Choosing an HD Camcorder: Sony HC7 vs. Panasonic SD1 vs. Canon HV20
There were a few general requirements I had.
- Support for full HD (1440x1080 or 1920x1080) resolution
- Microphone and Headphone ports (for better audio recording)
- Compact and light (less than 1.5 pounds)
- Good low light image quality
Well, let's get right into it- here's what I thought about the choices.
Sony HC7 - Sony's camcorder has excellent picture quality in bright light. However, its downfall, according to this camcorderinfo.com review, is its low light performance. And unfortunately, I think most of my video recording will be in low light- indoors in the evenings, outdoors at dusk or nightfall. The HC7 does have one fantastic advantage- Sony's ECMHW1 bluetooth wireless mic. Wireless microphones are expensive and hard to find, and are the key to good audio quality, and Sony seems to have the best inexpensive solution for this problem.
Panasonic SD1 - This is a fantastic 3CCD camcorder. With 3 CCDs, it has decent low-light performance (according to this review). In addition, because it uses SD flash memory for recording video, it is very compact. I love the design and size of this camera! And I love that it uses SD flash memory- it comes with a 4GB flash memory, good enough for about 40 minutes of HD video. However, AVCHD is currently too hard for my computer to handle and lacking in software support (which should change over time). Also, the SD1 doesn't support 24P recording, which would be nice to have.
Canon HV20 - Canon's second HD camcorder, a follow-up to the HV10, is a camera that has a few outstanding features that tip the scale in its favor. First and foremost, decent low-light performance. Second, support for 24P recording at 1440x1080 HD resolution. And third, its excellent Instant AF, Canon's ultra-fast auto-focus system. It uses HDV tape, and is reasonably small (though I wish it were as small as the Panasonic SD1). Support for 24P (a frame rate of 24 frames per second) is astounding because at this time, no other consumer-level camcorders do true 24P (some such as Sony camcorders, have a fake 24F mode). 24P is cool for several reasons- first, it is the frame rate for film movies, and the "film look" is something that is much sought after by independent movie makers. And second, 24P allows for better low light image quality since you can get away with a 1/24 second shutter speed, as opposed to the standard 1/60 second maximum for standard 60i video (60 frames per second).
So, I took the plunge and chose the Canon HV20. Stay tuned for my review of the Canon HV20.