Price Range: $500 - $1000

The Sony AX53 is a compact 4K camcorder featuring a powerful 20x optical zoom, a separate pull-out viewfinder, and dedicated infrared night vision capabilities. Most impressively, the entire lens unit and sensor are suspended inside the camera housing by Sony’s Balanced Optical SteadyShot mechanical gimbal to aggressively compensate for motion.

Why it's Onboard

We started with the Sony AX43 - it was a great camera, with the impressive zoom and in-built mechanical gimbal making it our go-to when filming underway. But, a broken internal data wire in the flip-out screen eventually left the camera out of commission. 

After considering our options we chose to upgrade to the AX53. It meant we wouldn’t lose that in-built gimbal, and the addition of the separate viewfinder on the AX53 means we have a reliable backup if the main LCD screen ever fails.

• 20x zoom for capturing long-range videos

• Mechanical stabilising to counter-act wave motion

Real-world Verdict

This camera is phenomenal for capturing our daily adventures, and the infrared night vision works surprisingly well if you pan slowly, but you must be incredibly gentle when opening and closing the screen to preserve that delicate internal wiring over the long term. We honestly rely on the AX53 so heavily for our vlog that we actually keep an identical spare unit safely tucked away in a cupboard, just in case the primary one takes an accidental dive overboard.

Read our full Sony Handycam AX53 review here.

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