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Model
|
| Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HDC-HS900 | HDR-CX520V |
| European name ? | HDC-HS900EG | HDR-CX520VE |
| US name ? | HDC-HS900 | HDR-CX520V |
| lowest US price | 889 $ | 951 $ |
| On the market since | March 2011 | August 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Panasonic | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk SDHC card
| Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 28 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 220 GB | 64 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 | 1/2,9 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2530000 Pixel | 4150000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets WB-Shift
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/8.000 | 1/1000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/25 | 1/25 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| No
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 100% | No
|
| Histogram ? | Yes
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| No
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| No
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
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
| No
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 455 g | 370 g |
| Weight (with battery) | | 450 g |
| Battery type | Panasonic VW-VBN 130
| Sony NP-FH60
|
| Battery capacity | | 1000 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal external
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 67 mm | 62 mm |
| Width | 72 mm | 65 mm |
| Depth | 146 mm | 125 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 5 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| - |
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 3,0 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 460000 Pixel | 230000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture 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-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| 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.
|
| Microphone ? | Mini-jack external 5.1 Internal
| 5.1 Internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Recording Medium ? | SDXC card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 2100000 Pixel | 6631000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 4000 x 3000 - Max 4608 x 3072 - Max
| 3640 x 2160 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Specials | optional 1080p50 recording with 28 Mbit/s | -50 upscaling in playback mode - image stabilizator corrects hand rotations - GPS receiver built in
|
Product Shots
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| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| 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 | Good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Good | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 412 | 328 |
| Pros | + Sharpness and colour at the upper AVCHD limit + Many manual controls + 1080p50
| + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + six freely configuarable display buttons
|
| Cons | - No Expanded Focus - No touch focus in manual mode
| - no microphone and headphone jacks + mediocre display resolution - upgradeable only with expensive and proprietary MemorySticks
|
| 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.Also nice is that the 3D features are now offered as an alternative add-on option. | for now, the low-light image quality rules superior in the sub 1000 Euro camcorder class.The great dynamic range when using the factory settings as well as its abandonment of moving part makes this cam interesting for independent filmmakers.On the other hand there are some features missing, there is no histogram, no zebra, no exposure time control, no sharpness helper and no image adjustment. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS900 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | | Search affordable wide-angle attachment for SonyHDR-CX520VE!
My SonyHDR-CX520VE original test clips
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