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Model
|
| Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| JVC 
|
| Name | HDC-HS60 | GZ-HM550 |
| European name ? | HDC-HS60 | GZ-HM550 BEU |
| US name ? | HDC-HS60 | GZ-HM550 |
| lowest US price | 645 $ | 550 $ |
| On the market since | February 2010 | March 2010 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Panasonic | link to JVC |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk SDHC card
| SDHC card built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 17 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 120 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Panasonic
| Konica Minolta
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 25x x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 35,7 mm | 48 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | - mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4,1 inch | 1/2,33 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2110000 Pixel | 5650000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/8.000 | 1/4000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/25 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| No
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| No
|
| Histogram ? | No
| 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-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out mini
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | No
| No
|
| Headphones ? | No
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | No
| No
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 258 g | 260 g |
| Weight (with battery) | | 300 g |
| Battery type | Panasonic VW-VBK 180
| JVC BN-VG114E
|
| Battery capacity | 1790 mAh | 1400 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | No
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 52 mm | 55 mm |
| Width | 66 mm | 62 mm |
| Depth | 112 mm | 110 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 3 | 3 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder format ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 230400 Pixel | 123000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| 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-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
| Stereo internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| |
Still
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Recording Medium ? | SD Card hard drive SDHC card
| built-in flash memory SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 9290000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 2592 x1944-max
| 3520 x 2640 - Max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Specials | compatible with SDXC cards | Bluetooth |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| 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 ? | Satisfactory | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Good | Excellent |
| Color performance ? | Good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Wide Angle ? | Good | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 358 | 357 |
| Pros | + manual controls for shutter and aperture + factory setting adjustable
| - Adjustable aperture and shutter -Very good sharpness -Very good low light behavior
|
| Cons | - no microphone and headphone jacks - no accessory shoe - no filter thread - display resolution only average
| - manual controls are a bit slow - sparse wide angle - display not sharp enough - "loud colors"
|
| Conclusion | The options for manual control surpass those of competing models.Hardly any lens distorsion, good sharpness and wide angle in combination with acceptable low-light capabilities: that is a novelty in this price region.However, there is zero connectivity in terms of microphones etc. | Such a remarkable sharpness, good low light and manual options cannot be found elsewhere in this price range.However, the complicated operation of the camera with its deep submenus ruins the potential fun of manual control.Also, one should be aware of the creative limits set by the minimum focal length of about 48 mm (kb).Setting the focus maually is difficult due to the small and not very sharp display.Clearly, this camera is interesting mainly for "automatic" film makers, who do not need much manual control or wide angle, but are searching for great sharpness and a good low-light performance without having to spend much. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Panasonic HDC-HS60 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | Panasonic HDC-HS60
New HDC HS60 with surprise
| Review: JVC GZ-HM550
|
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