/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Canon

Name

HF21

HF S100

European name ?

Legria HF21

Legria HF S100

US name ?

VIXIA HF21

VIXIA HF S100

lowest US price

1099 $

880 $

On the market since

September 2009

April 2009

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

Recording Medium

SDHC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Canon

Optical Zoom ?

15 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

39,5 mm

43,6 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

58 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4 inch

1/2,6 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2990000 Pixel

6010000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/6

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

70%
100%

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out mini

Out (mini)
Out (mini)

DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

also AV-output

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Advanced Mini

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

340 g

450 g

Weight (with battery)

400 g

500 g

Battery type

Canon BP-809

Canon BP-807

Battery capacity

890 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

62 mm

69 mm

Width

70 mm

Depth

124 mm

136 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Color Viewfinder ?

Viewfinder format ?

Viewfinder pixels ?

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

211000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Wheel
Menu
Joystick

Manual Aperture ?

bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SDHC card

built-in flash memory
SDHC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

2304 x 1296 - Max

3264 x 2448

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

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

Resolution ?

Good

Color performance ?

Very good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Satisfactory

Poor

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Good

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Excellent

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

367

344

Pros

+ Many manual controls

Cons

- fiddly operation
- No Zebra
- Manual focus very poor

- partially the operating procedures are not well conceived
- no 1/25 sec. shutter speed in cinema mode
- small wide angle

Conclusion

Compared with the older models of the same series the smaller sensor, the picture problems and the exaggerated sharpness offer no real advancementsAdd to that the bad low-light sensitivity with some bright pixel noise, the missing histogram and zebra-displays and the manual focus problems.On the positive side: the low price and the fact that the pictures in the automatic mode (assumed there is enough light) are sharp and generally good.

The sensor´s high pixel resolution seems to reduce Canon´s usually excellent sharpness.Some missed functionalities like zebra or a manual control ring are back on bord.The menues are smoothly animated, but for examplethe intricate handling of the focus hinders a fluent workflowA little disappointing is that the big 1/2 sensor size doesn´t result in better low-light performance.So for some users Canon´s 2008 models will be more interesting, especially as these are decidedly cheaper.

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