| |
Model
|
| Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Panasonic
|
| Name | HVR-Z1 | AG-HMC150 |
| European name ? | HVR-Z1E | AG-HMC150 |
| US name ? | HVR-Z1U | AG-HMC150 |
| lowest US price | 4129 $ | 3200 $ |
| On the market since | April 2005 | September 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Panasonic |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | not yet tested |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |  |
| test picture 12 Lux | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
| SD Card
SDHC card
|
| video resolutions EU ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
DVCAM 720 x 480/60i
MiniDV 720 x 576/60i
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/60p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/50p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/30p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/25p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/24p
|
| video resolutions US ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
DVCAM 720 x 480/60i
MiniDV 720 x 576/60i
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/60p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/50p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/30p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/25p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/24p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 25 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | DV
MPEG2
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Carl Zeiss
| |
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 32,5 mm | |
| Filter diameter ? | 72 mm | 72 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | 2 | |
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| |
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 | 3 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 1070000 Pixel | |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CCD
| CCD
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
| |
| Focus ? | auto
manual
| |
| Minimum shutter time ? | 10.000 | |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/3 | |
| Apperture control ? | auto
manual
AE-Shift
| |
| Infrared recording ? | No
| |
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| |
| Peaking ? | Yes
| |
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70-100% | |
| Histogram ? | No
| |
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| |
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| |
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| |
| Black Strech ? | Yes
| |
| Knee ? | No
| |
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| |
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | Yes
| |
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| |
| Set Time Code ? | Yes
| |
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite | In
Out
| |
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video | In
Out
| |
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| |
| HDMI ? | No
| |
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | In
Out
| |
| USB ? | No
| |
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR
| |
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
| |
| Lanc ? | Yes
| |
| Time-code interface ? | No
| |
| Genlock ? | No
| |
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| |
| HD-SDI ? | No
| |
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 1995 g | |
| Weight (with battery) | 2182 g | |
| Battery type | Sony F570
| |
| Battery capacity | 2200 mAh | |
| Charger ? | external
| |
| Remote control | Yes
| |
| Size |
| Height | 139 mm | |
| Width | 182 mm | |
| Depth | 360 mm | |
| Relative Size ? | 91 | 0 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| |
| Color Viewfinder ? | B/W and color
| |
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 252000 Pixel | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| |
| Color display ? | Color
| |
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | |
| Display pixels ? | 250880 Pixel | |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| |
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
Ring
| |
| Manual Focus ? | Ring
Menu
| |
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel
| |
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| |
| ND Filter ? | Yes
| |
| Exp Lock ? | Yes
| |
| Gain ? | Yes
| |
| White balance ? | Yes
| |
| Push AF ? | Yes
| |
| Audio Levels ? | Yes
| |
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons | 6 | |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| Audio Formats ? | MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
| |
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
external XLR
| |
| Audio Control ? | auto
manual
| |
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder
Screen
| |
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| Recording Medium ? | No
| |
| Medium included ? | No
| |
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | | |
| Standard ? | | |
| Flash ? | No
| |
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| Specials | | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| luminance resolution | | |
| chrominance resolution | | |
| lens distortion | | |
| test small ISO image | | |
| noise / internal microphone | | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| test picture 12 Lux | | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Good | |
| Resolution ? | Satisfactory | |
| Color performance ? | Satisfactory | |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | |
| Wide Angle ? | Very good | |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | |
| Configuration / sound ? | Very good | |
| Handling ? | Very good | |
| Portability ? | Satisfactory | |
| Photo function ? | Poor | |
| Optics ? | Good | |
| Dynamics ? | Very good | |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
| not yet tested |
Total score ?
(maximal 570) | 384 | |
| Pros | + Very good image quality impression
+ Wide optics
+ handling well-conceived
+ Very well equipped
+ Supports also formats with 60i
+ individually controllable audio channels
| |
| Cons | - No full HDV-resolution
- DV-quality only average
| |
| Conclusion | Just as the consumer version FX1 the Sony HVR-Z1 lacks CCDs with full HDV-resolution, which is noticeable at least in the horizontals.Nevertheless, the subjective image impression is still very good due to the very good dynamic behavior with extremely little noise and the consistent color reproduction.Despite the comparatively large wide-angle, optical errors are within limits, only little distortion and chromatic aberrations can be detected.In low light-situations the FX1 is good, the low noise being a plus. | |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 | Panasonic AG-HMC150 |
| slashCAM Review | HVR-Z1 Review | |
| external reviews/tests |  digitalcontentproducer.com
www.digitalproducer.com
videosystems.com
videosystems.com
www.digitalproducer.com
| |
| Forum posts | | |
| |
