[4K] Panasonic HC-WX970M vs Sony FDR-AX100 Shoot out
Vložit
- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- The latest 4K camcorder from Panasonic went on to sale from January 22nd, 2015, against Sony's originator of this genre. WX970M is so small you'd think you can put it in your pocket. Literary this is the smallest 4K camcorder available in the market at this moment. There is downside though. Notably, stretched 20x optic system is the weakest link especially in tele-end and small CMOS(less than half compare with AX100's 1 inch CMOS) generate more noise and less resolution. Still, this is well composed camera to seek best balance of compromise and this will be my first choice for sight seeing travel to overseas. 64GB internal memory is the bonus. Raynox x0.66 wide conversion lens was disappointing.
A word on 4K. Last week I started going through old Mini DV tapes. They go back 10 years and contain my daughter and family gatherings. I started streaming via plex to my 65" 1080P television and the video looked fantastic. That's when I realized I had purchased a 1080 camcorder way back when they first came out, before there were televisions (at least affordable ones) that could play it. Today any television you buy will display 1080p. My advice is to go 4K because you will thank yourself possibly today but certainly years later.
rtrain67 Cannot agree more.
Man I really could use some new camcorder right about now.
The Canon E440 from 1989 I bought just had dead batteries,the video viewfinder are busted and it ate up the video 8 cassette!
I liked it but the repair cost might not be worth it...
+Barebare kun 1989??
yes sir,top of the line model from Canon in 1989.
+rtrain67 I just saw someone at Best Buy picking up a 720p TV, I can't remember the brand, might have been Vizio. Some people just don't care I guess. Yeah, I still got my old dv cameras and tapes boxed up on the shelf, they look like total **** compared to what my phone can do, it's crazy. Pretty soon 8k will be here and I'll have to start over again.
Thank you for the review! Bearing in mind the price difference, the Panasonic really does a nice job!
Thanks very much for making this. In many scenes, both performances are similar - but it may be hard to tell unless you look closely on a 4K monitor. That said, for backlighting the Sony triumphs easily.
I agree. In easy light situation, there is not much difference in resolution as you can see here. There is some considerable difference in bokeh, optical performance, which in my opinion, AX100 is better. AX100 wins also in low light situation.
To think that Panasonic WX970M is over $300 less than the more comparable Sony AXP35.
AX-100 is like another class compared to AX-30 series let alone WX970M.
The difference are not enough to make me spend another $600 on AX100 and WX970M dual camera thing is great fun thing to experiment with!
I mean yeah if you're not much into camcorder but want 4K Panasonic offering is far more affordable for you but if you into camcorder and do take it more seriously everything then Sony is the better choice.
It's been years since my last camcorder (2007 Sony HDR-UX7) but this time I have to give it to HC-WX970M it looks like it give me more of things I needed and none of the stuff that I don't use. (yet)
How to install 4K with a 32GB Extreme Pro Sandisk? The highest in display is only 1080 50M. I never see the display say it's ready for 4K videorecording. How do I adjust it so that it does reflect it?
To my eyes, the Sony and the Panasonic are roughly the same in terms of overall quality. However, the Sony delivers sharper, brighter and more detailed images and does a better job of handling high-contrast and backlit scenes with fewer blown-out areas.
In fairness, the Panasonic sells for almost half the price that the Sony does. So it all comes down to one question: are you prepared to pay twice as much for relatively small improvements in quality?
+Steve Strutters I agree with most of your comment. AX100, with 1 inch sensor and smooth electrical zoom, is one of the kind camera you can use in the market, so it is down to you whether AX100 is worth its price tag or not.
+Taka's 4K lab I picked two up used for the price of one, so I'm really pleased with price/performance on these. I will not buy a 4k camera with only a 1/2" sensor I want at least a 1" sensor. Low light is decent on these, obvioulsy not A7S territory but for a small camcorder it's good value for the money. The best features are the large glass, 1" sensor and built in ND filters which are really nice. The image stablization is not bad, if shooting handheld it really must be turned on which adds a small crop but it's not much. One feature it lacks I wish it had was 1080p120 which quite a few cameras are coming out with now including the new AX53. It only boasts 720p120 which I havne't tried but from YT videos I've seen, the image quality isn't sharp enough for me. I would rather use 1080p60. Of course 4k 60p would be nice too but not offered at the prosumer level yet.
