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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Connectivity
Canon HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903) – The HV20 is the only camcorder that allows for analog to digital conversion; The proprietary AAS hot shoe powers Canon accessories, but also works as a cold shoe with standard adaptors. AV and Headphones share a combo port, and output mode must be selected in the menu. MiniSD cards are not as widely available as SD media.
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The HV20's hot shoe and MiniSD card slot
Sony HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56) -- The HC7 offers a menu of ports ranging from DV, component, and AV terminals to a mic, headphone, and LANC jack. Also onboard are a MemoryStick PRO Duo slot, USB cable, and HDMI terminal.
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Ports galore on the HC7
Panasonic HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) – The HDC-SD1 does not include a headphone jack – a big liability if you have an interest in monitoring audio quality. Hello!?
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The SD1's inconspicuous terminals
JVC GZ-HD7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1529) -- For a $1700 camcorder, JVC does not equip the HD7 with a headphone jack. However, they do outfit the model with an S-Video port. An S-Video port will come in handy if you frequently time travel back to the 90's to do your post video work.
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No headphone jack on the most expensive camcorder in the lot? Lame.
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Input/Output
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Canon HV20
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HDR-HC7
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HDC-SD1
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JVC GZ-HD7
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FireWire/i.LINK
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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HDMI
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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USB
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Component
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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A/V
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Microphone
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Headphone
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Yes
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Yes
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No
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No
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Flash Media
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Mini SD
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Memory Stick Duo Pro
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SD/SDHC
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SD/SDHC
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Shoe Type
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AAS
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AIS
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Cold
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Cold
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DC
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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LANC
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No
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Yes
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No
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No
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Other
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LANC
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S-Video
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