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By 

G. Buzel “G” (San Diego, CA) –

  

I have had this cam right now for about 3 weeks. I was one of the first to buy it. Being a “pro” user (I have the PMW-EX3), I found a good niche for this cam. The real plus is the size and image quality you obtain for such a small form factor in this camcorder.

Pros:

Small SIze
Lightweight
Great video quality
Still mage quality better but still not as good as a DSLR
Steady shot is fabulous (makes many handheld shots look near or almost tripod steady! Best stabilization I have seen to date!)
Shotgun mic, directional picks up well
Touch screen LCD, 3″ large
Has EVF (not great but i has one)
64GB internal memory over 300mins at max quality of shooting time
External mic jack
Ext headphone jack
“nightshot” IR mode and cam has IR light illuminator
HDMI out (HDMI mini)
Great optics
Full HD chip

Cons:
Manual Control very limited and menu based
Audio adjustment is just 2 positions attenuated and normal
No audio metering
LCD is fingerprint prone and needs to be wiped down after a few uses
EVF very small, cannot be used for focus adjustments
no progressive video

Many have wrote to me and said the HXR-MC50U is very similar to the CX550. I never used one so I can’t say.
This cam is great for “run and gun” work, ENG, filmmakers, and news shooting. It should never be considered for your “primary” cam, but its a great derringer cam ready to be with you whenever.
And if your a still photo person, the still quality is the best I have seen for a camcorder, but it won’t replace a full JPG shot with w DSLR like a Canon or Nikon.

Over all this cam gets 5 stars since it works great for what I use it for…run and gun, it stealth and works great for it’s size.

Thanks

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