also features Face Detection for automatic exposure and focus adjustment on up to 8 faces and Smile Shutter for capturing the best smiles in still images. If you are interested, there are a wide variety of manual overrides and features tuning capabilities accessible via the touch menus.
For TV playback and transfer to your computer for editing, the Sony HDR-TG5V High Definition Handycam Camcorder also includes a nice pod station with video and USB connectors. You can easily transfer the video for them camcorder to your computer for editing, and sharing.
What makes the new Sony HDR-TG5V Handycam really cool is Geotagging. The built-in GPS receiver lets you tag your shots for storage and easy retrieval from the camera's Map Index. This is neat - The GPS receiver also automatically sets the camcorder's clock to the correct time zone and shows your current location.
A couple of negatives. This is not a professional camcorder. There is no audio input jack for using an external mike. You can do manual focusing the the focus control on the back of the camera does not lend itself to smooth movement. However, it does offer digital image stabilization, a tripod screw jack, and a selection of special effects and manual overrides that can be access via the menu system.
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