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For Sony HDR-AS50, 57 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 3.9.

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7.8.2016

Now that every electronics manufacturer is flooding the action-cam market with go-pro competitors, there are models to suit every budget. Established companies such as Sony are no different, and have no less than 7 models in their current line-up.The AS50 sits right near the bottom of this group - £179 from Amazon at time of writing - so how does it compare to its better-known rivals?Sony has stuck to the same design principle as their other action-cams - a vertically-oriented slimline camera resembling a mini version of the camcorder they popularised in the 1980s and 90s. It is a compact unit that fits comfortably in the hand, and whilst it becomes slightly bulkier when placed inside its protective case,the AS50 still feels small and unobtrusive. The new flat bottom design means it can be placed upright on a flat surface without toppling over and the big on/off button is easy to use, even when wearing gloves. The user interface is easy to navigate, and the LCD display is large which makes changing settings a breeze even on unstable platforms such as a boat. The head-strap is comfortable but doesn’t give the impression it would last long on your head if you took a pounding in the surf! Additionally, the provision of a red filter/cover door would be a welcome addition for underwater users.Critically Sony has provided two specific features that make this action-cam seriously useful: first is the custom-selectable white balance. Anyone who spends time recording underwater or indoors under artificial light will be pleased about this, as not everyone enjoys post-processing all night long. The second is the image stabilisation option. Again, the one thing that ruins good video is the impression that it was shot during an earthquake, which seems to invade every video I record.Sony is renowned for their excellent CMOS sensors and Zeiss-affiliated optics, so what performance can we expect from this budget unit? From a technical perspective this camera only records in 1080 or 720, so if its above-HD resolution you seek, look elsewhere. Having said that, this camera will take 4K stills so time-lapse enthusiasts can still benefit. Frame-rate maxes out at 60fps, which means that slow-mo edits are possible but only to a certain extent before the footage starts to look jumpy. Additionally many action cams now feature an auto-frame rate to ensure an even brightness and smooth footage when light levels fluctuate, but this seems to be absent here. The AS50 comes bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled, so footage can be viewed in real-time either using the wrist-mounted screen (available separately) or by linking to a smartphone using the Sony downloadable app.For a field test I compared the AS50 to its Goliath rival - the Go-Pro Hero4 black. Although this is clearly not a fair test, I set the Hero’s resolution to 1080 60fps and the results were surprising. The notable differences were steadier footage from the Sony, with slightly sharper images at the corners of the frame. The Sony tended towards a warmer colour tone compared to the Gopros’s bluer hue, but this was pleasant on the whole. Underwater footage seems fine, and in good light conditions was very good indeed. There was some visible noise in the picture as the AS50 increased the ISO to compensate, but not enough to worry most people.Overall - the AS50 can’t compete with its top of the line competitors - but it doesn’t try to. Sony has higher-end action cams for that. This camera may not record cinema-quality footage, but it would work just fine for YouTube.
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30.9.2016

I purchased this mainly for holiday and travel. It has become a nice companion to take out with me.The battery life holds up. I have taken this out and shot throughout the day and not noticed much of a drop on the battery level to be honest. Though shooting continuous video will probably get you around the 3 hour mark. Time-lapse probably a bit more depending on setting.Image quality is awesome. You can't shoot in 4k video, but you can in full HD. Details are crisp, colours are bright and the image is clear. Shooting in 720p you can also hit a bit of high speed shooting to capture more of the action in slow motion.Time lapses are stunning too. These can be shot in 4k and time between shots can be set to 10sec 15sec 30sec.Once set up, leave it alone and let the wide lens capture stunning cloud movements and sunsets or a busy town scene or even used to track progress of something being built.You can't see what you are aiming at with the camera alone, though it isn't actually too hard as the wide angle lense is rather forgiving. I have even used this as a 'point and shoot' camera to capture different perspectives with the fish eye lense. This is most useful when you are trying to cram a lot of things into an image or if you are in tight spaces and need an ultra wide shot.You can pair this with your phone using the Play Memories app. From there you get a live view of what the camera can see and also adjust settings, switch modes and capture video and stills. A quick warning though, settings you change through the application or on the camera itself stay as they are. I was shooting in a dark lit area and changed the EV to compensate using my phone. Once I had left the area and went back out into daylight, I turned my phone off and just used the camera as a point and shoot with blind aiming. I forgot to change the EV back and came home to find my shots were all bleached white and way over exposed. So it is easy to forget to change settings back, especially the EV setting as when using the camera on its own, it is buried at the back of the options menu. You can also purchase an optional wrist viewer and controller too that does the same thing as the app for the phone, with the convenience of being in a 'smartwatch' like accessory.Whilst on the subject of the menu / interface, not a lot of help or details are given to you. After playing about a bit you get the hang of it though, with some features only able to work if certain parameters are met. Like you are not allowed to shoot in a certain mode if you have image stabilisation turned on etc.Shooting underwater produces good results. I have been out at sea and also to a water park and the waterproof housing works great. Sound is blocked out a bit from being recorded with the camera in the protective case but you can still hear it a bit during playback. If you have a good video editor, you can bring the sound back up to normal volume, though it is ever so slightly muffled and any knocks or if the camera goes from being out of the water to being submerged the noise of this will be much louder than anything else you hear.For the money, I think you are getting a great camera here. With superb image quality and a great battery life. If you can live without 4k video recording and live view from the camera itself, then it's definitely worth a look at.
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12.4.2016

