Panasonic HDC-TM700 VS Sony HDR-CX550V Compare :Product and AVCHD

Posted by admin on August 31, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

Product:
The Panasonic HDC-TM700 uses three CMOS sensors, which is what Panasonic has been implementing for quite some time on its flagship models. The three sensors are each 1/4.1 inches in size, and they give the camcorder a total pixel count of around 9.15 megapixels. New on the TM700 is the inclusion of a 1080/50p recording option—a feature that is not available on any consumer camcorders from Sony, Canon, JVC, or Samsung. (Sanyo is the only other manufacturer to make camcorders with a native 50p feature.) Panasonic also put a larger lens on the HDC-TM700 compared to last year’s models. You can really see the difference with this new lens, as the HDC-TM700’s wide angle measured a whopping 59 degrees in our wide angle test.

The Sony HDR-CX550V has a much larger lens than its predecessor, the HDR-CX500V. The new lens is capable of capturing videos at the extremely wide angle of 66.5°, which is almost 20° more than the CX500V was capable of. It’s also a much wider angle than you’ll get from the Panasonic HDC-TM700—which also features a new wide angle lens (the TM700 measured a wide angle of 59°, which isn’t too shabby). The lens on the HDR-CX550V also features an automatic cover that opens and closes when the camcorder is turned on and off.

AVCHD:
For regular 1080/50i shooting, the Panasonic HDC-TM700 uses AVCHD compression. This is the standard compression system for consumer HD camcorders, and it is used by nearly all of the major camcorder manufacturers (with the exception of Samsung and Sanyo).
However, when you shoot with the HDC-TM700’s native 1080/50p setting, the camcorder uses a proprietary MPEG-4 codec that isn’t really compatible with anything other than Panasonic’s provided software. Yes, the video shot with the 1080/50p setting looks stunning when you play it back on an HDTV, but the only way you can really do this is by playing back the footage directly from the camcorder. We couldn’t find any third party software that would import or recognize the 1080/50p clips shot with the HDC-TM700, although we expect this to change if 1080/50p recording becomes more prevalent in the future. (If you want to Support Panasonic HDC-TM700 1080/60P 28Mbps HD Videos on Mac ,This Video Converter for Mac is the fast conversion solution for you to play and edit TM700 1080/60p 28Mbps videos on Mac. It also keeps the 5.1-channel surround sound in output file.)
Using the 1080/50p setting on the HDC-TM700 is somewhat of a conundrum. The video recorded in the mode looks great, the setting offers a very high bit rate (28Mbps), and the image is recorded progressively rather than interlaced. The problem is, if you want to edit or import the video to your computer your only choice is to use the limited software that ships with the camcorder.

The Sony HDR-CX550V uses AVCHD compression for recording HD video. This model marks the first instance of Sony offering a 24Mbps bitrate for recording AVCHD video on a consumer camcorder—something that JVC and Canon have had for a couple of years now. We didn’t notice a tremendous difference with this new 24Mbps record mode, but it should help keep artifacting lower on your videos.
Sony is one of the few manufacturers to include a standard definition record mode along with its HD recording options on its consumer camcorders. The CX550V only has one SD record mode (called STD) and it captures video at a 720 x 480 resolution using the MPEG-2 codec. (If you want to play CX550 AVCHD movies to iMovie,Check here：Sony CX550 HD Videos to iMovie)

Specification Compare Sony HDR-CX550E and Panasonic HDC-TM700 Digital Camcorders :http://www.camcorders-only.com/compares/sony_hdr-cx550e_vs_panasonic_hdc-tm700

Full HD MTS Video :Camcorder Review: Sony HDR-CX550 and Panasonic HDC-TM700 with Full HD