/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

JVC

Name

HDR-XR500V

GS-TD1BE (3D-Modus)

European name ?

HDR-XR500VE

GS-TD1BE

US name ?

HDR-XR500V

GS-TD1

lowest US price

1230 $

1299 $

On the market since

March 2009

April 2011

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

AVCHD
MVC 3D

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
Memory Stick PRO Duo

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

video resolutions US ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

Max Bitrate ?

16 Mbit/s

34 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG2
MPEG4

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

120 GB

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Sony

JVC HD

Optical Zoom ?

12 x

5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

42,9 mm

42 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2,8 inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/800

1/4000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Yes

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Adjustable color ?

Cinegamma ?

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

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

USB 2.0 OUT

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

3.5 mm mini-jack

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

510 g

590 g

Weight (with battery)

590 g

676 g

Battery type

Sony NP-FH60

JVC BNVF815U

Battery capacity

1000 mAh

1460 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

71 mm

102 mm

Width

75 mm

64 mm

Depth

134 mm

186 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

123200 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,2 Inch

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

307200 Pixel

920000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

assignable custom key

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

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
5 steps

Audio levels ?

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo
hard drive

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

4000 x 3000 - Max

1920 x 1080 3D

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

GPS with geo-tagging functionality

autostereoscopic display

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

Good

Resolution ?

Very good

Good

Color performance ?

Very good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Poor

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Very good

Good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

364

307

Pros

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

+ More manual 3D control than its direct competitors

Cons

+ very few possibilites for manual control

- operation concept
- Image characteristics can not be changed

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

In terms of image quality, handling and also the display the JVC is not quite on par with the HDR-TD10.Though the TD1 in return offers a little more manual control, this is partly hidden by an unnecessarily complicated operation.Also the non-changeable, rather extreme color settings are certainly not for everyone.A firmware update could address these criticisms, however, and make the camera much more attractive.Hopefully the standards-compliant MVC implementation will be adopted by more software makers over time.

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