Sony HDR-FX1 or Panasonic AG-DVX100B? which one is better?

Question

Sony HDR-FX1 or Panasonic AG-DVX100B? which one is better?

Answer 1

Do you care about HD? Or would you rather have professional controls?

FX1:

pros:

  Excellent HD picture quality; Vibrant, colorful interlaced video

cons:

  More expensive; no XLR audio inputs; no 24p

DVX100B

pros:

  Excellent picture quality; 24p (which is great for the film look), XLR audio inputs

cons:

   no HD= not as good resolution

    So, in the end, it all depends on what you plan on using it for. If you are interested in filmmaking, the DVX100B has better professional tools. However, the FX1 is an excellent camera as well, better suited for more formal applications such as event videography, news broadcasts, etc. It's also probably better than the DVX for family home movies or vacation videos.

hope that helps, so good luck :)

Answer 2

Agree with Nikolai's comps...

I own and use an FX1 and have used a 100B a few times...

On the FX1's lack of XLR connectors for audio in - this is easily remedied with a XLR adapter (from juicedLink or BeachTek).

The Panny's 24p/30p is a differentiator if you need that "look". Also, on the 100B, it's 16:9 seems anamorphic - like it is not true 16:9, but it fits in a 4:3 window (with black bars top and bottom - letterboxed) when I import to my video editors. It could just be my set-up and lack of an appropriate codec. The FX1's 16:9 is really 16:9 (whether DV or HDV) and the letterboxing symptom reported with the 100B is not present.