+4K lab by MB Nah panasonic look better: 3:50 to 3:55
Yea, try them BOTH in low light; the difference won't simply be a small improvement... As in still photography I can take a pretty good photo in IDEAL conditions with a pinhole camera; just sayin'... Slowly shaking head yet again...
1:37 I see CA in the Panasonic shot (trees in background left > purple) and not so with the Sony. That is disappointing. as I like the more 'natural' look of the Panasonic better.
At 4K video would you say that Panasonic has more vivid and crispier colors then Sony FDR-AX53 . They are in similar price range and i am trying to decide between these two. Use is family and home videos at home and in nature. Thx.
Nice comparison!
But all my Sony's ended up defective, while all my Panasonic's still working as new!
the AX100 Zeiss lens is better in detail and sharpness and is better in low light, probably because the sensor is bigger. I would prefer manual exposure for these tests. Auto modes prefer to clip... I would go for the WX970 JUST for the slow motion. Sony has better codecs simply because of XAVC-S as their new HQ standard for consumer cams
where I can find WX970M ? no ebay no amazon nothing anywhere... wtf ? pls help i wnat to but there is any panasonic hc WX970M for sell
this would be nice if the video was a side by side comparison
I don't know what comparison you guys are seeing but Panasonic look more realistic.
Why is there no sound with this Video.
***** Because this is not audio quality comparison. There isn't any interesting sound anyway.
+Taka's 4K lab some music will make it better even if is not a audio quality
What is the optical Zoom on the AX100 i need a big zoom as i film Buzzards in the Wild.I currently have the Panasonic X920 i would have bought the Panasonic HC-WX970 but it doesn't have a Viewfinder.
+Paul Allen Panasonic just released HC-WXF990M, which is basically successor of WX970 with view finder.
Thanks for the info
+Taka's 4K lab I,ll b a son of a b really!
+Paul Allen 20x and it seems sweet. shooting video in 4k photo mode makes every 20x zoomed frame a 4k pic.
well i just ordered the 970 but to me the quality of the sony looks better, but i couldn't live without some of the features on the pany. so i hope i will be happy
HR McKee You'll be happy. WX970M is very good camera for its form factor IMHO. I'm happy with it and frequently go out with it.
What ?? Sony ax100 with 29p ??
How do you find the stabilization ability of WX970 compared to AX100 or even with the ones with BOSS?
From my observation, stabilization ability hierarchy is like this. AXP35/AX30 > WX970M >>>AX100
Take2100 Really? From your video (4:37 onward) - it seems that AX100 is much better than the WX970 (stabilization).
+slimdusty96
AX100 is like $600 more than WX970 so go figure why it's better.
Do you need a video editing programme that can render in 4K?
+David Stuckey (Explorer) Today, pretty much every editing software can render in 4K. You can try Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve, which is professional video editing software for both Win/Mac platform. Best part of it is it is free.
does either out shine the other in night mode? Im a ghost hunter and need some good night vision!
AnythingSTRANGE You can check this one "[4K] Shoot out: Low-light comparison" czcams.com/video/2aF0VC_R8_Q/video.html or that one "[4K] Intensive Dark Situation Test" czcams.com/video/Z8yyTvxOcRk/video.html
There are no huge difference, but in my impression, Panasonic gets more noise sooner. On the other hand, Pana has night mode with built-in infra red light. Not sure if it works on ghost though...
Take2100 I meant the actual IR Night Mode, where the screen turns green and you can see in pitch black?
AnythingSTRANGE I don't know. I'm not hunting ghost and usually use LED light for dark shot.
The quality of the image is fare better on the Sony. Just look at the horrible chromatic aberration on the Panasonic. The lens of the Sony is actually pretty good.
The Sony seems slightly sharper and brighter then the the Panasonic,s Warmer but slightly darker 4K video -both look Great though :)
It's an unfair comparison because the Sony Camcorder has a larger sensor, but in some instances and while using zoom the Panasonic has sharper results (!), and that's why it generates clearer footage. To be on the same level you have to compare the Panasonic VX(F)1 with the Sony AX100 !
No doubt the sony has a much better sharpness, but it's also way more expensive. The panasonic is mid-range, the sony is an high-end. The image stabilization on the Sony is also superb (i've seen other tests), the panasonic stabilization is not so good as the sony, just regular.
