/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Panasonic

Name

PMW-EX1R

HDC-TM20

European name ?

PMW-EX1R

HDC-TM20

US name ?

PMWEX1R

HDC-TM20K

lowest US price

2849 $

On the market since

December 2009

February 2009

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MPEG2-TS
XDCAM EX

AVCHD

Recording Medium

SxS / PC Express

SDHC card
built-in flash memory

video resolutions EU ?

MPEG2 1920x1080 1-30p
MPEG2 1280x720 1-60p
MPEG2 1920x1080 1-60i
MPEG2 1440 x1080 1-60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p

video resolutions US ?

MPEG2 1920x1080 1-30p
MPEG2 1280x720 1-60p
MPEG2 1920x1080 1-60i
MPEG2 1440 x1080 1-60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p

Max Bitrate ?

35 Mbit/s

17 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

XDCAM MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

16 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Fujinon

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

14 x

16 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

31,4 mm

42 mm

Filter diameter ?

77 mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2 inch

1/6 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2073600 Pixel

1170000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

1/25

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

70-100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Yes

Knee ?

Yes

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Yes

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Yes

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

Out mini

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

XLR

Headphones ?

3.5 mm mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

2 x standard

HD-SDI ?

Out

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

2400 g

270 g

Weight (with battery)

2800 g

327 g

Battery type

Sony BP-U30

Panasonic VW-VBG070

Battery capacity

725 mAh

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

178 mm

64 mm

Width

176 mm

67 mm

Depth

311 mm

127 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

B/W and color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

900000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

921000 Pixel

230400 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

Ring

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exp Lock ?

Yes

Gain ?

Yes

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Yes

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.

Microphone ?

external XLR

Stereo internal

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SDHC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

2100000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1920 x 1080 - max

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

Cache recording up to 15 seconds.SD-recording too

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 ?

Excellent

Sufficient

Resolution ?

Very good

Sufficient

Color performance ?

Very good

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Excellent

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Sufficient

Handling ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Excellent

Photo function ?

Poor

Sufficient

Optics ?

Very good

Good

Dynamics ?

Very good

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

467

293

Pros

+ excellent image quality
+ Manual handling
+ Exceptionally well equipped
+ LowLight behavior

+ manual controls for shutter and aperture
+ factory setting adjustable

Cons

- Expensive SxS-cards

- somewhat blurred compared with other HD video

Conclusion

Almost everything that was criticized on the EX1 (mainly concerning the switches/buttons and ergonomics) has been addressed and improved.In its current form, it definitely still plays in the top league in terms of low light performance, handling and functionality, and with its 1/2-inch chip it is one of the "bigger" small ones.

This cam shines with unusual (in this price category) manual controls and smart automatic modes and a touchscreen.But the small 1 chip sensor limits the picture quality too much.

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