Panasonic HDC-DX1 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by Guy Bruner
Published on Jan 17, 2007 7:00 AM

Intro
Performance
Format Tour
Auto / Manual Controls Still Features
Handling and Use Audio / Playback / Connectivity
Other Features Comparisons / Conclusion


Video Performance
The picture quality of Panasonic’s AVCHD is only so-so at the 13 Mbps bitrate that the HDC-SD1 records in its highest quality mode. The HDC-DX1 records at the same bitrate so I expect the video quality to be the same as all the imaging glass and circuitry is the same.  Because I could not extract the video from a DVD to my laptop, I was unable to do a direct comparison or post an example video for more analysis. Apparently, you need the software that comes with the camcorder to copy the video over to a computer’s hard disk in order to play it back or edit it because popping a finalized DVD into my laptop’s DVD drive didn’t allow me access to the video files, even with ISOBuster (a data recovery program). The computer thought the finalized disk was blank although it played fine in the camcorder. The video quality should be the same as the HDC-SD1, which is to say better than DV, but not as good as HDV.
 
Low Light Performance
The low light performance of both the new Panasonic AVCHD cams is a plus since three 1/4” CCDs were used to achieve a low light sensitivity of 6 lux. I was unable to do much low light shooting due to the constraints of the display booth. However, the dim areas I was able to shoot looked very good on this camcorder.








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