/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

JVC

Name

HDR-HC7

GS-TD1BE (3D-Modus)

European name ?

HDR-HC7E

GS-TD1BE

US name ?

HDR-HC7

GS-TD1

lowest US price

1700 $

1299 $

On the market since

January 2007

April 2011

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
HDV

AVCHD
MVC 3D

Recording Medium

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

video resolutions US ?

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

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

Max Bitrate ?

25 Mbit/s

34 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Carl Zeiss

JVC HD

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

41,3 mm

42 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2,9 inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2280000 Pixel

2070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/auto

1/4000

Maximum shutter time ?

auto

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
AE-Shift

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Yes

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70%
100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Yes

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

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

USB 2.0 OUT

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack
Cinch

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

550 g

590 g

Weight (with battery)

676 g

Battery type

Sony NP-FH60

JVC BNVF815U

Battery capacity

1000 mAh

1460 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

82 mm

102 mm

Width

82 mm

64 mm

Depth

138 mm

186 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

123200 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

2,7 Inch

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

211200 Pixel

920000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

assignable custom key

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

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

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto

auto
5 steps

Audio levels ?

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

1991000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

2848x2136
2848x1602

1920 x 1080 3D

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

&"Smooth Slow Record" slow motion mode: 3 seconds are recorded with 200 half frames/sec., resulting in a 4-fold slow motion.However, the recording is without sound and in poorer image quality.

autostereoscopic display

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 ?

Satisfactory

Good

Resolution ?

Satisfactory

Good

Color performance ?

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Very good

Good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

310

307

Pros

+ good picture impression

+ More manual 3D control than its direct competitors

Cons

- low color resolution
- color moirees

- operation concept
- Image characteristics can not be changed

Conclusion

The Sony HDR-HC7 shines with very good brightness resolution, but tends to show quite visible color moires on very fine details.The color resolution is only on SD-level, which makes for a rather soft image impression.The noise behavior has been improved compared to its predecessor - along with the few smear-effects this provides very good image dynamics.In terms of color the HC7 is neutral.The wide angle is very limited for indoor shots, lens errors keep whithin limits though.In low-light situations the HC7 produces somewhat colorless and dark images.The touch screen brings no points in the configuration score.

In terms of image quality, handling and also the display the JVC is not quite on par with the HDR-TD10.Though the TD1 in return offers a little more manual control, this is partly hidden by an unnecessarily complicated operation.Also the non-changeable, rather extreme color settings are certainly not for everyone.A firmware update could address these criticisms, however, and make the camera much more attractive.Hopefully the standards-compliant MVC implementation will be adopted by more software makers over time.

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