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Model
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| Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| Sony 
|
| Name | AG-HPX250 | PMW-F3 |
| European name ? | AG-HPX250EJ | PMW-F3K |
| US name ? | AG-HPX250 | PMW-F3K |
| lowest US price | (5938) $ | (24633) $ |
| On the market since | October 2011 | July 2011 |
| Manufacturers URL | | |
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|
Test preview
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| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Very good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV DVC PRO 50 DVC PRO HD AVC-Intra
| XDCAM EX
|
| Recording Medium | P2 card
| SDHC card
|
| video resolutions EU ? | DVC PRO 25,576 / 50i DVC PRO 50,576 / 50i DVCPROHD 1080/25p DVCPROHD 1080/50i DVCPROHD 1080/24p DVCPROHD 1080/30p DVCPROHD 1080/60i AVC-Intra 1920 x 1080/60i AVC-Intra 1920 x 1080/30p AVC-Intra 1920 x 1080/24p AVC-Intra 1920 x 1080/50i AVC-Intra 1920 x 1080/25p
| XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p
|
| video resolutions US ? | | XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 100 Mbit/s | 35 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | DV DVC PRO HD-proprietary AVC-Intra
| MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Panasonic
| no
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 22 x | |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 28 mm | |
| Filter diameter ? | 72 mm | PL-mount mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| |
| ND Filter ? | 3 | 2 |
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| Yes
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/Super35 mm equivalent inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2073600 Pixel | 2000000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets WB-Shift
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/2.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/32 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual AE-Shift
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| |
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 60-100% | 70-100% |
| Histogram ? | waveform
| |
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| |
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| |
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| |
| Black Strech ? | Yes
| |
| Knee ? | Yes
| |
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| |
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| |
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| |
| Set Time Code ? | Yes
| |
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| |
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | | |
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | In Out
| Out
|
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR
| |
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| |
| Time-code interface ? | In Out
| In Out
|
| Genlock ? | In
| In
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| |
| HD-SDI ? | Out
| Out
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | | |
| Weight (with battery) | 2500 g | 2400 g |
| Battery type | | |
| Battery capacity | | |
| Charger ? | external
| |
| Remote control | No
| |
| Size |
| Height | 180 mm | |
| Width | 195 mm | |
| Depth | 438 mm | |
| Relative Size ? | 153 | 0 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | | |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 1226000 Pixel | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,4 Inch | 3,5 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 921000 Pixel | 921600 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Ring
| Rocker Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Ring
| Ring
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Ring
| Ring
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| |
| ND Filter ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| |
| Gain ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| White balance ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Push AF ? | Yes
| |
| Audio Levels ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | 4 | |
Audio
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| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| Audio Formats ? | DVC PRO 4x48kHz 16bit PCM
| |
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal external XLR
| |
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| |
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| |
Still
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| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| Recording Medium ? | No
| |
| Medium included ? | No
| |
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | | |
| Standard ? | | |
| Flash ? | No
| |
Misc.
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| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| Specials | 10-bit 4:2:2 recordingvariable frame rates | |
Product Shots
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| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| 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 | Excellent |
| Resolution ? | Excellent | Excellent |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Good |
| Configuration / image ? | Excellent | Excellent |
| Configuration / sound ? | Excellent | Excellent |
| Handling ? | Very good | Very good |
| Portability ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Photo function ? | Poor | Poor |
| Optics ? | Very good | Very good |
| Dynamics ? | Very good | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Very good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 465 | 447 |
| Pros | AVC-Intra 100 codec (10-bit, 4:2:2)Good ergonomics (pleasant switch size)Good resolution with no artificial sharpeningEnormous zoom range (22x) | + excellent image quality + Large sensor + Manual settings
|
| Cons | "Only" 1/3 inch chip(Lowlight capabilities corresponding to 1/3" chip size) | |
| Conclusion | With the AG-HPX250 Panasonic sticks to old virtues: functions reduced to the essential, rich metadata options, very good ergonomics, high mobility and large format options.Naturally, due to the 1/3" chip the camera is no lowlight monster - but probably no-one expected it to be.In combination with the high end AVC-Intra 100 codec and the multi-camera studio layout with SDI-OUT, TC-IN/OUT, GENLOCK and REMOTE the AG-HPX250 is a "honest" camera which offers very good image quality, and which ought to find its place in professional surroundings (event / studio / broadcast (2nd unit) quite easily.The MSRPof 4.990 Euro net is a reasonable price for the offered services. | In spite of the CMOS chip the F3 is closer to the F35 than it seems at first glance: it supports dual link 4:4:4 RGB, S-Log, so with robust PL-recording and decent lenses the F3 might make a good B-camera at a cinema movie set.The 35 Mbs MPEG2 material on a SxS device functions in addition to the external recording capabilities almost as a kind of proxy.Sure, a higher quality internal recording would be nice, but as there are lots of inexpensive options for an external recording in these modular times it is not mandatory.The Sony PMW-F3 convinces with extremely good light sensitivity with very low noise even at higher gain levels.With an MSRP of around 24,000 Euro for the Sony PMW-F3K (approximately 16,000 Euro for the L-version without PL-lens kit), it is a very attractive entry in the S35 digital cinema class. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX250 | Sony PMW-F3 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | provideocoalition.com
| timurcivan.blogspot.fr
www.xdcam-user.com
johnbrawley.wordpress.com
www.fxguide.com
|
| Forum posts | NAB 2011: Panasonic AG-HPX250 with AVC-Intra Recording
| Sonykontert with F3 update gegenCanonC300 introduction
Canon EOS-C300 and SonyPMW F3 in Comparison
Confusion about SonyPMW F3 assessment of Alan Roberts for the BBC
And a teaser: SonyPMW F3 or tease me to death
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