Sony - HDRCX405 HD Video Recording Handycam Camcorder (black)

Was about to buy an very expensive camcorder until I heard about this one. It's exactly what I needed as someone who doesn't need all the super fancy things and at a decent price. It is really beginner friendly. If you can work on a phone camera, you can work this camcorder really easily.What was most important to me was the zoom and keeping the integrity of the quality while zoomed in. I just really want to film nature and birds. I don't really need super high quality as it's just a hobby. It zooms in a lot better than my galaxy S21 phone, so that was good enough for me.I also love the size of it, very portable and light. It fits in my jacket pocket. The length of the whole camcorder is shorter than the length of my galaxy S21 phone. I have small hands, so the controls were easy for me to navigate through. It maybe harder for people with larger hands.And as someone who gets overwhelmed with too many options, I really like how there's minimal number of switches and buttons.- There's 1 button to easily start/stop recording.- 1 button to press for photos (even during recording you can take pictures with this button)- The zoom switch next to the photo button on the top of the camcorder.- There's also a switch you can manually flip to close or open the lens cover. I like that this is a manual feature. There's comfort knowing I know for sure I won't capture something accidently when I have the lens cover on.- To turn it off and on, you simply need to open and close the screen flap like a flip phone. It's only bad if you are afraid to waste battery to access the HDMI port and micro SD card slot. You have to open the screen to access it.- Then there's only two controls on the screen itself. Not in a touch screen way but on the left of the screen there is one analog stick to move and make selection. To make the selection, you just press down on the analog stick. Underneath the analog stick is a button to access the menu/playback. I do not like touch screens so I really like this simple navigational tool right next to it.Oh and you can flip the screen around 180 degrees so you can do vlogs.Lastly, it has a built in USB cord (connected to the handle strap) to easily transfer files and charge the battery (with an included adaptor). You can adjust the strap, it's Velcro, and there's a loop you can add a lanyard to it if you wanted.The battery is removable. It comes with one battery. I recommend getting an extra battery and charger so you can save time on charging and have a back up.The possible deal breaker is that it doesn't allow you to input an external mic, but it has a pretty good built in mic. I haven't tested it in noisy areas yet. Sound quality isn't super important to me so I've been fine with it's built in mic.Also, it talks about an app or program for desktop to download to use with your camcorder. It has been discontinued since Feb. 2024 so that sucks. It's not required to access/transfer files though. I just wondered if it made looking at your files easier. You have to go through lots of folders to find your stuff. But at the same time, that is similar to finding your files when you plug in your phone to your computer (android & PC).Overall, I love this camera. Simple features for a simple man, with pretty good picture quality.

An excellent purchase. It is lightweight, good quality, and simple to use! It’s nice for sporting events, vacation and capturing family memories!

My application uses two HDMI cameras to feed a live video switcher (Cerevo Livewedge). I purchased both the Cannon HF R700 and the Sony HDCRX 405 to compare and evaluate. I ended up returning the Sony and getting a second Cannon HF R700 instead. The Cannon is a bit more expensive, but slightly better built and better matched to my application. If you are using the camera as a normal portable Camcorder, the Sony is a bit less expensive and would probably work for you. See below for details.While both the Sony and the Cannon can be operated to produce a live feed via the HDMI output port, there are numerous advantages to the Cannon. First, the Cannon can be operated without the battery being present using the supplied AC adapter. The Sony can be powered via an extension USB cable plugged into the supplied USB brink, but the battery must always be present. In my environment I wanted to be able to just turn the power on and off using a plug strip that turns all the video equipment on and off. When the power to the Sony was turned off, the camera continued to run on battery power. To turn it off you needed to unplug the HDMI cable and close the fold out screen. There is no power switch on the Sony.Second, the Sony micro HDMI connector on the camera was very flimsy. If I moved the camera slightly with the HDMI cable connected, the video would often drop out and come back as the cable was wiggled.Finally the Sony has a slightly inferior picture quality when compared to the Cannon. This is more noticeable in low light conditions. (Nether camera does very well in low light, but the Sony does have a bit more noise.)The Sony does have one advantage. It has an optical zoom of 60x, whereas the Cannon optical zoom is only 32x. When zoomed all the way in the Sony is slightly closer to the subject and when zoomed all the way out it has a somewhat wider field of view. This may be an important advantage for some users.Both cameras have the ability to turn off any automatic power saving (so you can keep it running when on external power). Both have the ability to turn off the on-scree-display for the HDMI output port, but the Sony hides this feature by calling it "HDMI Control" instead of the obvious "On-Screen-Display".The Cannon is slightly heavier and feels a bit more substantial. Both cameras have reasonable optical image stabilization, though when zoomed all the way in, neither is quite up to the task.