/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Panasonic

Name

HDR-XR500V

AG-HMC40

European name ?

HDR-XR500VE

AG-HMC41E

US name ?

HDR-XR500V

AG-HMC40

lowest US price

1230 $

1599 $

On the market since

March 2009

August 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

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
Memory Stick PRO Duo

SD Card
SDHC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/50p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/25p

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1280 x 720/60p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/30p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/24p

Max Bitrate ?

16 Mbit/s

24 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG2
MPEG4

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

120 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Sony

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

12 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

42,9 mm

41 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2,8 inch

1/4 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2510000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/800

1/2.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Yes

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

50-105%

Histogram ?

waveform

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

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

About Special Equipment

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Mini-jack
XLR optional

Headphones ?

3.5 mm mini-jack

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

510 g

980 g

Weight (with battery)

590 g

1200 g

Battery type

Sony NP-FH60

Panasonic VW-VBG260E

Battery capacity

1000 mAh

Charger ?

internal

internal
external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

71 mm

136 mm

Width

75 mm

135 mm

Depth

134 mm

304 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

123200 Pixel

113000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,2 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

307200 Pixel

230000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Ring

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exp Lock ?

Yes

Gain ?

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

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

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo
hard drive

SD Card
SDHC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

10600000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

4000 x 3000 - Max

4224 × 2376 max

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

GPS with geo-tagging functionality

optional available XLR adapter

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 ?

Very good

Resolution ?

Very good

Color performance ?

Very good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Poor

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Good

Portability ?

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

364

Pros

+ very good low-light sensitivity
+ iris control ring and touch-focus work together very nicely

Cons

+ very few possibilites for manual control

Conclusion

The Low-light picture quality is very good and sets a new standard for the sub 1000 euro camcorder classBut there is no histogram, no zebra, no shutter-control, no focus assist and no picture adjustmentThis is sad, especially because Sony could probably unlock these functions via firmware

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