/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Panasonic

Name

HDR-FX7

AG-HMC150

European name ?

HDR-FX7E

AG-HMC150

US name ?

HDR-FX7

AG-HMC150

lowest US price

2799 $

On the market since

November 2006

September 2008

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
HDV

AVCHD

Recording Medium

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

SD Card
SDHC card

video resolutions EU ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/60p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/50p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/30p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/25p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/24p

video resolutions US ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/60p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/50p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/30p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/25p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/24p

Max Bitrate ?

25 Mbit/s

24 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Carl Zeiss

Optical Zoom ?

20 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

37,4 mm

Filter diameter ?

62 mm

72 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4 inch

1/3 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

1037000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/10.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

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

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

Weight (with battery)

1600 g

Battery type

Sony F570

Battery capacity

2200 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

145 mm

Width

156 mm

Depth

322 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

Touch Screen ?

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual 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

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

1037000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1440 x 810

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.

Product Shots

View 1

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Test results

Test pictures