| |
Model
|
| Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HDC-SD707 | HDR-XR520 |
| European name ? | HDC-SD707EG | HDR-XR520VE |
| US name ? | HDC-SD707 | HDR-XR520 |
| lowest US price | 949 $ | 1700 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | March 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Panasonic | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card
| Built-in hard disk Memory Stick PRO Duo
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 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 1920 x 1080/60p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 28 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG2 MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | | 240 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Leica
| Sony
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 35 mm | 42,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 46 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| 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 ? | 2530000 Pixel | |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets WB-Shift
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/8.000 | 1/800 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/25 | 1/50 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| |
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| |
| Peaking ? | Yes
| |
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 100% | No
|
| Histogram ? | Yes
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| |
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| |
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| |
| Black Strech ? | No
| |
| Knee ? | No
| |
| Colorbars ? | No
| |
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| |
| Custom Presets ? | No
| |
| Set Time Code ? | No
| |
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
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) | 380 g | 510 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 440 g | 590 g |
| Battery type | Panasonic VW-VBG 130
| |
| Battery capacity | 1250 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal external
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 66 mm | 71 mm |
| Width | 69 mm | 75 mm |
| Depth | 138 mm | 134 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 6 | 7 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 123000 Pixel | 123200 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,0 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 ? | No
| 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-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max. Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max. Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Mini-jack external 5.1 Internal
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| |
Still
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| Recording Medium ? | SDXC card
| Memory Stick Duo hard drive
|
| Medium included ? | No
| |
| Effective pixels ? | 2100000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 4000 x 3000 - Max
| 4000 x 3000 - Max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| Specials | optional 1080p50 recording with 28 Mbit/s | GPS with geo-tagging functionality |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| 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 | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Good | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 412 | 364 |
| Pros | + Sharpness and colour at the upper AVCHD limit + Many manual controls + 1080p50
| + very good low-light sensitivity + iris control ring and touch-focus work together very nicely
|
| Cons | - setting focus manually is a little complicated - display and viewfinder have low resolution
| + very few possibilites for manual control
|
| Conclusion | Not only does Panasonic offer 50p, it also brings enough wide angle (which even isn´t affected by the active image stabilisation), good low-light performance and colors, great sharpness and lots of manual control. | 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-SD707 | Sony HDR-XR520 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
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