| |
Model
|
| Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HV20 | HDR-HC7 |
| European name ? | HV20 | HDR-HC7E |
| US name ? | HV20 | HDR-HC7 |
| lowest US price | | 1700 $ |
| On the market since | April 2007 | January 2007 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV HDV
| MiniDV HDV
|
| Recording Medium | MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
| MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/25F HDV 1440 x 1080/25p
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/60i HDV 1440 x 1080/24p HDV 1440 x 1080/30p MiniDV 720 x 480/60i 720 MiniDV x480/24p
| HDV 1440 x 1080/60i MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 25 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | DV MPEG2
| DV MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 43,6 mm | 41,3 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 43 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | Yes
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/2,7 inch | 1/2,9 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2070000 Pixel | 2280000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/auto
|
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/2 | auto
|
| Apperture control ? | auto manual AE-Shift
| auto AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | Off 70% 100%
| Off 70% 100%
|
| Histogram ? | No
| Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | In Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | In Out
| In Out
|
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack Cinch
|
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Intelligent
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | | 550 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 535 g | |
| Battery type | Canon BP-2L13
| Sony NP-FH60
|
| Battery capacity | | 1000 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 80 mm | 82 mm |
| Width | 88 mm | 82 mm |
| Depth | 138 mm | 138 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 9 | 9 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 123000 Pixel | 123200 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 210000 Pixel | 211200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| No
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| Audio Formats ? | MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
| MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | No
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| Recording Medium ? | MiniSD
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 2760000 Pixel | 1991000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 1440x1080 848x480 640x480 2048 x 1536 | 2848x2136 2848x1602 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| Specials | | &"Smooth Slow Record" slow motion mode: 3 seconds are recorded with 200 half frames/sec., resulting in a 4-fold slow motion.However, the recording is without sound and in poorer image quality. |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| luminance resolution | | |
| chrominance resolution | | |
| lens distortion | | |
| test small ISO image | | |
| noise / internal microphone | | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode ? | | |
| Test image 12 lux optimized ? | | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | Sufficient |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Sufficient | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 340 | 310 |
| Pros | + Excellent resolution in brightness and color + Compact + Very good price / performance ratio
| + good picture impression
|
| Cons | - small wide angle - slight problems with reds - over-simplified operation
| - low color resolution - color moirees
|
| Conclusion | Thanks to the excellent resolution of its CMOS the Canon HV20 makes almost full use of the HDV-system in brightness as well as color.Noticeable is the high resolution in diagonals.With enough light the HV20 makes a very clean picture, only in low light there is visible image noise.The optics has very little distorsion, but offers only a small wide angle. | The Sony HDR-HC7 shines with very good brightness resolution, but tends to show quite visible color moires on very fine details.The color resolution is only on SD-level, which makes for a rather soft image impression.The noise behavior has been improved compared to its predecessor - along with the few smear-effects this provides very good image dynamics.In terms of color the HC7 is neutral.The wide angle is very limited for indoor shots, lens errors keep whithin limits though.In low-light situations the HC7 produces somewhat colorless and dark images.The touch screen brings no points in the configuration score. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HV20 | Sony HDR-HC7 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | www.videomaker.com
www.camcorderinfo.com
| |
| Forum posts | Pana G2 + Canon HV20
Canon HV20 + 35mm adapter + wide angle converter useful?
Firewire under Windows7 and HV20 shows artifacts
A question of storage media - used or new HF10 Canon HV20
In Memoriam Canon HV20 - HDV long-lived
Focus ring for Canon hv20
Canon HV20 and Final Cut Pro Log and Capture problem
Wanted: Canon's successor to the Canon HV20 ...
Canon HV20 PAL + NTSC?
Sunshade for the Canon HV20 with wide-angle attachment
Getting Started with the GT35PRO 35mm s.der Canon HV20
HF100 or HV20 + Questions
Test - Sin City Effect with a Canon HV20
| SonyHDR-HC7E: HD / HDV to PC
FCE exporting on Sony HDR-HC7E
HDR-HC7E: Picture wobbles horizontally when it's warm
sony HDR-HC7 and HDR-HC9
HDR-HC7E what do?
Problems with SonyHDR-HC7E
Hife differed SonyHDR-HC7E and HDR-HC9E
Canon HV20 or Sony HDR-HC7E - HDMI -in/out?
HV 20 No !!!!! HC7 ?????
SonyHDR-HC7E tapes
SonyHDR-HC7E, although I only wish to DV?
SonyHDR HC7 - Disturbing noises drive
how does it HC7 so - your opinions are in demand
|
| |