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Comparison Panasonic HC-W580 vs Panasonic HC-V270

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Panasonic HC-W580
Panasonic HC-V270
Panasonic HC-W580Panasonic HC-V270
from £385.22 
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from $272.00
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Main
50x optical zoom. Twin camera. Lots of manual settings. Effective stabilization system. Horizon auto leveling. The ability to broadcast pictures from two smartphones. Long battery life.
Featuresamateuramateur
Media typeflash (memory card)flash (memory card)
Sensor
Sensor typeCMOSCMOS
Sensor size1/5.8"1/5.8"
Number of megapixels2.512.51
Effective megapixels2.22.2
Camera lens
Focal length (35mm equivalent)28 – 1766 mm28 — 1740 mm
Aperturef/1.8 — f/4.2f/1.8 — f/4.2
Optical zoom50 х50 х
Digital zoom3000 х3000 х
Image stabilization
optical / electronic /HYBRID O.I.S./
optical / electronic
Manual focus
Video shooting
Video resolution1920x1080 px1920x1080 px
Frame frequency50 fps50 fps
Recording formatsRecording formats MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, MP4
Video recording speed
50 Mbps, 28 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 17 Mbps /13 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 5 Mbps/
28 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 17 Mbps, 13 Mbps /5 Mbps/
Minimum illuminance1 lux1 lux
Night shooting
Shutter speed1/2—1/8000 с1/25 — 1/8000 с
White balanceauto, white, sunny, cloudy, room 1, room 2Auto, White, Sunny, Cloudy, Indoor1, Indoor2
Sound recording2-channel Dolby Digital (AC-3)2-channel Dolby Digital
Twin Camera
Photo
Number of megapixels1010
Max. photo size4224x2376 px4224x2376 px
Picture while shooting
Screen
Screen size3 "2.7 "
Screen resolution460 K pixels230.4 K pixels
Touch screen
Features
Features
built-in speaker
Wi-Fi module
 
built-in speaker
Wi-Fi module
NFC
Memory and sockets
Memory card supportSD, SDHC, SDXCSD, SDHC, SDXC
Connectors
USB
HDMI /miniHDMI/
AV output
USB
HDMI /miniHDMI/
AV output
Battery
USB charging
Battery typeVW-VBT190
Battery capacity1940 mAh1940 mAh
Battery life1.5 h1.08 h
General
Dimensions (WxHxD)60x62x129 mm53x59x116 mm
Weight
264 g /without battery and memory card/
216 g
Color
Added to E-Catalogjune 2016march 2015

Focal length (35mm equivalent)

Focal length of a standard video camera lens in terms of a 35 mm full-frame sensor. This parameter is also called the "equivalent focal length" — EFL.

The focal length itself is the distance from the optical centre of the lens (when focus to infinity) to the sensor, at which the sharpest image is obtained on the sensor. It is one of the key characteristics of any lens, because. determines the viewing angles, the degree of approximation and, accordingly, the specifics of the use of optics. At the same time, it is impossible to compare different options in terms of the actual focal length: the laws of physics are such that with different sizes of sensors, the same focal length will give different viewing angles. Therefore, EFL was adopted as a universal characteristic and criterion for comparison. It can be described as the focal length that a 35mm lens with the same viewing angles would have.

The larger the focal length, the narrower the viewing angle will be and the higher the degree of approximation of the visible scene. Optics with EFL up to 18 mm belongs to the class of ultra wide-angle ("fisheye") and is used primarily to create artistic effects. Distances up to 40 mm correspond to "wide angles", 50 mm gives the same degree of approximation as that of the naked eye, the range of 70-100 mm is considered optimal for portrait shooting, and large values allow the use of optics already as a telephoto lens. Knowing these provisions, one can approximately...evaluate the capabilities of the lens and its suitability for certain tasks; there are more detailed recommendations, they are described in special sources.

Also note that modern video cameras are usually equipped with lenses with a variable focal length (zoom), which allows you to change the degree of approximation and viewing angle; see "Optical Zoom" for details.

Manual focus

Manual focus mode in the standard lens of the video camera (or, if the lens is not included, the ability to work with optics that have this mode). This allows the operator to control the sharpness in the frame himself, without relying on automation.

The point of this feature is that even the most advanced autofocus systems do not always work as expected. This is especially critical in professional shooting: many artistic techniques related to depth of field can only be implemented manually. On the other hand, this mode of operation is more difficult than shooting with autofocus, it requires certain skills and constant control. Therefore, manual focus is quite rare in amateur models (see "Features"), but is almost mandatory for professional ones.

Note that some of these lenses do not have autofocus at all.

Recording formats

Video file formats that the camera can use to store recorded footage. If you want to view these materials using a separate device (player, media centre, etc.), you should make sure that this player supports the appropriate formats, otherwise conversion may be necessary.

Video recording speed

The data transfer speed provided by the camera when recording video. This parameter is also called bitrate (i.e., the number of bits per unit of time). For any file format used for recording, the general rule is that the higher the bitrate, the better the image quality (especially for formats that use lossy compression). On the other hand, high speed have appropriate requirements for the capabilities of the memory cards used — for more details, see "Memory card support"; and it increases the size of the file accordingly. Therefore, many modern camcorders are able to work with different bitrates; this allows you to choose the best option depending on what is more important for you at the moment — maximum quality or the ability to work with a slow card.

