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Model
|
| Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| Sony 
|
| Name | AG-HVX200 | HVR-A1 |
| European name ? | AG-HVX200E | HVR-A1E |
| US name ? | AG-HVX200 | HVR-A1U |
| lowest US price | | 2149 $ |
| On the market since | March 2006 | October 2005 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Panasonic | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |  |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | |  |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV DVC PRO 25 DVC PRO 50 DVC PRO HD
| MiniDV HDV DVCAM
|
| Recording Medium | MiniDV/HDV-Cassette P2 card
| MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVC PRO 25,576 / 50i DVC PRO 50,576 / 50i DVC PRO HD 720/25p DVC PRO HD 720/50p DVCPROHD 1080/50i
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | DVCPROHD 1080/24p DVCPROHD 1080/30p MiniDV 720 x 480/60i 720 MiniDV x480/24p MiniDV 720 x 480/30p DVCPRO HD 720 24p - 60i DVCPRO HD 24p 1080 - 60i
| HDV 1440 x 1080/60i MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 100 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | DV DVC PRO HD-proprietary
| DV MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Leica
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 13 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 32,5 mm | 41 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 82 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | 2 | Yes
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 513000 Pixel | 1983000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CCD
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/12 | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes, but only in the viewfinder
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 50-105% | 70% 100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | Yes
| No
|
| Knee ? | Yes
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | | Yes
|
| Custom Presets ? | | No
|
| Set Time Code ? | | Yes
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | In Out
| In
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | In Out
| In Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | No
| No
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | Out
| In Out
|
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 1.1
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR Cinch
| XLR
|
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | | Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | | No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 2500 g | 1020 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 2700 g | 1120 g |
| Battery type | Panasonic CGA-D54
| Sony NP-FM50
|
| Battery capacity | 5400 mAh | 1180 mAh |
| Charger ? | external
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 169 mm | 140 mm |
| Width | 180 mm | 100 mm |
| Depth | 390 mm | 190 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 118 | 26 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| B/W and color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 4:3 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 210000 Pixel | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 4:3 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 235000 Pixel | 123200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Ring
| Rocker Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Ring
| Ring Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | | Wheel Menu Rocker
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | Yes
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | | Yes
|
| Gain ? | Yes
| No
|
| White balance ? | Yes
| No
|
| Push AF ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Audio Levels ? | Yes
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | 3 | 1 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Audio Formats ? | MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM DVC PRO 4x48kHz 16bit PCM
| MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal external XLR
| Stereo internal external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Recording Medium ? | | Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | | 16 MB
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 2764800 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 1440x1080 640x480 |
| Standard ? | | JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | | Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Specials | + variable frame rates
| |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| luminance resolution | | |
| chrominance resolution | | |
| lens distortion | | |
| test small ISO image | | |
| noise / internal microphone | | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode ? | | |
| Test image 12 lux optimized ? | | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Very good | Sufficient |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Very good | Good |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Satisfactory | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Very good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Very good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 382 | 326 |
| Pros | Good wide angle + Professional controls + Real 50p-mode and variable frame rates
| + good picture impression + portable + partly professionally equipped
|
| Cons | - Menu buttons/distribution unergonomic - Display - Driver necessary for PC/Mac
| - color resolution only average - DV-quality only average
|
| Conclusion | Unfortunately, with the AG-HVX200 Panasonic puts its focus on pixel shift instead of real CCD-resolution.This provides only satisfactory results in terms of luminance resolution.The color resolution is much better, in the SD-Modi (especially DVCPro50) the HVX200 is also very good.Image noise is increased by the delineation, therefore lowlight-images look somewhat unsettled.The image dynamic and the very good lens still make for a good image impression in HiDef, in the DVCPro50-mode it is very good. | Like its consumer twin HC1 the Sony HVR-A1 has a very good brightness resolution, but tends sometimes to show color moirés on fine details.The color resolution is not on a HDV-level, though the CMOS sensor theoretically should have more reserves.The overall picture impression is good, partly due to the good dynamics behavior with little noise and few smear-effects.Color-wise the A1 is fairly neutral, almost somewhat low-key.The wide angle is very limited for indoors, but on the other hand there are only few lens errors.In low light situations the A1 loses color fast.Compared to the HC1 it is slightly better equipped in terms of sound and image.The handling remains only satisfactory due to the touch screen. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | www.videography.com
reviews.cnet.com
www.camcorderinfo.com
| www.dv.com
www.sundancemediagroup.com
|
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