Having also used the HDS-AS15 and 30 models I was very disappointing at the extremely poor sound quality when the camera is in its case (virtually a silent movie with a great deal of hiss).At first I thought I had a duff one but google reveals this is not the case.I only got it today and have tried it in water down to 4 metres and the underwater sound also is poor compared with the earlier models, it would seem no thought has been put into the design of the front door for sound and it also by the way blocks the front recording LED.Unlike the earlier models I owned, this one has also got the tripod mount on the body base of the camera so you can mount and use the camera without the case. However,the camera has no water resistant rating so it can only be used without the case in perfect conditions.I bought this one because it has a manual white balance option (hardly mentioned in any review) and yes it does have this but you have to navigate through the menus to achieve it.1. Press Menu2. Down once to select settings video3. Press enter twice to get to page two of options4. Press down button three times5. Press enter6. Press down three times (or up two times)7. Press enter8. Point camera at white object e.g. diving slate and press enter againIt should then give you a tick and display the level in Kelvin e.g. 5600K9. Press enter and start shooting.I have yet to try this underwater....Off to the Red Sea in two weeks and will report again then on how well it worked.Also note the 60 Metre rating is only for 30 minutes so I assume at a lesser depth a longer dive will be acceptable...Using the Android PlayMemories Mobile App was easy and you just scan the barcode on the camera to do the WiFi pairing.No sound at all in the app until you copy recordings to the Android device and the app also has poor navigation in the settings menu which closes after every change.Grammar is also a little odd, see my screen dumps.Picture quality is pretty good and in maximum quality mode with an XC 64Gb card you will get less than 3 hours of video, in MP4 mode which I have been using you will get over 8 hours.Also note it is possible to put the MicroSD card in the wrong way round so make sure you have it right before you box it up.The same battery is used as on my other models, NP-BX1Only one piece of mounting hardware is provided called the "Attachment Buckle" which is black (my others ones came with a yellow one).UPDATE - Back From The Red SeaOther than sound, I am generally impressed with the results both underwater and on the surface (on the Live aboard) out of the case.In underwater scene mode down to 15m or so the colours are not bad and it is possible to set white balance underwater (after you take it out of underwater scene mode).If you fail to set White balance it seems to say 9000K and an explanation mark.I don't think I can add a direct link to Youtube videos but if you look for user IM35461 all the videos with Dive and a three figure number are shot with this camera (HDR-AS50 also in the tags and description).
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7.8.2016

The camera comes in a nice box, already in the waterproof case. However, before even turning the camera on I had some difficulty getting the camera out of the waterproof case, the clasp is very strong and I was worried I would break it but I really had to force it open with a screwdriver. Not ideal if you want to use it when you are out and about and need to get in to the case. The underwater case itself is good. I tested it out in the local river, getting some lovely shots from above and below the water and I had no problems with water leaking into the case and the camera was fine after use. The images were clear and I think they are good considering the cost and size of the camera,obviously they are not top quality, but for some fun action shots when out kayaking I think this camera will be ideal. There is slight distortion at the side of the images, this must be something to do with the size or type of lens, it can look a bit out of focus at the side as well. Sound is muffled when in the case and better without it, as would be expected. This is due to the thick plastic of the waterproof case, but when used without the waterproof case you lose a lot of the added protection, particularly for the lens which is exposed to the elements.You will need to buy a microSD card, but they are relatively cheap these days. I used a 64GB SanDisk one and it worked no problem, a step up from the days when Sony forced you to use their more expensive sony specific memory sicks/cards. The menu is easy to use, with a simple lcd interface. The included software is also easy to use, although simple it has enough features to edit your footage and make some nice little films and clips. Of course you can also use more expensive video software as well if you want.Overall it is a nice camera. The waterproof case is difficult to open though and is a major downside. I personally wouldn't like to use it without the case as it doesn't seem protected enough, particularly when using it outdoors where you could get water, mud and sand around it.
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8.8.2016

