/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

Name

HDC-SD1

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

European name ?

HDC-SD1EG-S

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

US name ?

HDC-SD1

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

lowest US price

1300 $

(1299) $

On the market since

March 2007

February 2012

Manufacturers URL

link to Panasonic

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

MVC 3D

Recording Medium

SD Card

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i 3D

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i 3D

Max Bitrate ?

13 Mbit/s

28 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

12 x

1,5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

38,5 mm

29,8 mm

Filter diameter ?

43 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4 inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

520000 Pixel

2190000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CCD

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

auto

Minimum shutter time ?

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/50

1/25

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

100%

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

Out mini

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

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

430 g

425 g

Weight (with battery)

490 g

480 g

Battery type

Panasonic VW-VBN 130

Battery capacity

1250 mAh

Charger ?

internal
external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

74 mm

67 mm

Width

69 mm

72 mm

Depth

142 mm

150 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

263000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,0 Inch

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

251000 Pixel

1152000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Manual Focus ?

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Menu
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 ?

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.

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

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

4 GB

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 ?

Good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Sufficient

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Satisfactory

Good

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Very good

Photo function ?

Sufficient

Poor

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

328

271

Pros

+ Acceptable wide-angle
+ Good lowlight characteristics

- optional 3D
- No more Trauerraender

Cons

- No FullHD
-3CCDs with pixelshif do not result in full sharpness
-fan

- Low sharpness

Conclusion

In our opinion the SD1 is the best AVCHD Cam by Panansonic, and it remains competitive in 2008 thanks to its wide-angle and lowlight characteristics .

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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