Panasonic HDC-SX5 Camcorder Review

by Michael Perlman
Published on Oct 17, 2007 4:45 PM

 
Intro Performance
Format Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features
 Handling and Use
Audio / Playback / Connectivity Other Features
Comparisons / Conclusion Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Still Features (6.0)
Just like the HDC-DX1, the HDC-SX5 is only capable of capturing one still size – 1920 x 1080 – in quality settings of Fine or Normal. The camcorder is equipped with a flash mounted to the left side of the lens. The flash can be set to Auto, Force-On, or Force-Off, controlled from the Joystick menu. A Self-Timer setting is available and can be set to a 10-second or 2-second delay time. Red-Eye Reduction can also be found within the Picture menu. When optical image stabilization (OIS) is enabled in Still mode, it is magically re-branded as “MEGA OIS.” According to Panasonic, MEGA OIS reduces shake to an even greater extent, just for still images, but we didn’t notice a significant difference.


The Picture submenu of the Administrative menu

Most of the manual controls from Video mode apply in Photo mode, including aperture, shutter, and focus. The gain also works, though we imagine it is converted into some sort of ISO data, which is not revealed in the EXIF data. There is no designated Still Photo mode, and images can only be recorded to SD/SDHC cards, not DVDs.

The Photo Playback menu is simple to operate:

Photo Playback
Play Setup Play Mode, Repeat Play, Resume Play, Scene Protect, Guide Lines
Setup Format Card, Display, Date/Time, Date Format, Power Save, EZ Sync, TV Aspect
Language English, Français, Espaňol

Still Performance (9.57)
We tested the still performance of the Panasonic HDC-SX5 by shooting a GretagMacBeth Color Checker chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. At best, the camcorder was able to produce a color error of 6.27, which was quite a good score compared to the competition. The noise measured 0.86 percent, which was also low. The saturation measured 99.17 percent.

Most camcorders tend to overexpose in Auto mode, causing us to have to lower the exposure to get the best score. This was not the case with the HDC-SX5. In Auto mode, the camcorder was set to an aperture of f/4.0 and a shutter speed of 1/60. The best score actually came after opening the aperture up to f/3.4.

Still Resolution (4.77)
The still resolution was tested by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 resolution chart and running the stills through Imatest imaging software. At best, the camcorder was able to achieve an approximate resolution of 518.2 line widths per picture height (lw/ph), with a 0.71 percent clipping and an oversharpening of 7.16 – and a 502.5 lw/ph, with an undersharpening of 13.7. Though we tested it under multiple settings, this best score was achieved in Auto mode.

 

 

 

 



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