First up the negatives... Severe lens distortion which is apparent when filming things up close. Also the waterproof housing does seem to lose most of the audio volume. Requires you to read the manual for several aspects, charging without prior knowledge requires you to have the unit not turned on else it won't charge. Many little quirks like this that make you refer to the manual which is annoying.Despite there not being a screen, it's pretty easy to use. What is frustrating though is that if you want to clip it to something you will have to purchase the harnesses or straps to do so. All you get in the box is the camera, waterproof housing, micro USB cable and manuals. The camera itself is very very lightweight.Easy to use too!Filming in 50p is ok but the size of the film is far too big to start importing onto your smartphone for editing. I tend to use 1080p 25 fps and short clips of 30 seconds tend to weigh in at 150mb. These transfer via WiFi in around 20 seconds. I would however prefer to see the option of previewing the clips before importing them. Have tried the time lapse but plan to do so for some star trails in the next few weeks.This won't be something you'd likely swap your traditional camcorder for but in my opinion if you don't need the zoom I'm more than happily filming some family fun with this as it means you press record and hope for the best, I used it on several days out and on rollercoasters and so forth, I have to say we have some great footage that I wouldn't have risked putting a larger camera in the places this little unit is easy to use and hold onto.
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28.2.2017

Brilliant action cam. The good and bad points:Good1) Very quick to start/stop recording.2) Light and portable. Whilst skiing whether mounted on my chest or on a selfie stick the size and weight never bothers to enter your thoughts.3) Long battery life. All day recording whilst skiing taking various short clips and the battery never needed changing (although glad I bought a spare one just in case). 128 sub 3 min clips in 4 days of skiing and only charged it 3 times. This included wifi video transfers of all clips from the AS50 to my iPhone - which ultimately drained the battery to zero right at the end. Very good power performance.4) Excellent steady shots.The digital stabilisation does not over clip the picture size and is super effective. Certainly for skiing clips no need for a gimble.Bad:1) No screen. Not a big deal as looking at where the camera is pointing to gives you a remarkably accurate idea of what you are recording and you can always connect to your iPhone (albeit not practical for a quick glance and review on the slopes).2) All accessories are bespoke. Would be nice if this used GoPro mounts as variety of choices means they are cheaper. Having said that the quality of the bespoke accessories are super so again not a big deal.Over all highly recommended action cam. First class for casual and light user who is not prepared to compromise on the image quality and ease of use.
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18.2.2017

I bought the HDR50 for skiing. I bought this with the chest mount along with it (which was also excellent). The picture quality was fab and the digital stabilization worked like a dream. The sound was almost entirely shutout in the case but I knew that from reviews before I bought it - no probs as edited film was added with BGM. However when I did take it out of the case to record a pub band in hol the sound quality was very pleasing. I was also very pleasantly surprised with the battery life. I really didn't have any expectations on this and bought but out of caution I bought a spare battery. However the battery lasts so long when you only take short videos intermittently there really was no need for it.Finally the ease of use warrants a mention.The simple one button start/stop was excellent. You can set it to turn off automatically which I think must have helped with the battery too. The camera can be linked to your Smartphone and turned on/off from there (as well as used as a separate monitor) but I found this was a little on the slow side when on the slopes. However when you are released apres skiing and taking videos/pics then the monitoring via your phone proved very useful.Overall I am very happy with this camera and look forward to using it cycling when the weather improves.
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15.8.2016

This Sony camera is a bit of a mixed bag. On first impressions on onboxing it is very small, and the plastic casing seems substantial in comparison. It also was a bit of fiddle to open at first but I soon got the hang of it. Next step is using it, and this can't be done without a separate memory card. Once purchased everything was ready to go.Despite the case, the buttons are easy to access and the camera records underwater as advertised (I didn't go to any great depths). There are several options to control how filming works, though some of these are hard to get to through the menu. Given the size and the Zeiss lens, this records OK (sound is not a strong point) and if you want underwater footage,this is a decent choice for anyone who wants such a camera without a ridiculous investment.One last point, you have to transfer footage off to a computer to manipulate - not a big deal, but worth mentioning. There's also a tripod socket, though taking a tripod around is possible at odds with the idea of a small camera such as this.
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2.1.2018

