/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Panasonic

Name

PMW-EX1R

HDC-SD3

European name ?

PMW-EX1R

HDC-SD3

US name ?

PMWEX1R

HDC-SD3

lowest US price

2799 $

On the market since

December 2009

May 2007

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MPEG2-TS
XDCAM EX

AVCHD

Recording Medium

SxS / PC Express

SD Card
SDHC card

video resolutions EU ?

MPEG2 1920x1080 1-30p
MPEG2 1280x720 1-60p
MPEG2 1920x1080 1-60i
MPEG2 1440 x1080 1-60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

video resolutions US ?

MPEG2 1920x1080 1-30p
MPEG2 1280x720 1-60p
MPEG2 1920x1080 1-60i
MPEG2 1440 x1080 1-60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i

Max Bitrate ?

35 Mbit/s

13 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

XDCAM MPEG2

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Fujinon

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

14 x

12 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

31,4 mm

38,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

77 mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2 inch

1/4 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2073600 Pixel

560000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

1/50

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Yes

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

70-100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Yes

Knee ?

Yes

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Yes

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 ?

3.5 mm mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

2 x standard

HD-SDI ?

Out

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

2400 g

430 g

Weight (with battery)

2800 g

490 g

Battery type

Sony BP-U30

Battery capacity

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

178 mm

74 mm

Width

176 mm

69 mm

Depth

311 mm

142 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

B/W and color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

900000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

3,0 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

921000 Pixel

251000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

Ring

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exp Lock ?

Yes

Gain ?

Yes

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Yes

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.

Microphone ?

external XLR

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

1920x1080

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

Cache recording up to 15 seconds.SD-recording too

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures