| |
Model
|
| Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | XL H1 | HVR-Z1 |
| European name ? | XL H1 | HVR-Z1E |
| US name ? | XL H1 | HVR-Z1U |
| lowest US price | 4000 $ | 5295 $ |
| On the market since | December 2005 | April 2005 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| test picture 12 Lux | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV HDV
| MiniDV HDV DVCAM
|
| 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 1080/25F
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVCAM 720 x 576/50i HDV 1440 x 1080/60i DVCAM 720 x 480/60i MiniDV 720 x 576/60i
|
| video resolutions US ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/60i HDV 1440 x 1080/24p HDV 1440 x 1080/30p MiniDV 720 x 480/60i MiniDV 720 x480/24p MiniDV 720 x 480/30p
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVCAM 720 x 576/50i HDV 1440 x 1080/60i DVCAM 720 x 480/60i MiniDV 720 x 576/60i
|
| 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 ? | 20 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39 mm | 32,5 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 72 mm | 72 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | 2 | 2 |
| Exchangable optics ? | Yes
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 | 3 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 1560000 Pixel | 1070000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CCD
| CCD
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 16.000 | 10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/3 | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual AE-Shift
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | Off 70-100%
| 70-100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Knee ? | Yes
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | In Out
| In Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | In Out
| In Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | No
| No
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | In Out
| In Out
|
| USB ? | No
| No
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR Cinch
| XLR
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | In Out
| No
|
| Genlock ? | In
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| Standard
|
| HD-SDI ? | Out
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 3435 g | 1995 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 3750 g | 2182 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-950G
| Sony F570
|
| Battery capacity | 5200 mAh | 2200 mAh |
| Charger ? | external
| external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 226 mm | 139 mm |
| Width | 220 mm | 182 mm |
| Depth | 496 mm | 360 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 246 | 91 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| B/W and color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 215000 Pixel | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,4 Inch | 3,5 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 215000 Pixel | 250880 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | | No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Ring
| Rocker Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Ring
| Ring Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| Wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Exp Lock ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Gain ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| White balance ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Push AF ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Audio Levels ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | | 6 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Audio Formats ? | MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1 HDV: 4x48kHz 16bit MPEG 2
| MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal external XLR
| Stereo internal external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder display
| Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Recording Medium ? | SD Card
| No
|
| Medium included ? | 16 MB
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 1560000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 1440x1080 848x480 640x480 | |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| |
| Flash ? | No
| No
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Specials | | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| luminance resolution | | |
| chrominance resolution | | |
| lens distortion | | |
| test small ISO image | | |
| noise / internal microphone | | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| test picture 12 Lux | | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Good | Good |
| Resolution ? | Excellent | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Very good |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Very good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Handling ? | Very good | Very good |
| Portability ? | Sufficient | Satisfactory |
| Photo function ? | Sufficient | Poor |
| Optics ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Very good | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 405 | 384 |
| Pros | + Excellent resolution in brightness and color + interchangeable lenses + 4 audio channels for HDV + Very well equipped
| + Very good image quality impression + Wide optics + handling well-conceived + Very well equipped + Supports also formats with 60i + individually controllable audio channels
|
| Cons | - not ergonomic on the shoulder - standard optics not adequate for the price
| - No full HDV-resolution - DV-quality only average
|
| Conclusion | The Canon XL H1 has excellent CCDs, which in many areas make full use of the potential HDV resolution.In combination with very good dynamic behavior and the consistent colors this provides a very good image impression.The standard optics though does not meet up: for less distortion and chromatic aberrations as well as a greater wide-angle, Pros will have to resort to the expensive supplementary wide-angle lens.Despite the high amplification the XL H1 only shows satisfactory results in lowligth situations, noise and color loss being too great. | Just as the consumer version FX1 the Sony HVR-Z1 lacks CCDs with full HDV-resolution, which is noticeable at least in the horizontals.Nevertheless, the subjective image impression is still very good due to the very good dynamic behavior with extremely little noise and the consistent color reproduction.Despite the comparatively large wide-angle, optical errors are within limits, only little distortion and chromatic aberrations can be detected.In low light-situations the FX1 is good, the low noise being a plus. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon XL H1 | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| slashCAM Review | XL H1 Review | HVR-Z1 Review |
| external reviews/tests | www.camcorderinfo.com
| digitalcontentproducer.com
www.digitalproducer.com
videosystems.com
videosystems.com
www.digitalproducer.com
|
| Forum posts | XL H1 - My audio tracks are gone!
Canon XL H1 recommended?
XL H1 Picture pulls "streaks" in pan -
Time to go trick TriXtreme HD / Canon H1
Canon XL H1 HDD hard drive
purchase advice HD (V) camcorder to 3000 ¬ (FX1000, H1 ,....)
Canon xl h1a or SonyHVR-Z7E
buy a Canon XL H1a
Canon XL H1A, or XH A1
Which camera is better for nature films? A CANON XL H1 or JVC GY-HD200E
important! s.alle xl h1 possessively
Following external lenses XL H1 A / L IS Canon
Canon XL H1s XL H1a - nothing new in the East
| sony hdr z1 / svideo to bnc adapter
Shoe Adapter for SonyFX1 / Z1 where?
Monitor Z1 connect
SonyHVR-Z1E / DVCAM quality
Search German manual for HVR-Z1E
clips for sony z1
SonyHVR Z1 or Canon XL H1?
SonyHVR-Z1E Picture shows only the coil to
Problem: SonyHVR-Z1E Firewire connection to PC
HVR-Z1E or HVX-200?
SonyHVR-Z1E or HVR-V1E, in conjunction with the HVR-A1E
HVR Z1 with NICRO MKH 416 P 48 and continuous noise on the film.
SonyHVR-Z1U or Panasonic AG HVX200?
|
| |