Bottom line: The Sony DVD505 is a great DVD camcorder with top of the line still performance and decent class video performance, perfect for the ease of use DVD camcorder buyer. However, if you’re spending this much on a camcorder, we recomend going with the Panasonic for it’s slightly better performance and, more importantly, better manual control.

If you’re a casual shooter looking to do minimal editing, the Sony DCR-DVD505 may end up in your travel bag. The DVD505 boasts widescreen DVD video recording with its CMOS sensor, while capturing Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound via the built-in mic. Watching your video is as close as the nearest DVD player.

Thanks to a large LCD screen and responsive performance, shooting with the Sony Handycam DCR-DVD505 is a pleasure; throw in its superior video quality, and the camcorder makes an excellent alternative to MiniDV models if you’re looking for straight-to-player convenience.