| |
Model
|
| Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic 
| Sony
|
| Name | AG-HPX171 | HVR-Z1 |
| European name ? | AG-HPX171E | HVR-Z1E |
| US name ? | AG-HPX-170 | HVR-Z1U |
| lowest US price | 4325 $ | 5295 $ |
| On the market since | September 2008 | April 2005 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Panasonic | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
|
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV
DVC PRO 25
DVC PRO 50
DVC PRO HD
| MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM
|
| Recording Medium | P2 card
| MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVC PRO 25,576 / 50i
DVC PRO 50,576 / 50i
DVC PRO HD 720/25p
DVC PRO HD 720/50p
DVCPROHD 1080/25p
DVCPROHD 1080/50i
DVCPROHD 1080/24p
DVCPROHD 1080/30p
DVCPROHD 1080/60i
DVCPRO HD 720 24p - 60i
DVCPRO HD 24p 1080 - 60i
| 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 ? | MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCPROHD 1080/24p
DVCPROHD 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p
MiniDV 720 x 480/30p
DVCPRO HD 720 24p - 60i
DVCPRO HD 24p 1080 - 60i
| 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 ? | 100 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | DV
DVC PRO HD-proprietary
| DV
MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Leica
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 13 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 28 mm | 32,5 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 72 mm | 72 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | 3 | 2 |
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 | 3 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 1100000 Pixel | 1070000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CCD
| CCD
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto
manual
presets
| auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/24 | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto
manual
AE-Shift
| auto
manual
AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 50-105% | 70-100% |
| Histogram ? | Yes
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| Yes
|
| Knee ? | Yes
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| Yes
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| In
Out
|
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video | | In
Out
|
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | No
| No
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | In
Out
| In
Out
|
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| No
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR
| XLR
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | No
| Standard
|
| HD-SDI ? | Out
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 1900 g | 1995 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 2250 g | 2182 g |
| Battery type | Panasonic CGA-D54
| Sony F570
|
| Battery capacity | 5400 mAh | 2200 mAh |
| Charger ? | external
| external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 179 mm | 139 mm |
| Width | 154 mm | 182 mm |
| Depth | 397 mm | 360 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 109 | 91 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| B/W and color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 235000 Pixel | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 3,5 Inch |
| Display format ? | 4:3 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 210000 Pixel | 250880 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
Ring
| Rocker
Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Ring
| Ring
Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel
| Wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Exp Lock ? | | Yes
|
| Gain ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| White balance ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Push AF ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Audio Levels ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons | 3 | 6 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Audio Formats ? | DVC PRO 4x48kHz 16bit PCM
| MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
external XLR
| Stereo internal
external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | manual
| auto
manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| Viewfinder
Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Recording Medium ? | | No
|
| Medium included ? | | No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | | |
| Standard ? | | |
| Flash ? | | No
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Specials | -the international modell is named AG-HPX170
In the 720p mode the frame rate can be changed in 20 steps from 12 to 50 fps (European model; international NTSC-model to 60fps)
| |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| 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 ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Resolution ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Very good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Very good | Very good |
| Handling ? | Very good | Very good |
| Portability ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Photo function ? | Poor | Poor |
| Optics ? | Very good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Very good | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
| Good
|
Total score ?
(maximal 570) | 395 | 384 |
| Pros | Good wide angle
+ Professional controls
+ genuine 720/50p mode and a variable framerate
| + Very good image quality impression
+ Wide optics
+ handling well-conceived
+ Very well equipped
+ Supports also formats with 60i
+ individually controllable audio channels
|
| Cons | - low sharpness due to pixel shift
- P2 cards are more expensive than tape
- 4:3 display with low resolution
| - No full HDV-resolution
- DV-quality only average
|
| Conclusion | Panasonic´s AG-HPX171E scores with its handling and the Leica lens shows very little chromatic aberrations.Thanks to finally cheaper recording cards the AG-HPX171E can be seen as an allround-model suited for both documentary and fiction shooting.But pixel counting searchers for ultimate sharpness will be happier with other models, as will those who do not wish to invest in P2 cards. The resolution of the display is too low. | 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. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Panasonic AG-HPX171 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | |  digitalcontentproducer.com
www.digitalproducer.com
videosystems.com
videosystems.com
www.digitalproducer.com
|
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