| |
Model
|
| Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| JVC 
|
| Name | HDR-CX350V | GZ-HD40 |
| European name ? | HDR-CX350VE | GZ-HD40 |
| US name ? | HDR-CX350V | GZ-HD40 |
| lowest US price | 609 $ | |
| On the market since | March 2010 | August 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to JVC |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD SD MPEG2
| AVCHD MPEG2-TS
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory
| Built-in hard disk microSD/microSDHC
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i MPEG2 1920x1080 50i MPEG2 1440 x1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
| HDV 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i MPEG2 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 17 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2 MPEG4
| MPEG2 MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 32 GB | 120 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Sony
| JVC HD
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 29,8 mm | 43,6 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 30 mm | 43 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | | 2 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/auto
| 1/4000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | auto
| 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| Off 70% 100%
|
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | No
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | No
| No
|
| Cinegamma ? | No
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | About Special Equipment
| |
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | Out
|
| USB ? | USB 2.0 OUT
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | No
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | No
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
| Standard
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 310 g | |
| Weight (with battery) | 360 g | 450 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FV50
| |
| Battery capacity | 980 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 52 mm | 73 mm |
| Width | 64 mm | 68 mm |
| Depth | 112 mm | 123 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 3 | 6 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | |
| Viewfinder format ? | - | |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 2,8 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 230400 Pixel | 207000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| No
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| No
|
| Gain ? | No
| |
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| MPEG-1 Layer2
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
| Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | No
| Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo built-in flash memory SDHC card
| microSD hard drive
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 3540000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1728 - Max
| 1920x1080 1440x1080 640x480 2432 x 1368 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| No
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| Specials | GPS | -included: dockingstation with USB,AV-Out, component outt and FireWire -maximum bitrate 17 MPbps AVCHD, 27 Mbps MPEG-2 TS
|
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| 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 | Good |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Sufficient | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 378 | 342 |
| Pros | + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good low light performance
| + Many manual controls + two formats (AVCHD and MPEG2) + good image and lowlight quality
|
| Cons | - no microphone and headphone jacks - display resolution only average - little manual control
| - the controls are hard to getting used to - formats are not arbitrarily mixable
|
| Conclusion | Too bad Sony still does not offer any manual control on their medium-class camcorders.Because the camera actually delivers an overall good image for this price range.The wide angle lens with its almost 29mm (kb) surely makes it attractive to some buyers, since competing models offer nothing of the sort.On the other hand the camera has a spicy price tag, which makes it look somewhat less good compared to the new Panasonic series (HDC-XX60).Hence, in its price range it recommends itself only to those who need a generous wide angle without any manual control or connectivity. | The possibility to record both HD-consumer formats is a good thing, but some details are missing (the formats can not be combined at playback, no backup-tape, no HDV-recording on SD cards).Nice to see that with this introduction of CMOS sensors JVC closed the gap of lagging behind in picture qualityMany important parameters can be adjusted manually, which is great, but the operation requires a little too much patience and practice.If JVC would have included the rich manual controls of the HD7 this cam would have been a real winner for every ambitioned movie maker. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX350V | JVC GZ-HD40 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | External Microphone for SonyHDR-CX350VE
| Problem JVC GZ-HD40
JVC GZ-HD40 and Canon HF200?
SonyHDR-SR11 or Canon HF100 or JVC GZ-HD40
|
| |