Customer Ratings & Reviews

Sony created the perfect intermediate camera for the recreational user. Stabilization works great while tracking horses running around barrels and weaving through poles at youth rodeos. Be sure to get a UV filter to keep dust out of the BOSS system, and also get the Mennon DV-S (16:9) lens hood to keep sunlight and rain away, without vignetting. And YES, a good quality UV filter will have inside and outside threads that will accept this lens hood! For extra stability, buy a 6" screws-into-the-camera handle and people will think you are running your own auto speed trap!

I love this camera so much! Films in 4k, zooms really far while maintaining clarity and has a built in stabilizer which is a super plus. The audio on it is 2 channel and pretty good, but I added an external mic for 5.1 surround to capture live music and you get really clear (not distorted) audio. The AX33 has a nighttime setting to film in low light, which looks surprisingly crisp. The camera itself feels pretty durable and the touchscreen menu is easy to use once you learn what the icons mean. One thing, if you're going to be filming in 4k, be sure to get a computer that has a fast processor to compatible with the Xavcs format. If 4k doesn't matter to you, the settings can be set to full HD and honestly it still looks really great. (Pictured below with lens hood and microphone on tripod.)

Really great camera. I was looking for something with an eye piece so I could shoot outdoors. This one has that feature, and the image quality is outstanding. I wish the eyepiece had a piece that conforms to your face, to keep stray light from messing up your vision. Because it has moving parts inside to stabilize the lenses, I bought the extra extended warrantee from Best Buy. And I'm glad I did. The camera got knocked over from a height of about 3 feet. It survived, but an error message came up on the screen. It was returned to Best Buy, who sent it off for repairs. They were unable to repair it, so they refunded my money. I immediately bought a second camera of the same model. It is the best video camera I've ever owned.

I returned this camcorder because it has vastly inferior image quality compared to the AX53, but even compared to my Panasonic VX870 the image is poor. The thing that I could not stand was the heavy noise in the shadows even when shooting in daylight. The other major issue is that Sony consumer/prosumer camcorders advertise manual controls but DO NOT TELL YOU THAT ONLY ONE THING CAN BE MANUAL AT A TIME. Iris, shutter speed, focus, etc. will be switched back to "auto" if you pick any one of them to be under manual control. That means you can't set a 1/50 shutter and f/1.8 iris for "the film look," but far worse is that focus and exposure can't both be locked using their auto/manual switches! There is a workaround which involves setting them using the spot focus/spot metering setting instead of the normal manual settings. In the end, I realized that I would be far better off getting another Panasonic VX870 camcorder than to keep the AX33. If you are going to buy the AX33, just spend the extra money on the AX53 instead. It's way worth the extra cost. The attached photo is a blown-up and contrast-boosted section of a shadowed area in an otherwise strong daylight shot, showing the crazy amount of excessive shadow noise. AX53 footage is both sharper and far less noisy.

I love the simplicity of this camcorder as well as the amazing video/picture quality.

For the price, no camera even comes close… I shot a citywide competition I was hired to do, and the video came out beautifully even though I was in difficult lighting situations. Color handling is impeccable. Would recommend this camera over any other in this price range.

I Use this camera as a backup for my bigger pro cameras. It has a great picture for video and still photo. Attached is a still photo.

I bought this camera/cam for my son's wedding. It was sooo easy to operate and just thrilling that I could do both "still pictures" and videos with one camers/cam. Everyone who looked it over and tried it out were quite impressed. This review gets 5 stars from me.

This camera really delivers high quality results. It is reasonably priced which makes it a good value.

I bought this beauty to film my son's football games,they colors looked amazing will recommend this camera.

I give this camera and A+ rating as I am a private investigator with 17 years of experience in the field, this camera is phenomenal !

Needed to upgrade my camcorder and really researched what was out there. Having just bought a 4K TV and wanting to future-proof my videos, I narrowed the choices to just 4K camcorders and since I've owned Sony/Canon/Panasonic camera equipment in the past I focused on those brands. Sony is clearly leading the field in the Prosumer/Consumer 4K camcorders segment currently so I began shooting video and stills with the FDR-AX100 and the FDRAX33/B in a variety of situations. Most of my video is sports and family events both indoors and out. After all is said and done, while the AX100 is an outstanding camcorder for someone who wants a Prosumer 4K video camera for under $2k with great video capabilities in a variety of situations, I was really impressed with Sony's Balanced Optical Stabilization System and went with the FDRAX33/B. Wish I could have both but the incredibly stable FDXAX33 shots outweighed the better picture (slightly) and more features of the FDR-AX100.

I liked the quality of the 4K videos, however, several times it just stopped recording and when I sent it to have repaired, the repair cost was almost $500. and in less than 6 months the camera started to do the same thing.

Nicest feature on this camera is the balanced optical stabilization - first camera to have this feature. The entire lens casing moves to eliminate shakes and judders. Pretty cool technology. Beautiful 4K and HD video, nice compact size, very easy to use. Best camera out there for the money.

Awesome camera. We filmed our wedding & all over europe with it. Films in 4k & its very small. Easy to operate & very light

I'm a photographer hobbyist by heart. I needed something to shoot video after the learning that my wife and I were expecting. I knew a 4k camera would keep me up to date with technology for a couple of years. I compared several cameras and ended up with 2 Sony models, one being the FDR AX100 (very good sensor, and has inboard ND sensor but bulky for travel and no optical steady shot) . Having seen that this camera is more geared to a hobbyist but has professional capabilities I decided to go with this. Plus, Sonys' Play Memories smart phone app works great especially when you are planning to mount the camera in a tripod. I suggest doing your research in you tube as well. If you'd like better audio quality consider purchasing ECM-W1M and/or ECM-XYST1M. I would also consider the video grip (GP-VPT1) if the position of the camera does not suit your needs. You can buy ND filters in Amazon if need be. Try your local best buy stores if they have an open box or call sony at night, typically they do price match or they give some accessories for free. When you decide to buy at Sony's 1.800 number consider buying in bulk you get a negotiating advantage. Lastly, I highly recommend buying an accidental warranty for this video camera just in case something happens, especially when your planning to use it for a long time. Wether you go with Sony or Best Buys' Geek Squad it insures you for accidental damage or technical issues. 3 years is a long time especially if you are using this for capturing your vacations, holidays and parties. No need to freak out when a family member or a close friend drops the unit or spills a liquid on it. If that happens, you'll be a kind, gentle and forgiving person as you should be.

First camcorder I have ever purchased and only been using a couple months so far but from what I have experienced it's pretty good. The zoom is excellent. Battery life is excellent. No need for a gimbal as it's stabilization is super. Functions are easy enough to get started right out of the box. Have not really got into all it's capable of yet. Happy so far.

The picture quality is amazing. Of course more manual control buttons would be nice, but put it in Auto and go shoot. It's small and compact unlike many video cameras that don't even approach the quality of this one. I love it for casual shooting and the 4k is beautiful. I use Premiere Pro, sometimes on a PC with an i5 processor and 8g ram. That is the absolute minimum for processing 4k and even that isn't great. The nice thing is you can set it to dual record and it will generate an MP4 file that is a lot smaller. You can edit that and then apply the edit to the larger 4k file.

I know, owning several 4K devices, that crisp amazing video is what you should expect here. Boy does it deliver!!! The quality of picture, both stills and video, are equally matched by the sound recorded by the device. I really enjoy the ease of use as well, just open the viewer and on it goes!

I found the camera very easy to use, very light and compact.