/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Panasonic

Name

HDR-FX7

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

European name ?

HDR-FX7E

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

US name ?

HDR-FX7

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

lowest US price

(1299) $

On the market since

November 2006

February 2012

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
HDV

MVC 3D

Recording Medium

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i 3D

video resolutions US ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i 3D

Max Bitrate ?

25 Mbit/s

28 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Carl Zeiss

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

20 x

1,5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

37,4 mm

29,8 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

2190000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

auto

Minimum shutter time ?

1/10.000

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

1/25

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70%
100%

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

Out mini

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 1.1

USB 2.0

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

425 g

Weight (with battery)

1600 g

480 g

Battery type

Sony F570

Panasonic VW-VBN 130

Battery capacity

2200 mAh

1250 mAh

Charger ?

internal

internal
external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

145 mm

67 mm

Width

156 mm

72 mm

Depth

322 mm

150 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

252000 Pixel

263000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

211200 Pixel

1152000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

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

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

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

5.1 Internal

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

1037000 Pixel

2370000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1440 x 810

1920x1080

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

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.

- Less options in 3D mode (see chart)

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

Satisfactory

Resolution ?

Good

Poor

Color performance ?

Good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Sufficient

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Satisfactory

Good

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Good

Very good

Photo function ?

Sufficient

Poor

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

381

271

Pros

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

- optional 3D
- No more Trauerraender

Cons

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

- Low sharpness

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.

Those who plan to shoot a lot of 3D should rather go for a dual-lens model of any major manufacturer.Panasonics adapter solution has indeed improved compared to the predecessor, but does not deliver particularly sharp results.

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