/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Name

PMW-EX3

HVR-Z7

European name ?

PMW-EX3

HVR-Z7E

US name ?

PMWEX3

HVR-Z7U

lowest US price

8320 $

5499 $

On the market since

August 2008

February 2008

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

XDCAM EX

MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM

Recording Medium

SxS / PC Express

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
external flash memory

video resolutions EU ?

MPEG2 1920x1080 1-30p
MPEG2 1280x720 1-60p
MPEG2 1920x1080 1-60i
MPEG2 1440 x1080 1-60i

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/25p
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p

video resolutions US ?

MPEG2 1920x1080 1-30p
MPEG2 1280x720 1-60p
MPEG2 1920x1080 1-60i
MPEG2 1440 x1080 1-60i

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
DVCAM 720 x 480/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/25p
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p
MiniDV 720 x 480/30p

Max Bitrate ?

35 Mbit/s

25 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

XDCAM MPEG2

DV
MPEG2

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Fujinon

Carl Zeiss

Optical Zoom ?

14 x

12 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

31,4 mm

32 mm

Filter diameter ?

72 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Yes

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2 inch

1/3 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2073600 Pixel

1037000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

1/10.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

70-100%

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

Out

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

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

In
Out

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Out

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

Weight (with battery)

3600 g

2800 g

Battery type

Sony BP-U30

Battery capacity

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

250 mm

176 mm

Width

210 mm

199 mm

Depth

400 mm

439 mm

Relative Size ?

210

153

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

B/W and color

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

921000 Pixel

1226880 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

3,2 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

921000 Pixel

921600 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

Ring

Ring
button

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

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

Microphone ?

external XLR

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

1037000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1440x1080

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

The viewfinder is a hinged, magnifiying eyepiece in front of the display

A memory card recorder for Compact Flash (CF) memory cards is included in delivery

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures