/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Panasonic

Sony

Name

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

HVR-Z1

European name ?

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

HVR-Z1E

US name ?

HDC-Z10000 (3D-Modus)

HVR-Z1U

lowest US price

(3499) $

5295 $

On the market since

November 2011

April 2005

Manufacturers URL

link to Panasonic

link to Sony

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD
MVC 3D

MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM

Recording Medium

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
DVCAM 720 x 480/60i
MiniDV 720 x 576/60i

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
DVCAM 720 x 480/60i
MiniDV 720 x 576/60i

Max Bitrate ?

28 Mbit/s

25 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

DV
MPEG2

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Panasonic

Carl Zeiss

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

12 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

29,8 mm

32,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

72 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4,1 inch

1/3 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

3050000 Pixel

1070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/250

1/10.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/24

1/3

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

50-105%

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

In
Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

In
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 ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

1600 g

1995 g

Weight (with battery)

2182 g

Battery type

Panasonic CGA-D54s

Sony F570

Battery capacity

5400 mAh

2200 mAh

Charger ?

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

145 mm

139 mm

Width

195 mm

182 mm

Depth

350 mm

360 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

B/W and color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

1226880 Pixel

252000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

1152000 Pixel

250880 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Ring
Menu

Manual Aperture ?

Ring

Wheel

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 ?

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

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

Microphone ?

external XLR
5.1 Internal

Stereo internal
external XLR

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

Standard ?

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

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

Resolution ?

Excellent

Satisfactory

Color performance ?

Very good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Very good

Handling ?

Very good

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Photo function ?

Poor

Optics ?

Very good

Good

Dynamics ?

Very good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

440

384

Pros

+ Extreme manual control options
+ Very good image quality
+ Good 3D control

+ Very good image quality impression
+ Wide optics
+ handling well-conceived
+ Very well equipped
+ Supports also formats with 60i
+ individually controllable audio channels

Cons

- No ND filter
- Autostereoscopic display mode

- No full HDV-resolution
- DV-quality only average

Conclusion

Even as a 2D camcorder the Z10000 is absolutely competitive thanks to the professional features and excellent image quality.The additional 3D capabilities are currently unique in this price range (and even much further) (as of 11/2011).

Just as the consumer version FX1 the Sony HVR-Z1 lacks CCDs with full HDV-resolution, which is noticeable at least in the horizontals.Nevertheless, the subjective image impression is still very good due to the very good dynamic behavior with extremely little noise and the consistent color reproduction.Despite the comparatively large wide-angle, optical errors are within limits, only little distortion and chromatic aberrations can be detected.In low light-situations the FX1 is good, the low noise being a plus.

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