At the same time, we note that in terms of quality, this parameter is important mainly for professional video shooting. If you need a camera for amateur purposes, there is no need to look for the maximum bitrate: after all, such models (and memory cards for them) cost accordingly.

Shutter speed

The range of shutter speeds in which the camera is capable of operating during the shooting process.

Initially, shutter speed is the time during which light affects the photosensitive material (film) when shooting a single frame. For digital sensors, this is the period of time during which an image is read from the sensor to build a separate frame. When shooting video, this interval cannot be more than 1/n, where n is the frame rate (see above), but it can be less — for example, shooting at a frame rate of 30 fps and shutter speed of each frame 1/60 s. There are no such restrictions for the photo mode.

Long exposures are good because they allow the sensor to take in more light — accordingly, the “picture” is brighter, which is especially important in low light. At the same time, they increase the likelihood of getting a blurry image — due to the rapid movement of objects in the frame, the operator's hand shaking and other random camera movements that even the stabilization system is unable to compensate for. This effect can be useful for artistic motion blur, especially when shooting video, but in photo mode it is most often undesirable. Fast shutter speeds, on the other hand, allow you to get clear shots, but with less light, and in the case of video, even with the effect of sharp, jerky movements.

Accordingly, different exposure time options will be optimal for each situation, and the wider their range, the more opportunities the came...ra has to adjust to specific conditions.

White balance

Presets and white balance adjustment modes provided by the camera.

White balance is a characteristic that describes the qualities of the lighting of the scene and the distortion that this lighting introduces into the colours perceived by the camera. Its used because modern digital sensors are unable to independently adjust to different light sources, as the human eye does. In fact, this means that the same object shot under lighting with different colour temperatures (for example, under a “warm” incandescent lamp and a “cold” fluorescent lamp) will look different without adjustment. To avoid this, the white balance setting is applied.

The main options for such a setting used in modern cameras are as follows:

— Auto. In accordance with the name, in this mode, the camera electronics independently evaluates the specifics of the illumination of the scene being shot and makes appropriate corrections to the colour reproduction. This adjustment is the most convenient for the operator, because. does not require any additional actions from him — everything is done by automation. At the same time, no such adjustment system is perfect, and does not always provide 100% white balance for the current situation. Therefore, even in the simplest models like pocket ones (see "Features"), this option is rarely the only one, not to mention professional equipment.

— Presets. The ability to select white balance from several options that correspond to...standard shooting conditions — for example, “sunny day”, “cloudy”, “fluorescent lamp”, “incandescent lamp”, etc. Such a system is quite simple even for inexperienced users and at the same time quite reliable and versatile, although its specific capabilities directly depend on the number of presets.

— Manual. Manual white balance setting assumes that the operator himself “tells” the camera which object to consider pure white — based on this, the electronics calculate the lighting characteristics (unlike automatic mode, when the reference object is also determined without user involvement). The easiest way to do this is to use a regular sheet of paper, but the procedure also works with neutral grey objects. Manual mode allows you to very accurately set the white balance for a particular scene, but it requires some time and appropriate skills — and therefore is used mainly in professional camcorders.

— Temperature control. This function allows you to set a specific value for the colour temperature of the light source (in kelvins) — it is this temperature that will correspond to the white balance when shooting. This setup format is faster and more convenient than manual setup, but is not widely used. This is due to the fact that it is well suited only for studio conditions, where the characteristics of each light source are precisely known — in other cases, manual adjustment is usually more reliable.

Sound recording

The format in which the camera records sound during video recording. Typically, this section indicates the number of channels and the sound system used, the file format, or the characteristics of the audio stream, such as "2ch Dolby Digital (AC-3)" or "PCM, 16bit 48kHz, 2ch". In order not to go into technical details, we note that two channels are the minimum required for surround sound (stereo), and advanced models can work with multi-channel sound like 5.1. As for other specifications, you should pay attention to them when choosing a professional device (see "Features") — in amateur and especially pocket cameras, the sound format does not play a special role. Specific features of various formats are described in special sources.

Twin Camera

This function, in accordance with the name, implies the presence of a second camera in the design, the image from which can be recorded simultaneously with the “picture” from the main optics. Such a camera is usually located on a folding screen and is made rotatable, which gives expanded possibilities for its use: for example, the operator can simultaneously film both what is happening and himself; or you can use an additional camera for a wide-angle image, and work with the main optics at high magnifications. Recording in Twin Camera mode is done on a picture-in-picture basis; at the same time, some cameras allow you to simultaneously record an image from the main optics in the usual mode, without an additional window with a picture from the second camera.

Picture while shooting

Possibility of taking photos during video recording. Usually it is implemented by a separate button, when pressed, the camera captures the visible image as a photo without interrupting video recording.

Of course, modern technologies allow you to save individual frames from an already finished video, but simultaneous photography compares favorably in two ways. Firstly, the resolution of the “picture” in photo mode is often higher than in video recording, and secondly, the procedure of processing a photo differs from the method for processing video frames and allows you to get a better image. So if you need the ability to highlight individual moments in the filmed events, it makes sense to choose a model with this function.
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