Sony Handycam HDR-XR550V

Recently I purchased the Sony Handycam HDR-XR550V and these are my findings.

Pros:

• High quality video


• High quality still photos


• Internal hard disk drive, means no switching tapes


• Can use MemoryStick Pro Duo or SD memory cards


• Manual focus knob


• Small size

Cons:

• LCD touch screen still could use improvement


• I don't like that it turns on the moment you open the LCD panel


• No Firewire port, USB is much slower than Firewire for data transfer


• The GPS geotagging is limited to working only with the Sony software, which does NOT work with Macintosh. Geotagged photos are NOT recognized by iPhoto's "places" feature. Sony should have used real geotagging technology, instead of their proprietary geotagging which requires their proprietary software!


• The stupid thing is Sony took the time to include a Mac version of the Product Registration but NOT the software on the disk included with this camera.


• Doesn't include an HTMI cable, these things are cheap enough to supply one of Sony wanted to. I can buy an HTMI cable online for around $2-$3.