/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

Samsung

Name

HDC-HS60

HMX-S10

European name ?

HDC-HS60

HMX-S10

US name ?

HDC-HS60

HMX-S10

lowest US price

645 $

699 $

On the market since

February 2010

May 2010

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

MPEG4/AVC

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
SDHC card

SD Card
SDHC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

AVC 1920 x 1080i50
AVC 1920 x 1080p25
MP4 720 x 576 50i
AVC 1280 720p25/p50

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i

AVC 1920 x 1080 60i
MP4 720 x 480 60i
AVC 1280 720p30/p60

Max Bitrate ?

17 Mbit/s

k. a. Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

120 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Panasonic

Tailor Kreunznach

Optical Zoom ?

25x x

15 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

35,7 mm

46,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

46 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4,1 inch

1/2,33 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2110000 Pixel

10000000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/8.000

1/10.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/25

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out mini

Out

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

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

258 g

Weight (with battery)

Battery type

Panasonic VW-VBK 180

Samsung IA-BP210E

Battery capacity

1790 mAh

Charger ?

internal

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

52 mm

58 mm

Width

66 mm

56 mm

Depth

112 mm

114 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Color Viewfinder ?

Viewfinder format ?

Viewfinder pixels ?

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

2,7 Inch

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

230400 Pixel

1152000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Manual Focus ?

bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

AAC Stereo
AAC Stereo 48 kHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card
hard drive
SDHC card

SD Card
built-in flash memory
SDHC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

10000000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

2592 x1944-max

3984 x 2656

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

compatible with SDXC cards

+ Time lapse recording

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 ?

Satisfactory

Good

Resolution ?

Good

Very good

Color performance ?

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Good

Satisfactory

Wide Angle ?

Good

Poor

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Sufficient

Handling ?

Good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Excellent

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

358

323

Pros

+ manual controls for shutter and aperture
+ factory setting adjustable

+ Sharpness and lowlight behavior
+ Some good manual control
+ Touch Focus

Cons

- no microphone and headphone jacks
- no accessory shoe
- no filter thread
- display resolution only average

- Automatics never completely switched off
- No support for AVCHD

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.

With the HMX-S10 Samsung shows the company is able to build cameras that can compete technically in the 1000 Euro league.The camera hardware is more than adequate for this price.But software-wise there is more emphasis on colorful animations than practical usability. The small lens wheel does in any case only make limited sense, as long as you cannot inhibit the camera from automatically changing the settings.The display, however, is really impressive and also the manufacturing of the camera seems very solid.

More information

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external reviews/tests

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