Panasonic HDC-DX1 Camcorder Review
By Michael Perlman
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
May 11, 2007
The HDC-DX1 is equipped with three 1/4” CCDs, each with a gross pixel count of 560K, which is an identical imaging system to its more stylish cousin, the HDC-SD1. Therefore, you can expect both camcorders to produce the same image. In bright light, the DX1 boasted a sharp picture with a good color balance and strength. In low light, the tables turned as the HDC-DX1 hopped the nearest train to Noiseville. In moderate low light, the DX1’s AVCHD compression and non-sensitive chips led to a blurry image. At our lowest light settings, the DX1’s noise grew like wildfire and most of its color information was lost.
The HDC-DX1 was beaten with the ugly stick, while the HDC-SD1 stole all the good genes within the Panasonic family. It’s massive, it weighs a ton, and it will scare away small children. This is not a portable camcorder. Its battery juts rudely out of its back end The disc hatch is gargantuan and takes anywhere from 10 seconds to a full minute to open. The good news is that it has a convenient rear-mounted joystick, accessory shoe, and retractable viewfinder—although attempting to use it will result in a face full of battery. The menu interface is identical to the SD1; it’s straightforward and easy to navigate. The DX1’s hand strap is low strung and feeble, but the camcorder’s vast right side, with the DVD hatch, provides plenty to grab onto.
Just like the HDC-SD1, the HDC-DX1 performs well in auto mode, and a help mode is available to provide explanations of the difference features. The DX1’s manual controls include manual focus, exposure, shutter speed, white balance, and gain. Pressing the center of the joystick triggers a mini menu. Here, you have one-touch access to most manual controls. The DX1 also great features such as zebra stripes (a feature that highlights overexposed areas), color bars, and screen guideframes to help set up shots.
The HDC-DX1 records to DVDs in the AVCHD format, a relatively new compression introduced by Sony and Panasonic. DVDs are not as effective as MiniDV tapes due to their low, 14-minute capacities and loss of quality during compression. This camcorder's AVCHD compresison can only transfer at a maximum data rate of 13Mbps, while DV and HDV are capable of 25Mbps. In addition, there are currently very few video editing programs available for AVCHD footage.
One final note – the Panasonic HDC-DX1 seems to take a long time to do everything. Whether you want to open or close the disc hatch, see the list of clips during playback, or just turn it off, this thing takes its sweet time. It makes for an incredibly frustrating experience.
It’s big. It’s bulky. It’s not a pretty sight. The HDC-DX1 will appease those who wish for a sharp image, broad range of manual controls, and the ability to throw a DVD into the DVD player. However, there only a limited number of DVD players that even support AVCHD footage, so you’d have to hook the DX1 up to a TV with cables. At $1299, is this giant, lumbering bear of a camcorder worth the dough? If you really crave the AVCHD format, look into the souped-up SD1.
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