/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

Canon

Name

HDC-HS60

HV40

European name ?

HDC-HS60

Legria HV40

US name ?

HDC-HS60

VIXIA HV40

lowest US price

645 $

585 $

On the market since

February 2010

April 2009

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

MiniDV
HDV

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
SDHC card

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25p

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p

Max Bitrate ?

17 Mbit/s

25 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

DV
MPEG2

on-board memory ?

120 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Panasonic

Canon

Optical Zoom ?

25x x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

35,7 mm

43,6 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

optical

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4,1 inch

1/2,7 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2110000 Pixel

2070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/8.000

1/2.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/25

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out mini

Out

DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack
Cinch

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

258 g

535 g

Weight (with battery)

Battery type

Panasonic VW-VBK 180

Canon BP-2L13

Battery capacity

1790 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Size

Height

52 mm

82 mm

Width

66 mm

88 mm

Depth

112 mm

138 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

123000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

230400 Pixel

211000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Manual Aperture ?

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1

Microphone ?

Stereo internal

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

manual

Audio levels ?

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card
hard drive
SDHC card

MiniSD

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

2592 x1944-max

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
2048 x 1536

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

compatible with SDXC cards

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

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

Resolution ?

Good

Color performance ?

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Good

Wide Angle ?

Good

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Sufficient

Handling ?

Good

Portability ?

Excellent

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

358

Pros

+ manual controls for shutter and aperture
+ factory setting adjustable

Cons

- no microphone and headphone jacks
- no accessory shoe
- no filter thread
- display resolution only average

Conclusion

The options for manual control surpass those of competing models.Hardly any lens distorsion, good sharpness and wide angle in combination with acceptable low-light capabilities: that is a novelty in this price region.However, there is zero connectivity in terms of microphones etc.

More information

Reviews and Forums

slashCAM Review

external reviews/tests

Forum posts

New HDC HS60 with surprise

Canon VIXIA HV40 with live stream over Firewire / 1394?

Without Cam I feel "naked"! ... Reservecam as HV40 vs SD707?

Canon HV40 drive problem