/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Panasonic

Name

HDR-FX1

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

European name ?

HDR-FX1

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

US name ?

HDR-FX1

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

lowest US price

(1299) $

On the market since

January 2005

February 2012

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
HDV

MVC 3D

Recording Medium

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i 3D

video resolutions US ?

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i 3D

Max Bitrate ?

25 Mbit/s

28 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Carl Zeiss

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

12 x

1,5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

32,5 mm

29,8 mm

Filter diameter ?

72 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/3 inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

1070000 Pixel

2190000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CCD

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

auto

Minimum shutter time ?

1/10.000

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

1/25

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70-100%

100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Yes

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

In
Out

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

In
Out

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out mini

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

3.5 mm mini-jack

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

1990 g

425 g

Weight (with battery)

2178 g

480 g

Battery type

Sony F570

Panasonic VW-VBN 130

Battery capacity

2200 mAh

1250 mAh

Charger ?

internal

internal
external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

139 mm

67 mm

Width

182 mm

72 mm

Depth

360 mm

150 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

252000 Pixel

263000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

250880 Pixel

1152000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Manual Focus ?

Ring
Menu

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

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 ?

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

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

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

5.1 Internal

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

2370000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1920x1080

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

- Less options in 3D mode (see chart)

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

Satisfactory

Resolution ?

Satisfactory

Poor

Color performance ?

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Sufficient

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Good

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Good

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Very good

Photo function ?

Poor

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

374

271

Pros

+ Very good image quality impression
+ Wide optics
+ handling well-conceived
+ Very well equipped

- optional 3D
- No more Trauerraender

Cons

- No full HDV-resolution
- DV-quality only average

- Low sharpness

Conclusion

The Sony FX1 lacks CCDs with full HDV-resolution, which is visible at least in the horizontal resolution.Nevertheless, the subjective image impression is still very good due to the very good dynamic behavior with extremely little noise and the consistent color reproduction.Despite the comparatively large wide-angle, optical errors are within limits, only little distortion and chromatic aberrations can be detected.In low light situations the FX1 is just about good -- here too the low noise a plus point.

Those who plan to shoot a lot of 3D should rather go for a dual-lens model of any major manufacturer.Panasonics adapter solution has indeed improved compared to the predecessor, but does not deliver particularly sharp results.

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