/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

JVC

Sony

Name

GS-TD1BE (3D-Modus)

HDR-TG3

European name ?

GS-TD1BE

HDR-TG3E

US name ?

GS-TD1

HDR-TG3

lowest US price

1299 $

979 $

On the market since

April 2011

May 2008

Manufacturers URL

link to JVC

link to Sony

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD
MVC 3D

AVCHD

Recording Medium

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

Memory Stick PRO Duo

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
MP4 2 x 1920 x1080

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i

Max Bitrate ?

34 Mbit/s

16 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

JVC HD

Carl Zeiss

Optical Zoom ?

5 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

42 mm

42,9 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

electronical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4,1 inch

1/5 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2070000 Pixel

1430000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/4000

1/auto

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

auto

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

70%
100%

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Adjustable color ?

Cinegamma ?

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

via accessories

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

USB ?

USB 2.0 OUT

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

590 g

240 g

Weight (with battery)

676 g

300 g

Battery type

JVC BNVF815U

Sony NP-FH50

Battery capacity

1460 mAh

900 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

102 mm

32 mm

Width

64 mm

119 mm

Depth

186 mm

63 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Color Viewfinder ?

Viewfinder format ?

Viewfinder pixels ?

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

920000 Pixel

211200 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

thumb wheel

Manual Focus ?

Manual Aperture ?

assignable custom key

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

5.1 Internal

Audio Control ?

auto
5 steps

auto

Audio levels ?

Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

Memory Stick Duo

Medium included ?

4 GB

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

1920 x 1080 3D

2304x1728

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

autostereoscopic display

Outside Europe the Cam is named Sony HDR-TG1

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

Satisfactory

Resolution ?

Good

Satisfactory

Color performance ?

Satisfactory

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Poor

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Sufficient

Poor

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Poor

Handling ?

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Good

Excellent

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Optics ?

Satisfactory

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

307

288

Pros

+ More manual 3D control than its direct competitors

Cons

- operation concept
- Image characteristics can not be changed

Conclusion

In terms of image quality, handling and also the display the JVC is not quite on par with the HDR-TD10.Though the TD1 in return offers a little more manual control, this is partly hidden by an unnecessarily complicated operation.Also the non-changeable, rather extreme color settings are certainly not for everyone.A firmware update could address these criticisms, however, and make the camera much more attractive.Hopefully the standards-compliant MVC implementation will be adopted by more software makers over time.

While the new Exmor CMOS technology and the Bionz signal processor provide great results with the SR-12, their benefits are leveled by the smaller chip area of the TG3.Demanding filmmakers will find too many compromises in terms of lowlight, ports and manual controls, preventing them from using the camera seriously.Ambitious filmmakers on the other hand will like the nice interface via touch screen.

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