For my budget i'd take the panasonic, because it's an awesome camera overall.
Sony ax100 cost $1700 the Panasonic HC-wx970m cost $1000 how is this a fair test?
would be nice to see a lowlight comparison (at night with ISO values)
Check at my other footage. I did lowlight comparison among five consumer 4K camcorder.
Sony thumbs up,, Panasonic thumbs down
Darn time for a new pc. My quad can barely handle 4k video's on youtube.:/
If the 4k panasonic goes cheaper I sure want one. ( atm got the v-520 and I love it)
edited: Nothing t say. I will later.
I thought i was about something else.
i reply soon.
on my screen the Panasonic looks much better. Image is more pleasing. Of course the sony could be warmed in post too. By the way, the panasonic doesn't seem to be available in the US. Not on B&H, only on Amazon coming directly from Japan with a japanese brochure. Wondering if you've ever tried the AX100 with Filmconvert?
Philippe Orlando I never tried software to add grain. I do some color correction but just subtle. Footage shown in this channel is for comparison and they are all straight out of the camera, other than CZcams compression.
OK, I actually found the Panasonic in the US. Now, you believe the Sony is better?
Philippe Orlando I guess difference is summarized as difference in sensor size. Sony has shallow focus length with beautiful bokeh while Panasonic is very small that you don't have to even think if you want to take it with you. You will always do. With 100Mbps recording option added, even though you have almost no control over picture quality in AX100 and its picture is over sharpened, I think AX100 has upper edge here for ultimate picture quality.
I'm wondering if the extra sharpness I see in the AX 100 is not also due to some Electronic Edge Enhancement, something that can't be removed, unfortunately. I'm not sure it's just the lens, the big sensor and the 100Mps.
Philippe Orlando If you look at my other footage, AX100 is way more sharper than any of Panasonic model. I guess that's the way Sony intended to build this model. Additional 100Mbps option changed nothing in this perspective.
Sony more clear~!
+killerddt No dude Sony look like crap look at 3:50 to 3:55 now you tell me.
Thank you for these nice videos. I sometimes see a surprising amount of purple fringing from the WX970M in your clip, and poor corner sharpness. In a few other videos from the same camera (e.g. czcams.com/video/7rTuLvPPOmA/video.html), these problems seem much less prominent. Is your WX970M by any chance a prototype?
Could you do a test video where you zoom in all the way on the Moon? It is a handy target that almost anyone on earth can see, and there are many youtube clips so one can compare with many other models.
I bought mine on the day it started selling (as I do all the other cameras), so it is not prototype, but very early production model. I do see fringes in tele-end which is disappointing, given that one of advantage of this camera is having 20x optical zoom. If your priority is image quality, I'd recommend AX100 or GH4.
Take2100 Thanks. Yes, the AX100 has very good image quality, but a bit too much sharpening (easily visible as halos around edges in digital zoom), and unfortunately it is not user-adjustable.
Take2100 Where to sell this camera in the February 1 ? Sales started on 1 March.
Krzysztof Duda It went on to sale from January 22nd in Japan. I bought it on that very day. You cannot beat me how quick to get these things.
The Sony video looks as though it's had a lot of sharpening added which makes it look far too sharpened and you can blatantly see the effect of this. Overall I preferred the Panasonic's image quality. The Sony does seem to have much better image stabilization, the Panasonic also seems to have higher crop factor because everytime it switched to the Panasonic the image cropped quite a bit.
+Richard Stringer Agreed with sharpness observation. As for crop factor, those are camcorders and there is no crop factor, as those lenses are fixed, not interchngeable.
+Taka's 4K lab
Yeah same can be said with my Handycam UX7 that came out in 2007.
I did notice there's a lot of sharpening added to the video.
AX100 better and if you see low light footage tests elsewhere you will see !
have them both Panasonic wins hands down get her in field and try it
The chromatic aberation on the Panasonic is quite bad.
on this, sony ax100 wins!
Canon 'looks' better. Sony little better in certain lighting conditions and stabilization but even in those shots the Canon just looks better. A picture you want to look at.
Canon???
Useless -no review..
Maro Vok Sorry about that. This channel is for experienced people who can draw their own conclusion. I should have mention that.