Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Came for the 4K, stayed for the stabilization! The Balanced Optical SteadyShot (B.O.S.S.) image stabilizer on this thing is phenomenal for handheld shooting, best I've ever seen. Supposed to be slightly better in HD mode than 4K, but I didn't notice a significant difference. You can walk while shooting in wide angle, or zoom in all the way while standing still, and get usable to great footage -- no tripod necessary. Of course, you can't do swish pans and fling the camera around and expect miracles, but if you at least make an *attempt* to help it out by smoothing and dampening your motions or bracing yourself (like any decent cameraperson would), you can get unexpectedly great results. Yes, the AX100 has the much bigger 1" sensor. But that model is now about 3 years old and about $700 more, while this camera has the very latest (2016) vastly improved optical stabilizer technology. Since I'm shooting lots of handheld documentary footage, often in remote locations with only occasional tripod shots, I opted for the better stabilizer rather than the bigger sensor and am VERY glad I did. Requires a fast SDXC card -- I used this SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB UHS-1/U3 card with no problems: SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB UHS-I/U3 SDXC Flash Memory Card with up to 95MB/s- SDSDXPA-128G-G46. You can fit about 2.5 hours of 4K @ 100mbps in XAVC-S mode on this card, more than double that for only HD resolution. I can report that the XAVC-S video from this camera works GREAT as-is when imported directly to iMovie 10.1 or greater on the Mac. I was pleasantly surprised -- you don't need a top-of-the line machine for basic 4K editing, my 2012 MacBook Air with an SSD does OK, and anything newer with an SSD should be even better. You do NOT need any scammy 3rd-party XAVC-S transcoding software, which you will find plenty of links to if you are googling around for AX53 and XAVC-S. I just mounted the SDXC card in my computer, clicked Import in iMovie 10.1.2, selected some clips, and could start viewing and editing them right away. The 4K video looks GREAT on a calibrated HD monitor and TV downscaled to 1080p. Update: finally got the chance to view it on a large calibrated 4K monitor, and yes you really can tell the difference; you don't perceive it as 4x more detail, but finely textured areas definitely seem more lifelike and tactile than in 1080p. The camera has some features for transferring video wirelessly, but that looked like a lot of trouble to me. I like simple things: just pop the card out, and stick it in your computer. Reading reviews, people kept complaining about two main things with this camera: not enough manual controls, and some kind of "bug" with the stabilizer when shooting on a tripod. Actually, I really like the Manual button, you can use it to choose which ONE of about 6 settings the lens ring controls, and you can do that from just the viewfinder (no touchscreen necessary). I wish I had 3 manual buttons like you do on the AX100, but I'll live. I also used the "My Button" feature to put 3 quick-access "soft buttons" always on the left side of the touchscreen: White Balance, Spot Focus, and Audio Rec Level. That's enough to remind me to take care of those things before every shot. As for the stabilizer "bug", I didn't see it. For moving shots on a tripod (live panning and tilting with a fluid head) you want to turn SteadyShot off, otherwise it will fight you -- same with any lens that has optical image stabilization. But for locked-down tripod shots I didn't bother turning SteadyShot off and didn't notice any problems. Focusing system is fast in reasonable light -- when picking a target on touchscreen (Spot Focus), it goes from infinity to a foot away in less than a second. When in auto-focus mode and moving around, the camera actually takes its time and waits for things to settle down a bit before selecting a target, which I liked. When shooting, I start out by putting the camera in "full auto" mode with the little "iAuto" icon on lower right of screen (SONY calls it "Intelligent Auto"), which resets everything to auto while the camera tries to figure out a scene mode, exposure, shutter speed, etc. Then if necessary I make a few manual changes: white balance (using a white card), focus (using touchscreen or manual dial), and sound level. I observe the on-screen guides for Focus Peaking and Zebra Stripes. If I see too many zebra areas, I press and hold the Manual button for a second, pick the Exposure setting in the on-screen menu, and dial it down a little. That's about it -- but for quick run-and-gun the camera does a surprisingly good job when in iAuto mode, even in low light, and always with that great stabilizer. I use external mics exclusively, and the audio quality has been excellent: Rode VideoMic GO (powered by camera) or Rode Wireless Filmmaker Kit (transmitter, receiver, and lapel mic). I love the Time Lapse feature -- but unfortunately it stores the frames as individual 4K JPEGs rather than a movie, which means you have to use external software before importing to iMovie or whatever. I use the free Mac app called "Interval" (from the App Store) - pick an input folder with all the frames, pick your output settings, export as 4K QuickTime movie, then import that into iMovie. You don't need the SONY PlayMemories Home software for ANYTHING. This is a great hobbyist/prosumer camera for getting into 4K/UHD shooting, small and lightweight, feels very comfortable in your palm for on-the-go situations, and can yield amazing footage with a little care.