Received my camera today. It was described as “Open Box”, “Condition Excellent”, and I agree. There is no damage or even sign of use on the camera or accessories and everything was included and nicely packed into the original box.
I had read some reviews saying this was a larger HandyCam, so I got out my older HandyCams to compare. The largest is a Video8 unit from 1995. I used it 7 years and documented both of my sons’ first years and many important family events. The 2002 HandyCam DVD was a nice upgrade in picture quality and convenience. It was much smaller and featured Super SteadyShot, so the video was much smoother.
The AX53 is longer than the HCDVD, but not as tall. I expected to use the bag from the DVD HandyCam, but the AX53 is about 1 inch too long and doesn’t fit. Well, it does fit with the battery removed but there is nowhere in the case to put the battery. Of the three cameras, the AX53 is much smaller than the Video8 HandyCam, and smaller than the DVD HandyCam in all dimensions but length. In the hand, the start/stop button, picture button, and zoom rocker are right where I expect them to be, so it feels very familiar.
One point notes is that the first two came with remotes for recording and for playback, so you can wire the camera to a TV and control it across the room. The AX53 did not include a remote but can use a smartphone to control it.
I’ve used the Sony HandyCams and a long zoom Cybershot for 25 years now, and have never had a failure. The old ones are hopelessly outdated but still work. Expecting this AX53 to continue the family tradition!

Video/photo quality is great.
Menues are understandable but UI is mediocre. It’s kind of a pain to switch between different photo/vid settings. Would love to see more actual buttons instead of having to go to the menu for everything.
Camera is a decent size and weight. But don’t expect to be able to take great action footage.
Overall this is a good prosumer model that can handle a wide variety of needs. A jack of all trades and master of none.

I bought the AX53 shortly after the birth of our first child, wanting something that was better for video than my phone (Pixel 3xl). I have zero regrets with this purchase as it’s allowed my to effortlessly capture hours and hours of memories in surprisingly high quality.
When picking a camcorder, picture and sound quality, and ease of use were the only important criteria. I knew 4K was going to be a must, and contemplated spending more, up to 2.5x more, for HDR (looking at Sony’s AX100 and 700 cams, as well as those from Canon and Panasonic). I also was interested in trying to find a camcorder that would shoot in 5.1 surround while in 4k mode, but this wasn’t possible inside the price range I was considering. I’ve owned other Sony imaging products, with my main camera being an a6300, so having a common hot shoe interface was definitely a plus, and I knew Sony sensors are among the best for imagine quality which is what drove me here.
After hours of comparison videos on YouTube and reviews and forum posts, I finally landed on the AX53 primarily for one reason: the absurdly amazing optical image stabilization. They describe it as having what is essentially an internal gimbal, and after hours of usage in a variety of scenarios (walking around, zooming in, etc) I can say without a doubt that this is the greatest feature of this camera. Generally, if you’re not using a tripod, your videos are going to be annoyingly shaky. This simply isn’t an issue in the vast majority of scenarios with the AX53. It’s the reason I chose this one over the slightly superior imagine quality of the 1″ sensor on the AX100, which is relatively close in cost. That one has no optical stabilization, so the trade-off in image quality was easily worth it. That being said, I’m also very satisfied with how great the videos look. Watching them using the included HDMI cable on both a 55″ 4K TV and a 4K projector on a 93″ screen, I’m very, very pleased with how good they turn out. The only really semi downside, which would’ve been better on the AX100, is that sometimes low light videos look less than stellar, especially when compared to what this thing does in daylight. Overall, great video quality though when using the 4K 100mbps setting.
Usability with the AX53, like others on the market I suspect, is what I’d consider comparable to a point and shoot camera. You flip the screen open, that turns it on, and you’re immediately ready to start taking videos. When you’re done, close the screen and it’s off. This couldn’t be any simpler. Changing shooting modes and settings is also simple, with most of the options being configurable from a button on the main display. One additional option that I didn’t think I’d use, but that I’m really glad to have, is the dual shooting mode, where you can record videos simultaneously in full quality, as well as in lesser quality .MP4 files. This enables quick sharing without the need to down convert in situations where you just want to quickly share a video to social media or via text. Great feature.
The main downside I’ve seen discussed with the AX53 is the manual image setting controls. While you can technically set most of the aspects of the image, you can only set one thing at a time, meaning you don’t REALLY have manual control over the image. For me, this isn’t really that much of an issue, given the cam’s auto mode does a pretty great job of getting things right in the vast majority of scenes. This may be a huge sticking point for those who desire complete control over things like aperture, focus, and WB, though.
Overall, I am completely satisfied with the AX53. It does it’s job very well with no nagging issues. Even though it’s a couple years old at this point, the image quality is very good. I would highly recommend this one.

Super smooth zoom in and out,great battery life,super great picture quality