Panasonic GH1 vs Sony XR500

Readers often ask us if a digital camera with an HD video mode can be just as good as a stand-alone camcorder. To find out, we decided to compare the Panasonic DMC-GH1 to the Sony HDR-XR500 in a gruelling DigitalVersus duel.

Our aim is to find out whether the Panasonic GH1 really is a hybrid camera that's as good at taking photos as it is at shooting video. It certainly looks like it'll have all you need for shooting high-quality home movies, but how will it compare to an actual camcorder? The Panasonic GH1 is a micro four-thirds camera with a very accurate electronic viewfinder, which is great for lining up shots in photo and video mode. It has a 10x optical zoom with an integrated stabilisation system (it has interchangeable lenses), a 3-inch swivel LCD and a separate video record button. What's more, it records in the 1080 AVCHD format just like any camcorder worth its salt. Let's see how it shapes up.

Panasonic DMC-GH1	Sony HDR-XR500
Lens: 28-280mm in 24 x 36 mm Zoom: 10x Image stabiliser Video: 720p and 1080i (16 Mbps) Find the best price	Lens: 43-516mm in 24 x 36 mm Zoom: 12x Image stabiliser Video: 1080i (16 Mbps) Find the best price

For filming video, the main advantage the camera has over the camcorder is its 28 mm wide angle, which is much more impressive than the tight 43 mm of the XR500. In fact, we don't know of any consumer camcorder with a focal length under 37 mm. It therefore makes a very pleasant change to film with a device with such a large field of view.

The camera has a more impressive focal length (24 x 36 mm equivalent) than the camcorder. On the left, the field of view with the GH1 (28 mm). On the right, the field of view with the XR500 (43 mm).

 The GH1 has a better-quality electronic viewfinder than the XR500. The viewfinder's high definition ensures accurate focusing, and you can hold the eyepiece right up against your eye to keep the camera body stable. That said, stability really is the downfall of the GH1, even though it's equipped with an optical image stabiliser (OIS). When zoomed out to 10x, the picture moves and shakes a lot even when you try holding the camera steady. The stabilisation system in the camcorder is clearly more effective, perfectly absorbing shocks, shakes and wobbles in the more powerful zoom lens. Zooming is another weakness of the GH1, as using the manual ring can make the picture glitch and jump as you zoom in or out. You'll have to move your hand round very carefully to keep things smooth with the GH1, whereas the camcorder has an electronic zoom with a handy progressive speed function (the harder you press the faster you zoom).

The viewfinder on the GH1 offers better-quality focusing

The camcorder's autofocus is more responsive as, by definition, the product has been specifically designed to constantly adapt to moving subjects or changing scenes. With the GH1, sometimes the slightest movement of a subject or the camera can change the focus of the shot. You then have to give a light press on the shutter release button to refocus the lens and keep the picture sharp.

The video below shows a montage of footage captured by the two devices. In certain scenes, the GH1 was equipped with a 7-14 mm lens, which gave very good results (in spite of a few white balance issues when filming outdoors).
 

Both the camera and the camcorder offer good image quality. The format, bitrate and resolution are identical in both models, with 16 Mbps AVCHD recorded in 1920 x 1080 pixels at 50 fps. The main differences between the images captured by the GH1 and XR500 are the depth of field (as outlined above) and colour reproduction. Colours with the Sony XR500 are warm and contrasted while colours seen through the GH1 are cooler. In low light, the GH1 does a very good job—possibly even better than the XR500, which is known for the good sensitivity of its CMOS Exmor sensor.

The sound is decent too, as the GH1 has a built-in stereo microphone and a socket for an external mic. It doesn't, however, have a headphones socket or a volume meter, which means you can't monitor the sound as it records. The XR500 has all the connections you'll need (microphone, headphones) for first-rate audio, but the GH1 can still record sound that captures the general ambience well.

Both devices record video in the AVCHD format, which be problematic for post-editing. However, the GH1 has a 720p Motion Jpeg mode, which makes it much easier to work with clips from a timeline. The Sony XR500 has a bigger storage capacity thanks to its built-in 120 GB hard drive. This has room to store 14½ hours of video.

Verdict

The GH1 can clearly hold its own as an HD camcorder. It's fine for capturing short documentary style films outdoors and without too much movement. The wide angle of view will certainly bring out the best in landscapes, although you will have to avoid moving the camera around too much. The microphone socket also means the GH1 is suitable for shooting short interviews. Some professional users have even managed to make impressive short films with the GH1, such as this video by Joe Shaw.
 

So what advantages does the camcorder still have over the camera? It goes without saying that its handling and settings are more tailored to shooting video (autofocus, zoom, image stabiliser, controls and layout), as that's the device's primary function. It also has a bigger storage capacity. However, for £900, the GH1 will capture decent video and also take really good photos ...

Other options

The Panasonic GH1 isn't the only camera that's treading on the toes of the HD camcorder. SLRs with decent HD video modes include the Nikon D90 and the Canon 500D, while the Canon SX1 point-and-shoot does a pretty good job too. The GH1 is, however, one of the few cameras with interchangeable lenses that can capture video with 1080 lines at 50 interlaced frames per second and that you can pick up for under £1,000.