Does the XA-10 get a better image than the Panasonic HMC-150?

oxband

Well-known member
So, I'm likely selling my Panasonic HMC150. I've been using my Canon XA10 more and more lately. I gotta admit: when i watch it on my computer (admittedly, not a professional monitor) I find the XA10 image better. That said, I spoke to B&H recently and the guy there told me that, unequivocally, the 3 chip HMC-150 will capture the better image than the 1 chip XA10.


Am i crazy? Is it possible the XA-10, solely in terms of image quality, is the better camera? I realize in terms of most everything else the HMC-150 is more advantageous.
 
No, you're not crazy and the guy at B&H was mostly talking through his hat. The canon sensor is a full 1920X1080 while the 150's are 960x540 uprezzed. At 720 you probably won't notice, at 1080 the Panny to me is noticeably soft, and you don't have to put it next to XA10 footage to see it. Really, really disappointing for an otherwise great camera.
 
The HMC150 is really a 720 HD camera, so you can't expect it to compete against a 1080 HD camera if resolution is all you are using to judge image quality.
 
So, I'm likely selling my Panasonic HMC150. I've been using my Canon XA10 more and more lately. I gotta admit: when i watch it on my computer (admittedly, not a professional monitor) I find the XA10 image better. That said, I spoke to B&H recently and the guy there told me that, unequivocally, the 3 chip HMC-150 will capture the better image than the 1 chip XA10.


Am i crazy? Is it possible the XA-10, solely in terms of image quality, is the better camera? I realize in terms of most everything else the HMC-150 is more advantageous.

For what it's worth, the XA10 has newer sensor technology - remember that the HMC 150 was released sometime in 2008, so that makes it a rather old camera now. The only edge
the HMC-150 has over the Canon is three imager chips versus the Canon's single imager, and three chips usually results in better colour and luminance fidelity. If the HMC-150 didn't up-rez
the image - that is, the chips were capable of full-raster 1080, the image would be miles better than the Canon.
 
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