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Model
|
| Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Panasonic
|
| Name | HDR-XR520 | HDC-DX1 |
| European name ? | HDR-XR520VE | HDC-DX1EG |
| US name ? | HDR-XR520 | HDC-DX1 |
| lowest US price | 1700 $ | 949 $ |
| On the market since | March 2009 | March 2007 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Panasonic |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk
Memory Stick PRO Duo
| MiniDVD 8cm
MiniDVD-DL 8cm
MiniDVD RAM 8cm
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 16 Mbit/s | 13 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2
MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 240 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Sony
| Leica
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 42,9 mm | 38,5 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 43 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| |
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 3 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/2,8 inch | 1/4 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | | 520000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CCD
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto
manual
presets
| auto
manual
presets
|
| Focus ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/800 | 1/8.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/50 | 1/50 |
| Apperture control ? | auto
manual
| |
| Infrared recording ? | | |
| Expanded Focus ? | | |
| Peaking ? | | |
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| |
| Histogram ? | No
| |
| adjustable sharpness ? | | |
| Adjustable color ? | | |
| Cinegamma ? | | |
| Black Strech ? | | |
| Knee ? | | |
| Colorbars ? | | |
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | | |
| Custom Presets ? | | |
| Set Time Code ? | | |
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| |
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video | About Special Equipment
| |
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| |
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| |
| Lanc ? | No
| |
| Time-code interface ? | No
| |
| Genlock ? | No
| |
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
| |
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 510 g | 680 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 590 g | 800 g |
| Battery type | | |
| Battery capacity | | |
| Charger ? | internal
| |
| Remote control | Yes
| |
| Size |
| Height | 71 mm | 92 mm |
| Width | 75 mm | 91 mm |
| Depth | 134 mm | 163 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 13 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 123200 Pixel | 183000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,2 Inch | 3,0 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 307200 Pixel | 251000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| |
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned
| |
| Manual Focus ? | Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| |
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| |
| Focus switcher ? | No
| |
| ND Filter ? | No
| |
| Exp Lock ? | No
| |
| Gain ? | No
| |
| White balance ? | No
| |
| Push AF ? | No
| |
| Audio Levels ? | No
| |
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons | No
| |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| |
| Audio levels ? | | |
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo
hard drive
| SD Card
|
| Medium included ? | | No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 4000 x 3000 - Max
| 1920x1080 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| Specials | GPS with geo-tagging functionality | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| 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 ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Very good | Good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
| Satisfactory
|
Total score ?
(maximal 570) | 364 | 320 |
| Pros | + very good low-light sensitivity
+ iris control ring and touch-focus work together very nicely
| + Acceptable wide-angle
+ Good lowlight characteristics
|
| Cons | + very few possibilites for manual control
| - No FullHD
-3CCDs with pixelshif do not result in full sharpness
- MiniDVD
|
| Conclusion | The Low-light picture quality is very good and sets a new standard for the sub 1000 euro camcorder classBut there is no histogram, no zebra, no shutter-control, no focus assist and no picture adjustmentThis is sad, especially because Sony could probably unlock these functions via firmware | The MiniDVD as a recording medium does not strike us as particularly useful for HD , so the similar model SD1 is much more interesting. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR520 | Panasonic HDC-DX1 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
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