/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

JVC

Name

HDR-FX7

GS-TD1BE (3D-Modus)

European name ?

HDR-FX7E

GS-TD1BE

US name ?

HDR-FX7

GS-TD1

lowest US price

1299 $

On the market since

November 2006

April 2011

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
HDV

AVCHD
MVC 3D

Recording Medium

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i

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

video resolutions US ?

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i

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

Max Bitrate ?

25 Mbit/s

34 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Carl Zeiss

JVC HD

Optical Zoom ?

20 x

5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

37,4 mm

42 mm

Filter diameter ?

62 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4 inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

1037000 Pixel

2070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/10.000

1/4000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70%
100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Yes

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

Out

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 1.1

USB 2.0 OUT

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

1430 g

590 g

Weight (with battery)

1600 g

676 g

Battery type

Sony F570

JVC BNVF815U

Battery capacity

2200 mAh

1460 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

145 mm

102 mm

Width

156 mm

64 mm

Depth

322 mm

186 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

252000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

211200 Pixel

920000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel

assignable custom key

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exp Lock ?

Yes

Gain ?

Yes

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

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

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

auto
5 steps

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

1037000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1440 x 810

1920 x 1080 3D

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

"Smooth Slow Record" slow motion mode: 6 seconds are recorded with 200 half frames/sec., resulting in a 4-fold slow motion.However, the recording is without sound, in SD-resolution and in poorer image quality.

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 ?

Good

Resolution ?

Good

Color performance ?

Good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Good

Photo function ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Very good

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

381

307

Pros

+ Very good image quality impression
+ 20x zoom
+ handling well-conceived
HDMI out

+ More manual 3D control than its direct competitors

Cons

- Audio controlling only via menu
-less Wide-angle than FX1/A1/HVX200

- operation concept
- Image characteristics can not be changed

Conclusion

The Sony HDR-FX7 uses its 1/4-inch-CMOS-Wandler almost to full capacity.The resolution, at least in the Y-channel is good, the color resolution is a little weaker.Low noise and smear-effects together with excellent automatics ensure a very good image impression.The 20x lens shows comparatively few errors like aberrations or distortion, but the wide-angle could be larger for this price range.In low light situations the FX7 is just about good -- here too the low noise a plus point.

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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