Sony HDR-FX1 Sony DSR-PD170 compared

It'll be hard to top Sony's older, and immensely popular, DSR-PD170 (Review, Specs, $2579). Priced about $300 cheaper than the new HDR-FX1. For the extra money, the HDR-FX1 sheds the DSR-PD170's XLR ports; however, there are some other things to set these two camcorders apart. For instance, the HDR-FX1 records in a High Definition format at 1080i, while the DSR-PD170 records at good old 525i, nearly half the resolution of High Definition. The increase in the resolution, coupled with three 1 MegaPixel 1/3 inch CCDs, should give the HDR-FX1 a very crisp picture. The DSR-PD170 has three 1/3 inch CCDs with 380K pixels a piece. Neither camcorder records at variable frame rates, like Canon's XL2, and show similarities in the manual control department. The HDR-FX1 and the DSR-PD170 both contain a 12x optical zoom. And really, the main difference here is recording format. While both camcorders record at 60i, the HDR-FX1 has over double the DSR-PD170's resolution and records it all onto native 16:9 CCDs, providing the true 16:9 aspect ratio that the DSR-PD170 crops the CCD to approximate. It will be interesting to see if the HDR-FX1 can acheive the same popularity level that the well-established DSR-PD170 has built over the past year.

	Sony HDR-FX1	Sony DSR-PD170
Power Consumption	8.0 W	5.7W
Video recording system	1080i (1440x1080, 60i fps)	525i (NTSC) (60i fps)
Audio recording System	DV (12bit,16bit) HDV (MPEG2, 48kHz	12 and 16 bit, 48kHz
Image Sensor	1/3 inch CCD x 3 Super HAD, 16:9	1/3 inch CCD x 3
Gross pixels per CCD	1 MP each	380K pixels each
Tape format	MiniDV, HDV tape	MiniDV
Tape speed	18mm/sec: SP 12.5mm/sec: LP	18mm/sec: SP, 12.5mm/sec: LP
Manual Focus Type	ring	ring (auto, manual, infinity)
Minimum focusing distance	f4.5 -54mm	f6.0-72mm
Shutter speed Options	Auto, 1/4-10,000	Auto, 1/4-1/10000
Minimum illumination	3 lux	3 lux
filter diameter	72 mm	58 mm
Viewfinder	Color, 250K pixels	Black and White (180K)
LCD	16:9 Hybrid	2.5" Hybrid (211.2K pixels)
DV Terminal	yes	yes
S-Video IN/OUT terminal	yes	yes
Video IN/OUT Terminal	composite in/out	composite in/out
Audio OUT Terminal	stereo	RCA x 2
XLR ports	No XLR ports	XLR in x 2 (2 channels), LINE/MIC input
Headphone	yes	yes
Audio IN Terminal	yes	16 bit(2 channels), 12 bits (4 channels)
Microphone IN	stereo	stereo
Dimensions	5.83 x 7.125 x 14.375	5.25 x 7.125 x 18
Weight (battery)	4lbs 10oz	3lbs. 6oz.
16:9 effect	no, 16:9 native	yes, crop down
grip zoom	variable speed	variable speed
second zoom	ring (not variable speed)	ring
adjustable zoom speed	yes	yes
movie mode	CineFrame 24 (2:3:2:3) 1080/24i	no
white balance	Auto and Manual	Auto and Manual
zebra patterning	yes	yes
optical zoom	12x	12x
built in ND filter	yes(0, 1/6, 1/32)	yes (0, 1/4, 1/32)
still to tape	no	yes
exposure steps	F1.6-F11 (24 step)	F1.6-F2.4 (12 step)
shutter speed steps	1/4-1/10,000	1/4-1/10,000
Shooting Modes	60i (24i in CineFrame 24	60i (525i)
Customized keys	yes	yes
Audio Dubbing	yes	yes
Zoom features	ring, toggle	ring, toogle