Comparison of Four 800,000-Pixel Camcorders
Features
By
Patrick Joubert
published
Conclusion: Which One To Buy?
The Hitachi DZ-MV350 is the most attractive camcorder in this group, given the originality of its design. Being able to watch your film on a friend's DVD player without having to lug the camcorder around is a rare privilege that most MiniDV camcorders don't offer. The Canon Elura 50 is appealing because of its appearance and small size. The Sony DCR-TRV22 has very good image quality at low cost, but we found its LCD touch screen a puzzle. Lastly, the JVC GR-DX95 will set you back $900 for a black and white viewfinder and rather un-intuitive ergonomics.
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| Header Cell - Column 0 | Canon Elura 50 | Sony DCR-TRV22 | JVC GR-DX95 | Hitachi DZ-MV350 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Format | MiniDV | MiniDV | MiniDV | DVD-R/ DVD-RAM |
| CCD capture | 800,000 pixels | 800,000 pixels | 800,000 pixels | 800,000 pixels |
| CCD surface | 1/6" | 1/4" | 1/6" | 1/4" |
| Lens diameter | 28 mm | 30 mm | 30.5 mm | 30.5 mm |
| Optical zoom | 10x | 10x | 16x | 10x |
| Digital zoom | 400x | 120x | 700x | 240x |
| 35 mm conversion | 48 - 480 mm | 42 - 420 mm | 43.2 - 691.2 mm | 40.5 - 404 mm |
| Minimum aperture | F 1.8 | F 1.7 | F 1.6 | F 1.8 |
| Minimum illumination | 2.4 lux | 5 lux | 0.5 lux | 3 lux |
| Shutter speed | 1/50 - 1/2000 | 1/3 - 1/4000 | 1/50 - 1/4000 | 1/50 - 1/4000 |
| Viewfinder | color, 113,000 pixels | color, 113,000 pixels | black & white | color, 110,000 pixels |
| LCD display | 2 inches, 130,000 pixels | 2.5 inches, 123,200 pixels | 3 inches, 200,000 pixels | 2.5 inches, 120,000 pixels |
| Wide screen mode (16:9) | anamorphic | anamorphic | anamorphic/ letter box | anamorphic |
| Photo support | SD/ cassette | Memory Stick / cassette | SD/ cassette | SD/ DVD-RAM |
| Photo resolution | 1024x768, 640x480 | 640x480 | 1024x768, 640x480 | 640x480 |
| Loading tapes | side loading, 15 seconds | bottom loading, 10 seconds | bottom loading, 20 seconds | top loading, 25 seconds |
| DV in/ out | yes/ yes | yes/ yes | yes/ yes | USB 2.0 |
| A/V in/ out | yes/ yes | yes/ yes | yes/ yes | yes/ yes |
| S-video in/ out | yes/ yes | yes/ yes | yes/ yes | yes/ yes |
| Mic in | yes | yes | no | yes |
| Headphone in | yes | yes | no | yes |
| USB port | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| LANC in | yes | yes | no | no |
| Grip | no | yes | no | yes |
| Flash/Lighting | no/ no | no/ no | yes/ no | no |
| Battery charger | separate | in camera | in camera | separate |
| Manual focus | dial | touch panel | buttons | buttons |
| Software | DV MessengerZoomBrowserPhotoRecordImage BrowserPhotoStitch | ImagePixerUSB driver | Studio 8USB driver | MyDVDUSB driver |
| Weight without batteries | 380 g | 530 g | 450 g | 530 g |
| Dimensions | 5 x 11.1 x 8.9 cm | 7.1 x 9 x 11.2 cm | 9.6 x 10.2 x 5.5 cm | 5.7 x 8.9 x 13.2 cm |
| Price (US) | $800 | $700 | $900 | $969 |
| Price (Europe) | 1100 euros | 1000 euros | 1300 euros | 1300 euros |
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