/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

JVC

Name

NEX-VG10

GS-TD1BE (3D-Modus)

European name ?

NEX-VG10

GS-TD1BE

US name ?

NEX-VG10

GS-TD1

lowest US price

1519 $

1299 $

On the market since

September 2010

April 2011

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

AVCHD
MVC 3D

Recording Medium

SDHC card
Memory Stick PRO Duo
SDXC card

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

34 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Sony

JVC HD

Optical Zoom ?

11 x

5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

32,5 mm

42 mm

Filter diameter ?

67 (kit lens)
mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Yes

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/APS-C (23.4 × 15.6mm)
inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/4000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/4

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

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

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

USB ?

USB 2.0

USB 2.0 OUT

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

1 x 1 x Standard Hotshoe

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

620 g

590 g

Weight (with battery)

1300 g

676 g

Battery type

Sony NP-FV70

JVC BNVF815U

Battery capacity

1960 mAh

1460 mAh

Charger ?

external

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

97 mm

102 mm

Width

132 mm

64 mm

Depth

294 mm

186 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

1440000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,0 Inch

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

921000 Pixel

920000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Ring

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

assignable custom key

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

Yes

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto

auto
5 steps

Audio levels ?

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo
SDHC card

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

4592 × 3056 - Max

1920 x 1080 3D

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

- Vegas Movie Studio Platinum HD 10 as a free download
- Interchangeable lenses

autostereoscopic display

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 ?

Very good

Good

Resolution ?

Satisfactory

Good

Color performance ?

Good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Poor

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Good

Photo function ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

380

307

Pros

+ APS-C chip with interchangeable lens
+ complete manual control over iris, shutter, gain, white balance
+ image settings can be adjusted

+ More manual 3D control than its direct competitors

Cons

- no control over audio, no level indication
- no motorized zoom
- no focus assist options

- operation concept
- Image characteristics can not be changed

Conclusion

The NEX-VG10 is a nice camera which makes great video recordings with bokeh, and also shows good lowlight capabilities -- even with the not so ideal kit lens.Iris, shutter, gain and white balance can be controlled manually (and separately), and also the image characteristics may be adjusted.But in comparison with present DSLRs Sony missed the occasion to add another dimension to "large-sensor-filming".Hardly any feature can be found that could not be had elsewhere (for considerably less money even).The audio section is rather meager for a 2000 Euro camcorder.

In terms of image quality, handling and also the display the JVC is not quite on par with the HDR-TD10.Though the TD1 in return offers a little more manual control, this is partly hidden by an unnecessarily complicated operation.Also the non-changeable, rather extreme color settings are certainly not for everyone.A firmware update could address these criticisms, however, and make the camera much more attractive.Hopefully the standards-compliant MVC implementation will be adopted by more software makers over time.

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