/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

JVC

Name

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

GY-HM100

European name ?

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

GY-HM100

US name ?

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

GY-HM100

lowest US price

(3499) $

2795 $

On the market since

November 2011

April 2009

Manufacturers URL

link to Panasonic

link to JVC

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD
MVC 3D

HDV
XDCAM EX

Recording Medium

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

SDHC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p

XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p

Max Bitrate ?

28 Mbit/s

35 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

MPEG2

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Panasonic

Fujinon

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

29,8 mm

39 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

46 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4,1 inch

1/4 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

3050000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

auto

Minimum shutter time ?

1/250

1/10.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/24

1/4

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

50-105%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Yes

Knee ?

Yes

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Yes

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

XLR

XLR
Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

1600 g

Weight (with battery)

1400 g

Battery type

Panasonic CGA-D54s

JVC BN-VF823

Battery capacity

5400 mAh

2190 mAh

Charger ?

external

internal
external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

145 mm

178 mm

Width

195 mm

138 mm

Depth

350 mm

365 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

1226880 Pixel

235000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

2,8 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

1152000 Pixel

921600 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Manual Focus ?

Ring

bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Ring

button

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

Audio

Audio Formats ?

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
2 channel PCM

2 channel PCM

Microphone ?

external XLR
5.1 Internal

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
external XLR

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SDHC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

1920 x 1080 - max

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

Records in HDV as well as XDCAMEX in a QuickTime container on a SDHC card

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 ?

Good

Sufficient

Resolution ?

Excellent

Good

Color performance ?

Very good

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Very good

Handling ?

Very good

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Good

Photo function ?

Poor

Sufficient

Optics ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Very good

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

440

348

Pros

+ Extreme manual control options
+ Very good image quality
+ Good 3D control

+ professional handling
+ cheap workflow by using XDCAM EX on SDCH cards
+ flexible assignable

Cons

- No ND filter
- Autostereoscopic display mode

- wide angle with slight distortions
- poor low-light

Conclusion

Even as a 2D camcorder the Z10000 is absolutely competitive thanks to the professional features and excellent image quality.The additional 3D capabilities are currently unique in this price range (and even much further) (as of 11/2011).

The possibility to record professional formats as Quicktime or MP4 files on cheap SDHC cards is a great feature.The accessories and configuration is ample for this price.The low sharpness and gaudy colour are no big minus, but the bad low-light capabilities and small wide angle with distortions are a serious drawback.

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