The Great HD Shoot-Out - Canon HV20, Sony HDR-HC7, Panasonic HDC-SD1, JVC GZ-HD7by David Kender and John NeelyPublished on Apr 30, 2007 6:00 AM
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Audio
Canon HV20 – The Canon HV20 may be the runt of this litter, but it’s a heavyweight when it comes to audio features. In addition to the onboard stereo mic, you’ve got two audio interface options, a mini microphone input and the hot Advanced Accessory Shoe (AAS) compatible with the Canon DM-50 Directional Stereo Microphone and other optional Canon accessories. While the AAS is a proprietary interface, the shoe can still accommodate any standard-sized camcorder accessories unlike the HC7’s proprietary Sony-only shoe. Add in the headphone/AV jack, mic attenuator, manual level controls, and wind cut and headphone level control, and the HV20 is the most versatile camcorder for audio recording and control of the lot.
Sony HDR-HC7 – Sony’s HC7 comes close to the HV20 in terms of audio versatility and control with a mic jack, a dedicated headphones jack (versus AV/headphone combo), proprietary Active Interface Shoe (AIS), manual audio level control and headphones volume control. In addition, the number of compatible Sony AIS accessories is quite broad versus Canon, which offers only a few. The main difference between the two camcorders is the accessibility of the audio level adjustment setting. Canon’s is available at the touch of a button, while Sony’s is – like so much else on this camcorder – buried in the menu. The Sony also lacks the attenuator feature on the Canon, and has no onboard wind cut feature. Both cams offer great audio features for consumer cams but Canon’s are slightly better, and we especially like the priority they’ve given to manual level control.
Panasonic HDC-SD1 – The HDC-SD1 is the only HD camcorder in this lineup to offer 5.1 channel surround sound, and the interface offers an impressive level of control. There are three global microphone level settings that apply to all five channels at once, but not independently: Auto, Set+AGC (manual levels with gain control), and Set (manual levels without gain control). After selecting your global audio setting, you can dive into individual level settings for all five channels. This level of control is very cool, but in the grand scheme that fine level control is not terribly useful because there is no headphones jack. How Panasonic expects you to set those channels successfully without monitoring them is a mystery to us. The SD1 does include an external mic jack, but again, you’ll have to use The Force to divine the correct audio recording level. A cold accessory shoe rounds out the audio suite on the Panasonic HDC-SD1. But without a headphone jack, all that channel adjustability goes to waste.
JVC GZ-HD7 – In comparison to the other camcorders, the JVC’s audio suite is a disappointment. There’s an external mic input and a cold accessory shoe but no good way to monitor audio. We tried plugging phones into the AV jack to see what we could hear – and were able to pick up a low monaural signal – but this is not a real headphone jack. The cold accessory shoe allows you to attach anything with a standard mount to the body, but if you are serious about audio and want some basic on-camera mixing capabilities, the HV20, HDR-HC7, and HDC-SD1 are better choices. You always have the option to kick it up a notch with a Beachtek adaptor or field mixer for balanced audio and better controls, but JVC should have given you the option to do it in-camera.