/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

JVC

Name

HDR-CX350V

HD Everio GZ-HD7

European name ?

HDR-CX350VE

HD Everio GZ-HD7EX

US name ?

HDR-CX350V

HD Everio GZ-HD7

lowest US price

609 $

On the market since

March 2010

April 2007

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD
SD MPEG2

MPEG2-TS

Recording Medium

SDHC card
Memory Stick PRO Duo
built-in flash memory

Built-in hard disk
SD Card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
HD 1920 x 1080i

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HD 1920 x 1080i

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

30 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG2
MPEG4

MPEG2

on-board memory ?

32 GB

60 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Sony

Fujinon

Optical Zoom ?

12 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

29,8 mm

39,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

30 mm

46 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4 inch

1/5 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

530000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/auto

1/4000

Maximum shutter time ?

auto

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70%
100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Adjustable color ?

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

About Special Equipment

Out

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0 OUT

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

310 g

665 g

Weight (with battery)

360 g

750 g

Battery type

Sony NP-FV50

JVC BN-VF815

Battery capacity

980 mAh

1460 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

52 mm

91 mm

Width

64 mm

77 mm

Depth

112 mm

186 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

269000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

2,7 Inch

2,8 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

230400 Pixel

207000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

button

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

MPEG-1 Layer2

Microphone ?

Stereo internal

Audio Control ?

auto

Audio levels ?

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo
built-in flash memory
SDHC card

SD Card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

3540000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

2304 x 1728 - Max

1920x1080
1440x1080
640x480
1024 x 768

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

GPS

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

Sufficient

Resolution ?

Very good

Sufficient

Color performance ?

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Excellent

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Poor

Handling ?

Good

Portability ?

Excellent

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Optics ?

Good

Sufficient

Dynamics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

378

252

Pros

+ focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well
+ good low light performance

+ HDV-compatible disk recording
+ High color resolution
+ good manual settings

Cons

- no microphone and headphone jacks
- display resolution only average
- little manual control

- No FullHD
- Bad low light performance
- small wide angle

Conclusion

Too bad Sony still does not offer any manual control on their medium-class camcorders.Because the camera actually delivers an overall good image for this price range.The wide angle lens with its almost 29mm (kb) surely makes it attractive to some buyers, since competing models offer nothing of the sort.On the other hand the camera has a spicy price tag, which makes it look somewhat less good compared to the new Panasonic series (HDC-XX60).Hence, in its price range it recommends itself only to those who need a generous wide angle without any manual control or connectivity.

The JVC GZ-HD7 provides full 1920x1080 pixels for recording, which does not result in a visible improvement in recording quality, though.The recording mode 1440x1080 suffices for a full image performance with a good color resolution.The subjective image impression is satisfactory; when recording images with low contrast the details diminish due to the significant contour.In terms of color the GZ-HD7 is quite rich, the white balance on the other hand is often slow.With little light, the image grows quickly gloomy despite of the three CCDs, which combined with the relatively small wide-angle makes it less suitable for interior shots.Our test pattern also showed significant blurs and aberrations on the right border, which might suggest a not quite correctly built-in lens.

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