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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LCD and Viewfinder
Canon HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903) - Like the HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56), the HV20 has a 2.7” wide 16:9 LCD screen with a resolution of approximately 211,000 pixels. The screen extends to a 90-degree angle in relation to the body and can be rotated vertically 270 degrees. The HV20’s LCD morphs into a sea of solarization, given the slightest turn.
The HV20's feeble LCD screen and uninviting viewfinder
The 0.27” inch wide 123,000 resolution hard plastic box does not extend, does not have a rubberized eyecup, and is way to short.
The playback buttons on the LCD panel are flattened like the HC7’s but are easier to handle due to their horizontal layout.
Sony HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56) - The 16:9 LCD display on the Sony HDR-HC7 measures 2.7" diagonally and has a resolution of approximately 211,000 pixels. It renders a very sharp image with reliable color reproduction, and like other Sony LCDs can be viewed from an angle without significant solarization. The screen opens to 90 degrees from the body, rotates through 270 degrees, and can be folded into the LCD cavity screen-side out for monitoring from the left side.
The HC7 employs Sony's famous touch screen menu. You also get an extendable rubberized viewfinder.
The color EVF (electronic color viewfinder) is extendable from the body, and has a resolution of approximately 123,000 pixels. A dioptric adjustment on the right side of the EVF allows you to customize the display to your eyesight, but the lever is relatively small and difficult to adjust. This eyecup is made of hard plastic, but it's larger than average for a consumer camcorder, and does a decent job of blocking light entering from the sides.
Finally, the screen doubles as a touch screen menu and manual control interface – a technology that only Sony has implemented on its consumer camcorders – and it smudges up, due to natural oils created by the skin.
Panasonic HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) - The ample 3” LCD screen has a resolution of 250,000 pixels and is the only monitor on the SD1. Without a viewfinder, the dependency on the big LCD screen is taxing on the battery, but point-and-shooters with money will not be able to tell the difference. The LCD screen produces saturated, balanced color, and a sharp picture. With a 250,000 resolution, it better hit a grand slam.
The SD1 is viewfinder-less.
JVC GZ-HD7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1529) - The LCD screen for the JVC HD Everio GZ-HD7 flips out from the left side of the camcorder body and rotates two hundred and seventy degrees. The screen measures 2.7” but the pixel count for the screen could not be confirmed at this time. The viewfinder for the camcorder is an electronic color viewfinder and both its size and pixel count were not available. The eyecup is generously sized for a consumer camcorder, and looks like a more usable tool than the uncomfortable, marginally useful EVF’s that have become common on consumer camcorders.
The HD7's LCD joystick and big honking viewfinder.
Battery Life
Canon HV20 - The open battery slot allows for the use of an optional longer life battery, like the BP-2L14 (good for a reported 155 minutes of continuous HDV recording).
We tested the life of the included BP-2L13 battery pack for continuous HDV recording, in AE mode with the LCD open and set to Normal brightness and OIS set to off. The battery on our HV20 lasted 113 minutes and 22 seconds (1 hour, 53 minutes, and 22 seconds).
Sony HDR-HC7 - The Sony HDR-HC7 ships with the NP-FH60 battery pack, which slides into the cavity on the back of the camcorder with room to spare. The deep slot means an optional longer life battery, like the NP-FH100 (good for a reported 415 minutes of continuous HDV recording) won’t protrude more than it has to.
We tested the life of the included battery pack for continuous HDV shooting, with no manual controls or zoom engaged, and OIS set to off. We found the battery on our HDR-HC7 lasted 98 minutes and 14 seconds (1 hour, 38 minutes, and 14 seconds).
Panasonic HDC-SD1 - The Panasonic SD1 includes a VW-BG130 battery pack that slides into a closed slot on the underside of the body. The closed battery slot does not allow for the use of an optional longer life battery, which limits expansion options to additional VW-BG130 units.
We tested the life of the included VW-BG130 battery pack for continuous recording, in Manual mode with the LCD set to normal brightness and OIS set to off. The battery on our SD1 lasted 97 minutes and 2 seconds (1 hour, 27 minutes, and 2 seconds).
JVC GZ-HD7 - The JVC GZ-HD7 includes a BN-VF815U battery pack that slides into an open slot on the back of the camcorder body. The open battery slot allows for the use of an optional longer life battery, including the BN-VF856U which allows for a reported 5 hours and 25 minutes of continuous recording time using the LCD, or 5 hours and forty minutes using only the EVF.
We tested the included BN-VF815U battery pack for continuous recording in Manual mode to eliminate automatic adjustments that could affect battery life, the LCD screen set to on, and OIS set to off. The battery on our HD7 petered out after 76 minutes and 40 seconds (1 hour, 16 minutes, and 40 seconds).