Product Comparison: Sony HDR-CX405 vs Panasonic HC-V180K
General Specifications
Brand
Sony
Panasonic
Model
HDR-CX405
HC-V180K
Origin
China
Malaysia
About the Product
Make it memorable with Sony Full HD/60p quality. Capture amazing footage in low light and control. Get close to the action with a 27x zoom, wide-angle Carl Zeiss lens and say goodbye to shake with Steady Shot image stabilization. It’s the perfect starter camera.
This compact, lightweight and easy-to-use handheld camcorder brings a fun, easy experience to high-resolution video capture with a 5-axis image stabilizer, super-long 50x optical zoom and up to 90x intelligent zooming. At the same time, BSI sensors assure low-light video image quality and a two-channel zoom microphone works in tandem with the zoom to ensure crisp, clear audio at any distance.
Key Specs
Sensor Resolution
9.2 MP
10 MP
Sensor Type
Exmor R® CMOS
BSI MOS
Maximum Frame Rate
60 fps
60 fps
Video Resolution
1080 p
1080 p
What customers say about "Key Specs"
Sony HDR-CX405 HD Video Recording Handycam Camcorder
- Nice camera. I like its high quality of resolution, but be careful it is very light.
- Camera that is high quality and high resolution for a wonderful price.
- Love the simple instruction as well as great resolution.
- I can shoot videos with the same resolution and audio using the camera on my phone. This product does not shoot in true "HD."
- Not worth, resolution is not good and the storage is not good
Panasonic HC-V180K Full HD Camcorder
- This model HC-v180k is beautiful. Full HD, best resolution on video is MP4 format (works better for me, according to my Video Editor), AVCHD still good quality but bigger file size.
- Resolution so high, it has to be played in a Blue Ray player.
- If you want to record indoors/low-light, or need the absolute best in video quality then spend the extra money to get something with a much larger sensor (not really available on any "camcorder"). Otherwise, you’ll love this!
- The video quality is amazing, and if I have any complaint, it would be the size of the screen. I
- BUT the video quality is very fuzzy (lots of noise) no matter what setting I try to change it to
Size & Weight
Height
2.38 in.
2.1 in.
Width
2.25 in.
2.3 in.
Depth
5.13 in.
4.6 in.
Weight
6.7 oz.
7.4 oz.
Imaging
Optical Zoom
30 x
50 x
Digital Zoom
350 x
500 x
Aperture
F/1.8 (W) - 4.0 (T)
F/1.8 (W) - 4.2 (T)
Image Stabilization
Optical
Optical & Digital
Face Detection
Yes
Yes
Low Light/High Sensitivity
Yes
Yes
Image File Format(s)
AVCHD, MP4, JPEG
AVCHD, MP4, JPEG
What customers say about "Imaging"
Sony HDR-CX405 HD Video Recording Handycam Camcorder
- Perfect camera for the price. Good quality images.
- The sony camera is a great item. The quality of the images and movies is excellent.
- The camcorder has a very good zoom, excelent image quality
- With low light conditions image looses quality.
- Camera feels sheap.... and image quality to mach...
Panasonic HC-V180K Full HD Camcorder
- The zoom is amazing! I shoot most of my videos on a 1.6x crop frame Canon DSLR and there is no lens in the world that will get you 59x optical zoom
- Very good image and very easy to use
- It recently snowed at around 3am here in texas (rarely happens), i took the kids put with it and turned on the light, PERFECT shot and beautiful video to show the kids when they are older. I couldnt be happier! And the stability is incredible! I
- Image stabilization is great. You can charge it with any USB powerbank so you can make really long videos.
- This model HC-v180k is beautiful. Full HD, best resolution on video is MP4 format (works better for me, according to my Video Editor), AVCHD still good quality but bigger file size. Love Panasonic Video Camera Recording.
Display
Display Type
TFT LCD
TFT LCD
Touch Screen
No
Yes
Aspect Ratio
16:9
16:9
Screen Size
2.7 in.