Used it on my helmet, going fast ( over 90mph), no problem. The wateresistant cover keep water out. Better insulation for the batterry would do better job to prevent the screen from going foggy. But after a while it will go away. It works well with my Samsung S7. 4K goes well too. I do not need any better gor what what I am using it. If you get a glass filter for the lense it is ok to use it without tje cover. It withstands some rain as well as well as falling from the seat of my motorbike right on the tar. The wateresistant and impact resistant cover mutes the microphone. That is the only issue. But I have no idea how this works. All my friends have diving covers for their cameras and really,there is no need for a micrphone. It would be nice to have some sort of a accessory like a sleev, perhaps made of silicone to protect the camera more against impacts in case of fall but keep entrances for camera and microphone, buttons.
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17.8.2016

I am very impressed with this camera because it is very similar to a go pro camera but is no where near as expensive. Such good value for money and I am really glad I found it. The camera quality is really good is and also compatible to the go pro.I like that it comes with a water proof case as this will come in handy. I have already tried it out in wet weather and it worked perfectly. No danger of it being damaged by water at all.Unfortunately it took me a little time to figure out how to control the LCD as it wasn't explained clearly and the controls were a bit difficult. I also had some trouble with charging it at first as it would not connect at all.Now that I have ironed out the initial kinks I am really enjoying using this camera.I know that it will provide me with endless hours of fun footage. A great bargain for anyone who doesn't have the budget for more expensive cameras
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28.1.2018

I bought this cameras grandfather years ago, an as30 I think it was. That camera was great, but had some bizarre design choices- you couldn't mount it to anything without it being in its case, it had a round bottom meaning you couldn't just plop it down to film something, and despite it having something quite special about it, it went back, and I bought a GoPro hero 3 black at the time. I still regret it!The GoPro never got used, as it just didn't mount to my bike helmet discreetly, so I bought this and love it. Professional feeling, quality video, phenomenal image stabilisation and so far, no weird design quirks. Everything that annoyed me about the old model has been corrected here.I just wish Sony could be more generous with the accessories included (not a single sticky mount in the box, seriously??) I also hope they continue to support this product line in the future.
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4.10.2016

I use my HDR-AS50 action cam with LVR-3 live view remote on long stand-up paddleboard trips. It is not easy to access the camera during these trips. This combination has amazing power-saving tricks. WiFi is used to stream video from camera to LVR, but low-power bluetooth is used to control the camera from the LVR. The camera can be shut down by turning off the LVR. While sleeping, the camera monitors bluetooth and it wakes itself when the LVR is turned on. The LVR is used as a viewfinder, but while filming video, WiFi and LVR video can be shut down.Using this combination, I can locate the camera on a boom for interesting shots, take pictures and video intermittently all day without recharging or physically accessing the camera.The picture quality is good and the picture stabilisation works like magic.The camera will not record sound while inside its waterproof case.
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4.5.2016

I primary got this for scuba diving use and so far for that it has worked well.Unlike other such cameras it actually has a manual white balance option which can be used and set underwater (however quite a few menu steps to get to the option).The basic camera is not water or splash proof in any way and when in the case you will find the sound is virtually inaudible (foam covers the microphones in the case front).This model has a tripod mount on the camera as well as the case but you need dry weather.With a 64Gb card (put in it the correct way around, you can put it in the wrong way) with basic 1080p mode you get 8hrs of recording space.In super high quality high bit rate 1080p this drops to under 3hrs
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16.5.2017

I wanted a simple wearable camera with good audio & video quality. In the past year I've tried various GoPro's (4 session & 5 session) but the battery life sucked & the audio wasn't as good as I expected or hoped.As I have a Sony A6100 I thought I'd give the AS50 a go. I wasn't disappointed.Video quality is as good as the Session (1080 / 60 ) using 1080 /60 X-AVCS. Audio is much better - almost no handling noise & in stereo. The battery life is much better. Nice to have a tripod thread.Only real downside is audio is unusable with the camera in its waterproof cover but I knew that beforehand.Simple menu & the Play Memories App works fine with no connection issues.Overall very happy

10.8.2016

I'm not technically brilliant, so from a basic user point of view: I have found this straightforward to use after a bit of trial and error. You will have to buy the attachments for the camera separately, but there are several kits available.The underwater case worked ok - not brilliantly designed from an access point of view, but it is watertight. I have only tried it in the pool, but I think it would be ok for diving - not good sound but that's not a problem for me.Easy to transfer the films to the pc. I haven't tried a GoPro so I can't compare this, but I am more than happy with the Sony. It's a lot of fun.

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