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Sony HVR-A1 (HVR-A1E/ HVR-A1U)
display: - Test/Review and technical specifications3 models per page
Model
Sony HVR-A1
Picture
?
Manufacturer
Sony
Name
HVR-A1
European name
?
HVR-A1E
US name
?
HVR-A1U
lowest US price
2474
$
On the market since
October 2005
Manufacturers URL
link to Sony
Test preview
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
slashCAM rating
?
Satisfactory
test picture 1200 Lux
test picture 12 Lux
Video
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
Video formats
?
MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM
Recording Medium
MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
video resolutions EU
?
HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
video resolutions US
?
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
Max Bitrate
?
25 Mbit/s
Compression format
?
DV
MPEG2
on-board memory
?
Optics
Optics Manufacturer
?
Carl Zeiss
Optical Zoom
?
10 x
Wide Angle 16:9
?
41 mm
Filter diameter
?
37 mm
Image Stabilization
?
electronical
ND Filter
?
Yes
Exchangable optics
?
No
Image Sensor
Number of sensors
?
1
Size of image sensor
?
1/3 inch
image sensor effective pixel count 16:9
?
1983000 Pixel
Image Sensor Type
?
CMOS
Controls
White Balance
?
auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
Focus
?
auto
manual
Minimum shutter time
?
10.000
Maximum shutter time
?
1/3
Apperture control
?
auto
manual
AE-Shift
Infrared recording
?
No
Expanded Focus
?
Yes
Peaking
?
Yes
Signal Processing
Zebra
?
70%
100%
Histogram
?
Yes
adjustable sharpness
?
Yes
Adjustable color
?
Yes
Cinegamma
?
Yes
Black Strech
?
No
Knee
?
No
Colorbars
?
Yes
Misc.
Shot Transition
?
Yes
Custom Presets
?
No
Set Time Code
?
Yes
Configuration
Connections
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
FBAS
?
synonymous: RCA, composite
In
YC
?
synonymous: S-Video
In
Out
YUV
?
synonymous: Component Signal
Out
HDMI
?
No
DV / HDV (FireWire)
?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394
In
Out
USB
?
USB 1.1
Microphone / Audio input
?
XLR
Headphones
?
Mini-jack
Lanc
?
Yes
Time-code interface
?
No
Genlock
?
No
Accessory shoe
?
AI
HD-SDI
?
No
Misc.
Weight (without battery)
1020 g
Weight (with battery)
1120 g
Battery type
Sony NP-FM50
Battery capacity
1180 mAh
Charger
?
internal
Remote control
Yes
Size
Height
140 mm
Width
100 mm
Depth
190 mm
Relative Size
?
26
Viewfinder
Viewfinder available
?
Yes
Color Viewfinder
?
B/W and color
Viewfinder format
?
16:9
Viewfinder pixels
?
252000 Pixel
Display
Display available
?
Yes
Color display
?
Color
Display size
2,7 Inch
Display format
?
16:9
Display pixels
?
123200 Pixel
Touch Screen
?
Yes
External controls
Manual Zoom
?
Rocker
Ring
Manual Focus
?
Ring
Menu
Manual Aperture
?
Wheel
Menu
Rocker
Focus switcher
?
Yes
ND Filter
?
No
Exp Lock
?
Yes
Gain
?
No
White balance
?
No
Push AF
?
Yes
Audio Levels
?
No
Custom Keys
?
synonymous: User buttons
1
Audio
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
Audio Formats
?
MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
Microphone
?
Stereo internal
external XLR
Audio Control
?
auto
manual
Audio levels
?
Viewfinder
Screen
Still
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
Recording Medium
?
Memory Stick Duo
Medium included
?
16 MB
Effective pixels
?
2764800 Pixel
Resolutions
?
1920x1080
1440x1080
640x480
Standard
?
JPEG Exif 2.2
Flash
?
Yes
Misc.
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
Specials
Product Shots
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
View 1
View 2
Test results
Test pictures
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
luminance resolution
chrominance resolution
lens distortion
test small ISO image
noise / internal microphone
test picture 1200 Lux
test picture 12 Lux
slashCAM rating
Lowlight
?
Satisfactory
Resolution
?
Satisfactory
Color performance
?
Satisfactory
subj.Picture impression
?
Good
Optical Zoom
?
Sufficient
Wide Angle
?
Sufficient
Configuration / image
?
Good
Configuration / sound
?
Good
Handling
?
Satisfactory
Portability
?
Very good
Photo function
?
Sufficient
Optics
?
Good
Dynamics
?
Good
Conclusion slashCAM
slashCAM rating
?
Satisfactory
Total score
?
(maximal 570)
326
Pros
+ good picture impression
+ portable
+ partly professionally equipped
Cons
- color resolution only average
- DV-quality only average
Conclusion
Like its consumer twin HC1 the Sony HVR-A1 has a very good brightness resolution, but tends sometimes to show color moirés on fine details.The color resolution is not on a HDV-level, though the CMOS sensor theoretically should have more reserves.The overall picture impression is good, partly due to the good dynamics behavior with little noise and few smear-effects.Color-wise the A1 is fairly neutral, almost somewhat low-key.The wide angle is very limited for indoors, but on the other hand there are only few lens errors.In low light situations the A1 loses color fast.Compared to the HC1 it is slightly better equipped in terms of sound and image.The handling remains only satisfactory due to the touch screen.
More information
Reviews and Forums
[ top ]
Sony HVR-A1
slashCAM Review
HVR-A1 Review
external reviews/tests
www.dv.com
www.sundancemediagroup.com
Comparison
Sony HVR-A1 vs Canon XH G1
Sony HVR-A1 vs Canon XH A1s
Sony HVR-A1 vs Canon XH A1
Sony HVR-A1 vs Sony HDR-FX1000
Sony HVR-A1 vs Sony HVR-V1
Sony HVR-A1 vs Panasonic AG-HVX200
Sony HVR-A1 vs Panasonic AG-HVX200E
Sony HVR-A1 vs Sony HDR-FX7
Sony HVR-A1 vs Sony HDR-FX1
Sony HVR-A1 vs Panasonic AG-HMC40
Sony HVR-A1 vs Panasonic AG-HMC151
Sony HVR-A1 vs Panasonic AG-HMC150
Sony HVR-A1 vs Panasonic AG-HSC1U
Forum posts
XH A1 Preset Problem
Canon XH A1 (s) vs.. SonyHDR-FX1000
Recording errors in Canon XH A1 (HDV mode)
Renting Camera Canon XH A1 (S) in Hamburg
growl at sennheiser MKH + sony HVR-A1E
Canon XH A1 s Dockrecorder?
Berlin in search of someone XH A1 has ne ...
XH A1 trouble capturing material with Final Cut Pro 5
Rode NTG2 on Canon XH A1 - of the diameter does not fit into the bracket?
Stereo Mic recommendation for the Canon XH A1 Wanted
Certain tape for XH A1 and capturing issues!
Tonfrage for XH A1 and FX1000E
Chromatic aberration in the Canon XH A1 (S)
Please consider that these data have been entered into this database by human beings.Also, the technical information provided by the manufacturers are at times contradictory, incomplete and sometimes even incorrect.Although we take great care checking all information, we can not gurantee for its correctness.Should you find this data to have some omission or error, please let us know! Mail:
update am 4.Juli 2009 - 03:30
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