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/// HD Camcorder Comparison

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models compared on this page: Panasonic HDC-HS900 and Sony HDR-HC1

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Model

Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
Picture ?
Manufacturer Panasonic Information about Panasonic

Sony Information on Sony

Name HDC-HS900HDR-HC1
European name ?HDC-HS900EGHDR-HC1E
US name ?HDC-HS900HDRHC1
lowest US price 889 $911 $
On the market since March 2011 August 2005
Manufacturers URL link to Panasoniclink to Sony
Test preview

[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
slashCAM rating ?Very good
Satisfactory
test picture 1200 Lux
Test image 12 lux auto-mode
Video

[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
Video formats ? AVCHD
MiniDV
HDV
Recording Medium Built-in hard disk
SDHC card
MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
video resolutions EU ?AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
video resolutions US ?AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60p
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
Max Bitrate ?28 Mbit/s25 Mbit/s
Compression format ? MPEG4
DV
MPEG2
on-board memory ?220 GB 
Optics
Optics Manufacturer ? Leica
Carl Zeiss
Optical Zoom ?12 x10 x
Wide Angle 16:9 ?35 mm41 mm
Filter diameter ?46 mm37 mm
Image Stabilization ?optically and electronically
electronical
ND Filter ?No
No
Exchangable optics ?No
No
Image Sensor
Number of sensors ?31
Size of image sensor ?1/4,1 inch1/3 inch
image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?2530000 Pixel 1983000 Pixel
Image Sensor Type ? CMOS
CMOS
Controls
White Balance ?auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
Focus ?auto
manual
auto
manual
Minimum shutter time ?1/8.0001/10.000
Maximum shutter time ?1/251/3
Apperture control ?auto
manual
auto
manual
AE-Shift
Infrared recording ?No
Yes
Expanded Focus ?No
 
Peaking ?Yes
 
Signal Processing
Zebra ?100%70%
100%
Histogram ?Yes
Yes
adjustable sharpness ?Yes
Yes
Adjustable color ?Yes
Yes
Cinegamma ?Yes
No
Black Strech ?No
No
Knee ?No
No
Colorbars ?No
Yes
Misc.
Shot Transition ?No
Yes
Custom Presets ?No
No
Set Time Code ?No
No
Configuration

Connections
[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite
Out
In
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video
No
In
Out
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal
Out
Out
HDMI ?Out mini
No
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394
- In
Out
USB ?USB 2.0
USB 1.1
Microphone / Audio input ?Mini-jack
Mini-jack
Headphones ?3.5 mm mini-jack
Mini-jack
Lanc ?No
Yes
Time-code interface ?No
No
Genlock ?No
No
Accessory shoe ? Standard
AI
HD-SDI ?No
No
Misc.
Weight (without battery) 455 g680 g
Weight (with battery)  780 g
Battery type Panasonic VW-VBN 130
Sony NP-FM50
Battery capacity  1180 mAh
Charger ?internal
external
internal
Remote control Yes
Yes
Size
Height 67 mm71 mm
Width 72 mm94 mm
Depth 146 mm188 mm
Relative Size ?712
Viewfinder
Viewfinder available ?Yes
Yes
Color Viewfinder ?Color
Color
Viewfinder format ?16:916:9
Viewfinder pixels ? 252000 Pixel
Display
Display available ?Yes
Yes
Color display ?Color
Color
Display size 3,5 Inch2,7 Inch
Display format ?16:916:9
Display pixels ?460000 Pixel 123200 Pixel
Touch Screen ?Yes
 
External controls
Manual Zoom ?Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned
Rocker
Ring
Manual Focus ?Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
Ring
Menu
Manual Aperture ?Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
Wheel
Menu
Focus switcher ?No
Yes
ND Filter ?No
No
Exp Lock ?No
Yes
Gain ?No
No
White balance ?No
No
Push AF ?No
No
Audio Levels ?No
No
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons
No
 
Audio

[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
Audio Formats ?AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
Microphone ?Mini-jack external
5.1 Internal
Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
Audio Control ?auto
manual
auto
manual
Audio levels ?Viewfinder
Screen
Viewfinder
Screen
Still

[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
Recording Medium ?SDXC card
Memory Stick Duo
Medium included ?No
16 MB
Effective pixels ?2100000 Pixel 2764800 Pixel
Resolutions ?1920x1080
4000 x 3000 - Max
4608 x 3072 - Max
1920x1080
1440x1080
640x480
Standard ?JPEG Exif 2.2
JPEG Exif 2.2
Flash ?Yes
Yes
Misc.

[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
Specials optional 1080p50 recording with 28 Mbit/s 
Product Shots

[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
View 1  
View 2  
Test results

Test pictures
[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
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 ?GoodSatisfactory
Resolution ? Excellent Satisfactory
Color performance ?Very goodSatisfactory
subj.Picture impression ?Very goodGood
Optical Zoom ?SufficientSufficient
Wide Angle ?GoodSufficient
Configuration / image ?Very goodSatisfactory
Configuration / sound ?SatisfactorySatisfactory
Handling ?GoodSatisfactory
Portability ?Very goodVery good
Photo function ?SatisfactorySufficient
Optics ?GoodGood
Dynamics ?GoodGood
Conclusion slashCAM
slashCAM rating ?Very good
Satisfactory
Total score ?
(maximal 570)
412308
Pros + Sharpness and colour at the upper AVCHD limit
+ Many manual controls
+ 1080p50
+ good picture impression
+ portable
Cons - No Expanded Focus
- No touch focus in manual mode
- color resolution only average
- DV-quality only average
Conclusion Not only does Panasonic offer 50p, it also brings enough wide angle (which even isn´t affected by the active image stabilisation), good low-light performance and colors, great sharpness and lots of manual control.Also nice is that the 3D features are now offered as an alternative add-on option.The Sony HDR-HC1 shines with very good brightness resolution, but on fine details it occasionally tends to (colored) moirees.The color resolution is not on a HDV-level, though the CMOS sensor theoretically should have more reserves.The overall picture impression is good, partly due to the good dynamics behavior with little noise and few smear-effects.Color-wise the HC1 is fairly neutral, almost somewhat low-key.The wide angle is very limited for indoors, but on the other hand there are only few lens errors.In low light situations the HC1 loses color fast, in terms of configuration the touchscreen prevents a better rating.
More information

Reviews and Forums
[ top ]Panasonic HDC-HS900Sony HDR-HC1
slashCAM Review
HDC-HS900 Review
HDR-HC1 Review
external reviews/tests  unterhaltung.thgweb.de
digitalproducer.com
www.camcorderinfo.com
Forum posts  ProRes codec for SonyHDR-HC1E Material
SonyHDR-HC1E zoom button MALFUNCTION
Remote control (and some 50 m) of HC1 camcorder as possible??
SonyHC9 or older but in the HC1 to invest?
different HDR-HC1 and HDR-HC1E (sony)
Edition of FCE on tape (SonyHDR-HC1E) via iLink
SonyHDR HC1 Schwemme
Capture with Virtualdub to SonyHDR-HC1E: No video codecs
SONY HDR-HC1E image output via HD Component Output
HDR-HC1E + Ansteckmikro
Material of the HC1 on the PC draw?
How do I play HDV material of the HC1 on the Pc
Sonydcr-vx9000e, dcr-vx2100e or SonyHDR-HC1E


Please consider that these data have been entered into this database by human beings.Also, the technical information provided by the manufacturers are at times contradictory, incomplete and sometimes even incorrect.Although we take great care checking all information, we can not gurantee for its correctness.Should you find this data to have some omission or error, please let us know! Mail:



update am 23.Mai 2012 - 15:50
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