Disclaimer I have the HDR-PJ10, not the 50V, but as far as I can tell the projector is the same between the two models.
the most important question you probably have if you are reading this review. HOW IS THE PROJECTOR AND IS IT WORTH IT?
The projector is a lot of fun to play with. If you like having envious friends drooling over your latest gadget, this is for you. Although it only puts out 10 ANSI lumens, it's reasonable for sharing videos. The overall experience reminds me of looking at vacation slides when I was young.
Sony claims that you can get up to a 60" (diagonal) image and you can actually get more, but the display gets to be very, very dim. I would say that in a lighted room, a 20-24" projected image is acceptable. Since brightness falls off as the square of the distance, it gets dim pretty fast and by the time you have a 30-40" display size you need to be in a very dark room for it to be viewable.
The focal length for the projector is fairly long that 20" display requires 3 feet between projector and wall. At 5 feet you get a 33" diagonal display, and at 8 feet you get 53" diagonal. There's a focus slider on the top and the volume on the built in stereo speakers is surprisingly good, but you still will need people to keep quiet if you want to hear.
Is it worth it? The best estimate on cost of this feature is to compare the PJ10 with the Sony HDRCX160 which is the closest Sony camcorder without a projector. It costs about five bills while the PJ10 is 7, so it's about two Benjamins or 40% more for this feature. (Our gracious hosts here dislike us discussing price but I think it's a very valid point) If you look at the 3M Pocket Projector MPRO120--.33LBS, which costs around this much, it has 12 lumens and a resolution of 1280x800. I'm having a hard time confirming the resolution on the Sony projector but it is surprisingly sharp. There's something to be said for having the projector cleanly integrated into the camcorder.
In comparing the PJ10 to it's two bigger brothers and it's projectorless cousin, I'd note that they all appear to have the same sensor and image processor so image quality should be the same. Similarly they all carry the same 3" touch screen. The main difference is with the bells and whistles (and of course, the price). Interestingly enough, the two "lower" models have (IMO) the better optics (30x zoom)
Model.........Internal....Optical..Digital...35mm Lens Eq.
.................Memory......Zoom...Zoom....(16x9 Movie)
---------....----------..-----....-----....------------
HDR-PJ50V...220Gb HDD....12x...160x.....29.8mm 357.6mm
HDR-PJ30V...32Gb Flash....12x...160x.....29.8mm 357.6mm
HDR-PJ10.....16Gb Flash....30x....350x.....29.8mm 894mm
HDR-CX160...16Gb Flash...30x...350x.....29.8mm 894mm
A couple of key items the PJ10 is missing It doesn't have a GPS Tag, built in video light and it only shoots at 60i and 60p where the PJ30 and 50 can also do 24p. Should you care? The LED light would be nice as far as 24p, if you don't know what a video pulldown ratio is, then trust me, you won't care. GPS well, I'm not into Geotagging so I'd say no.
The 30V and 50V are actually about the same price both a pretty big jump over the PJ10. My opinion is to stick with the PJ10, or if you don't need a projector, go with the CX160
Do note that the PJ30 takes still images at 7 MP instead of 3 MP. This makes the PJ30 a somewhat reasonable replacement for a P&S still camera, but we have a DSLR so we certainly won't be replacing that.
Likes: Projector super, super neat and convenient for sharing videos. "Highlight reel" feature makes it even more fun, though the music not my taste. "Golf Shot" works well for soccer and other action shots. WIDE angle lens from the get go makes shooting birthday gatherings, etc much more practical. STEREO speakers on playback give some serious volume
Annoyances: What's with the CR2025 in the remote? I always cram a CD2032 in these remotes they actually fit, are easier to find, and have a lot more capacity. I wish I didn't need the remote to scroll through menus while in the projector mode.(where the touch screen is disabled)
CONCLUSION:
Wow your friends and family! The Sony HDR-PJ10/30V/50V offer something I've never seen before the ability to project movies built right in. The camcorder portion is comparable to the CX160 a very capable, high quality HD Digital video camera. Shoot a video and share it the same day without having to worry about bringing extra cables or even a display! Execution of this concept is very competent. The cost size and weigh penalty is significant (24% more weight (2.1 oz) and 34% more volume (113 cc) than the CX160) but still delivered in a very reasonable package (See pictures)
If you have any comments, questions, or found this review helpful, please let me know!
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