/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

Name

AG-HPX170

AG-HSC1U

European name ?

AG-HPX171

AG-HSC1

US name ?

AG-HPX-170

AG-HSC1U

lowest US price

4325 $

1828 $

On the market since

September 2008

March 2007

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
DVC PRO 25
DVC PRO 50
DVC PRO HD

AVCHD

Recording Medium

P2 card

SD Card

video resolutions EU ?

MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVC PRO 25,576 / 50i
DVC PRO 50,576 / 50i
DVC PRO HD 720/25p
DVC PRO HD 720/50p
DVCPROHD 1080/25p
DVCPROHD 1080/50i
DVCPROHD 1080/24p
DVCPROHD 1080/30p
DVCPROHD 1080/60i
DVCPRO HD 720 24p - 60i
DVCPRO HD 24p 1080 - 60i

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i

video resolutions US ?

MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCPROHD 1080/24p
DVCPROHD 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p
MiniDV 720 x 480/30p
DVCPRO HD 720 24p - 60i
DVCPRO HD 24p 1080 - 60i

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i

Max Bitrate ?

100 Mbit/s

13 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
DVC PRO HD-proprietary

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

13 x

12 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

28 mm

38,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

72 mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/3 inch

1/4 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

1100000 Pixel

520000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/24

1/50

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

50-105%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

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

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

3.5 mm mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Out

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

1900 g

430 g

Weight (with battery)

2250 g

490 g

Battery type

Panasonic CGA-D54

Battery capacity

5400 mAh

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

179 mm

74 mm

Width

154 mm

69 mm

Depth

397 mm

142 mm

Relative Size ?

109

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

235000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

3,0 Inch

Display format ?

4:3

16:9

Display pixels ?

251000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel

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 ?

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
DVC PRO 4x48kHz 16bit PCM

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
external XLR

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

manual

Audio levels ?

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card

Medium included ?

4 GB

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

1920x1080

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

-european modell is named AG-HPX171
In the 720p mode the frame rate can be changed in 20 steps from 12 to 50 fps (European model; international NTSC-model to 60fps)

Included in delivery is a 40 GB external drive with a slot for SD cards, which can be copied on to the drive by pushing a button.

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures