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HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2013: Editor's Choice - Part 1

By Team HardwareZone - 11 Mar 2013

Best Digital Video Camcorder

Best Digital Video Camcorder

Like compact digital cameras, sales of digital video camcorders have been on the downward trend for a few years now. On one end, this is due to exploding popularity of smartphones and their increasingly better optics and software, sensors, and processing power. On the other end, they're attacked by video-recording-capable digital SLRs and mirrorless cameras. That said, many consumers still prefer the 'traditional' camcorders as they’re still easier to handle and have more video-oriented features (such as power zoom, peaking, frame rate options). For this category, we've selected three of the best flash memory-based, full HD consumer-level camcorders in the market right now. So which is the one that we think is the best?

Nominees: 

 

  • Canon Legria HF M52
  • Panasonic HC-X900M
  • Sony Handycam HDR-PJ760VE

 

And the Winner Is...

Sony Handycam HDR-PJ760VE

The Sony HDR-PJ760VE packs a ton of features: full HD 1080p video recording (both 50p and 25p), 24.1-megapixel still picture recording, 96GB of internal flash memory, a built-in DLP-based LED projector, and a reworked Balanced Optical SteadyShot image stabilization system. It’s the only camcorder here to record 1080p using AVCHD because it supports the AVCHD Progressive format. Two other things also stood out in terms of usability: a built-in USB cable that’s hidden in the hand strap, and the manual dial/button combo at the front. The former lets you charge the battery through the USB port; the latter lets you switch between automatic and manual operation modes of several shooting parameters (such as focus, exposure, white balance shift).

Under favorable light, the Sony has the best noise performance. The Panasonic has slightly better colors under the same light, but it’s the reverse under low light, where the Sony now has more accurate colors. Other than sensitivity (which the Canon does better than both), the Sony is a great low light performer. The PJ760’s 1080p footage is also the best in terms of smoothness and the lack of artifacts; however, Panasonic’s footage looks sharper. That said, while the Panasonic is unrivaled in terms of 1080p sharpness, the Sony is unmatched in terms of image stabilization effectiveness. Because of the latter, in real world usage, the Sony has a higher chance in getting less shaky (and thus, sharper) images.

In conclusion, both the Panasonic HC-X900M and Sony HDR-PJ760VE have truckloads of advanced features, and are neck-to-neck in terms of video quality. But the Sony is a better all-rounder due to its higher 24MP photo quality, more storage (96GB vs. 32GB), and a decent (but useful when you really need it) built-in projector. It also has the best image stabilization in its class and very good battery life. These pluses ultimately land Sony the award.

Scoring Breakdown
Criteria/Model Canon HF M52 Panasonic HC-X900M
Sony HDR-PJ760VE
Physique 8.0 8.0 8.0
Features 8.5 9.0 9.5
User-Friendliness 8.0 8.5 8.5
Performance  9.0 9.5 9.5
Value 8.5 8.5 8.5
Overall 8.5 9.0 9.0
Price S$1,299 S$2,199 S$2,299

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

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