/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Panasonic

Name

PMW-350

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

European name ?

PMW-350K

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

US name ?

PMW-350

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

lowest US price

(22357) $

(3499) $

On the market since

April 2010

November 2011

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

DVCAM
XDCAM EX

AVCHD
MVC 3D

Recording Medium

SxS / PC Express

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p

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

video resolutions US ?

DVCAM 720 x 480/60i
XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p

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

Max Bitrate ?

35 Mbit/s

28 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
XDCAM MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Fujinon

Panasonic

Optical Zoom ?

16 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

31,4 mm

29,8 mm

Filter diameter ?

82 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

None

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Yes

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/1,5 inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

3050000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

1/250

Maximum shutter time ?

1/60

1/24

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

70-100%

50-105%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Yes

Knee ?

Yes

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

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

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

XLR

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

In
Out

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Out

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

6300 g

1600 g

Weight (with battery)

Battery type

Panasonic CGA-D54s

Battery capacity

5400 mAh

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

124 mm

145 mm

Width

269 mm

195 mm

Depth

332 mm

350 mm

Relative Size ?

110

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

921000 Pixel

1226880 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

921000 Pixel

1152000 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 ?

4x48kHz

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

Microphone ?

external XLR

external XLR
5.1 Internal

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

Standard ?

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

Chromatic aberration correctionFlip view of the display for 35mm adapter Native 23.98P 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 ?

Excellent

Good

Resolution ?

Excellent

Color performance ?

Very good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Configuration / image ?

Excellent

Very good

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Handling ?

Very good

Portability ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Photo function ?

Poor

Optics ?

Very good

Dynamics ?

Very good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

467

440

Pros

+ Lowlight performance
+ Professionell layout / body
+ 4 audio channels
+ 2/3-inch chip

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

Cons

- 4:2:0 color sampling
- only one digital HD-out operable at a time
- Most expensive in the Sony XDCAM EX CAM Lineup

- No ND filter
- Autostereoscopic display mode

Conclusion

With the PMW-350 you get an enormously light sensitive 2/3-inch camcorder for 20.000 Euro, but it is limited due to the 4:2:0 XDCAM EX sampling.This may be bypassed with a Nano flash recorder and in this combination, the PMW-350 suddenly is the cheapest 2/3-inch 4:2:2 HD-Cam on the market.In any case a professional shoulder camcorder whose operation leaves little to be desired.

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).

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