2.7 in.
What customers say about "Display"
Sony HDR-CX405 HD Video Recording Handycam Camcorder
- Takes very clear video and looks great on HD screen when viewing.
- Very simple to use, clear video recording. Compact and clear screen
- This is a light weight video camera with a nice size LCD screen. It is very easy to setup and use. It was just what I was looking for.
- The screen menu is self explanatory and very simple to use.
- My only problem is that it does not seem thus far able to record while the lcd screen is open.
Panasonic HC-V180K Full HD Camcorder
- It's better if the view finder. otherwise ok.
- The low quality touch screen and small icons mean it often takes two tries to hit the right button and the menus are designed someone who has never actually used a camera.
- The video quality is amazing, and if I have any complaint, it would be the size of the screen.
- The LCD is a bit cheap and grainy, but the camera itself works great.
Features
Microphone Type
Built-in Zoom
Built-in Zoom
Slow Motion Recording
No
No
HDR Mode
No
No
Action Camera
No
No
Night Recording
Yes
Yes
Wind Noise Reduction
Yes
No
Shock Resistant
No
No
Water Resistant
No
No
Extras
Optical SteadyShot™ with Intelligent Active Mode, Up to 26.8 mm wide-angle lens, Exceptional image quality, Highlight Movie Maker, Motion Shot Video, Built-in USB cable, Dual Video Recording, Dual Record mode
28mm Wide-Angle Lens, BSI Sensor Quality, Crisp, Clear Audio, Creative Controls, Level Shot
What customers say about "Features"
Sony HDR-CX405 HD Video Recording Handycam Camcorder
- This camcorder is simple to use and has great features. Best quality videos. Also got a great deal for thanksgiving.
- I like the feature of the charging cord attached to the camera.
- Great camera with lots of features. Beautiful pics of Alaska.
- I love all the features on the camera. Such as the filters you can film in.
- Great camera for value. The features are strong and the device is easy to use.
Panasonic HC-V180K Full HD Camcorder
- Advanced operating manual available on Panasonic site for download.
- No, this doesn’t have a broadcast quality microphone. However, it is noticeably better than the mic on my Canon DSLR, especially in the wind.
- Nightmode is very bad .. u will Get blurry videos at night. And photos are too bad even mobile pictures r better.
- poorly written user manual, large proportion is for the manufacture to escape from taking responsibility
Connectivity
Wi-Fi Enabled
Yes
No
Microphone Input
No
No
Tripod/Monopod Mountable
Yes
Yes
Output(s)
Micro-HDMI (Type D), Composite Video Out, Bravia Sync, USB 2.0
Mini-HDMI (Type C), A/V, USB 2.0
What customers say about "Connectivity"
Sony HDR-CX405 HD Video Recording Handycam Camcorder
- Great camera, easy to operate and connect to computer.
- Fits well in hand and has in-built usb to connect to pc. Videos were excellent.
- Easy to use. Not hard on the battery. No problems with connecting to the PC. Pleased with both video and camera features
- I love this camera. Easy setup and easy to connect to tv. Even my kids are able to use it.
- Video quality looks really good when connecting directly from Camera to my Samsung LED TV.
Panasonic HC-V180K Full HD Camcorder
- Videos should be preset for MP4 or else the camera has to be connected through HDMI cable ( which is given along with the camera) and can be seen on HD TVs only.
- I do like this. I bought it this model cause I had a HC-v250 Panasonic Wifi support.
- I really wish this accepted an external mic input as most of it’s competitors do. I get that most people buying a cheap camcorder aren’t going to use an external mic, but I would!
Power
AC Adapter Compatible
Yes
Yes
Battery Model
NP-BX1 rechargable battery
Rechargeable Battery Pack
Charging Interface(s)
USB
USB
Warranty / Certifications
Manufacturer Warranty
1 year(s)
1 year(s)
Certifications
CE
CE
Other Information
MSRP
229.99 $
199.99 $