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Model
|
| Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HDC-TM350 | HDR-XR500V |
| European name ? | HDC-TM350 | HDR-XR500VE |
| US name ? | HDC-TM350 | HDR-XR500V |
| lowest US price | 1300 $ | 1230 $ |
| On the market since | June 2009 | March 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Panasonic | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card built-in flash memory
| Built-in hard disk Memory Stick PRO Duo
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 17 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG2 MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | 120 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Leica
| Sony
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 45 mm | 42,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 43 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4,1 inch | 1/2,8 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2070000 Pixel | |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/8.000 | 1/800 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/25 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 100% | No
|
| Histogram ? | Yes
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| No
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| No
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| About Special Equipment
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| 3.5 mm mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 390 g | 510 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 450 g | 590 g |
| Battery type | Panasonic VW-VBG130-K
| Sony NP-FH60
|
| Battery capacity | 1320 mAh | 1000 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal external
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 70 mm | 71 mm |
| Width | 72 mm | 75 mm |
| Depth | 141 mm | 134 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 7 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | 123200 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 3,2 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 230400 Pixel | 307200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| No
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| No
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max. Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card
| Memory Stick Duo hard drive
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 7530000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 3984 x 2656 | 4000 x 3000 - Max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| Specials | | GPS with geo-tagging functionality |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| 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 | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Very good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 372 | 364 |
| Pros | + Sharpness and colour at the upper AVCHD limit + Many manual controls + Good image stabilizer for moving camera
| + very good low-light sensitivity + iris control ring and touch-focus work together very nicely
|
| Cons | - weak wide angle
| + very few possibilites for manual control
|
| Conclusion | The new image stabilizer is better and especially interesting for people who like cheap glide camsIn terms of low light the camera easily gets surpassed by the Sony XR520 and the wide angle is a sorry affair in this price range.But that is just about all we could find to complain about.Except maybe that you get almost the same technology without the internal memory and improved image stabilization in the notably cheaper HDC-SD300. | 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 |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-TM350 | Sony HDR-XR500V |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
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