/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

Canon

Name

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

XH A1

European name ?

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

XH A1

US name ?

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

XH A1

lowest US price

(3499) $

2799 $

On the market since

November 2011

November 2006

Manufacturers URL

link to Panasonic

link to Canon

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD
MVC 3D

MiniDV
HDV

Recording Medium

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25F

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p
MiniDV 720 x 480/30p

Max Bitrate ?

28 Mbit/s

25 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

DV
MPEG2

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Panasonic

Canon

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

20 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

29,8 mm

32,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

72 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4,1 inch

1/3 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

3050000 Pixel

1560000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/250

1/16.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/24

1/3

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

50-105%

Off
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

In
Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

XLR

XLR
Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

1600 g

2100 g

Weight (with battery)

2200 g

Battery type

Panasonic CGA-D54s

Canon BP-950G

Battery capacity

5400 mAh

5200 mAh

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

145 mm

163 mm

Width

195 mm

189 mm

Depth

350 mm

Relative Size ?

107

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

B/W and color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

1226880 Pixel

269000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

B/W and color

Display size

3,5 Inch

2,8 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

1152000 Pixel

207000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

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 ?

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

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1

Microphone ?

external XLR
5.1 Internal

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
external XLR

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Viewfinder
Screen
display

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

1560000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

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

Resolution ?

Excellent

Very good

Color performance ?

Very good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Handling ?

Very good

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Photo function ?

Poor

Sufficient

Optics ?

Very good

Good

Dynamics ?

Very good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

440

433

Pros

+ Extreme manual control options
+ Very good image quality
+ Good 3D control

+ Excellent resolution in brightness and color
+ Exceptionally well equipped

Cons

- No ND filter
- Autostereoscopic display mode

- Occasional image errors due to the lens

Conclusion

Even as a 2D camcorder the Z10000 is absolutely competitive thanks to the professional features and excellent image quality.The additional 3D capabilities are currently unique in this price range (and even much further) (as of 11/2011).

The XHA1 Canon has CCDs with excellent resolution of both brightness as well as color.The dynamic behavior can be changed to outstanding values with knee, noise suppression and -3dB gain, which combined with the sober colors ensures a very clean image impression.Only the lens with its 20x zoom shows occasional distortion and chromatic aberrations.Partly due to much noise, the XH A1 is only "good" in low-light situations.

More information

Reviews and Forums

slashCAM Review

HDC-Z10000 Review

XH A1 Review

external reviews/tests

www.dv.com

www.camcorderinfo.com

Forum posts