/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

Name

AG-HPX250

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

European name ?

AG-HPX250EJ

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

US name ?

AG-HPX250

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

lowest US price

(5938) $

(3499) $

On the market since

October 2011

November 2011

Manufacturers URL

link to Panasonic

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
DVC PRO 50
DVC PRO HD
AVC-Intra

AVCHD
MVC 3D

Recording Medium

P2 card

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC 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

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

video resolutions US ?

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

Max Bitrate ?

100 Mbit/s

28 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
DVC PRO HD-proprietary
AVC-Intra

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Panasonic

Optical Zoom ?

22 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

28 mm

29,8 mm

Filter diameter ?

72 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

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 ?

2073600 Pixel

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 ?

1/6

1/24

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

60-100%

50-105%

Histogram ?

waveform

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)

1600 g

Weight (with battery)

2500 g

Battery type

Panasonic CGA-D54s

Battery capacity

5400 mAh

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

180 mm

145 mm

Width

195 mm

Depth

438 mm

350 mm

Relative Size ?

153

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

1226000 Pixel

1226880 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,4 Inch

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 ?

Gain ?

Yes

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Yes

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

DVC PRO 4x48kHz 16bit PCM

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

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
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

10-bit 4:2:2 recordingvariable frame rates

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

Resolution ?

Excellent

Color performance ?

Very good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Excellent

Very good

Configuration / image ?

Excellent

Very good

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Handling ?

Very good

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Photo function ?

Poor

Optics ?

Very good

Dynamics ?

Very good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

465

440

Pros

AVC-Intra 100 codec (10-bit, 4:2:2)Good ergonomics (pleasant switch size)Good resolution with no artificial sharpeningEnormous zoom range (22x)

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

Cons

"Only" 1/3 inch chip(Lowlight capabilities corresponding to 1/3" chip size)

- No ND filter
- Autostereoscopic display mode

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.

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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