| |
Model
|
| Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| JVC 
|
| Name | HDR-CX550V | GY-HM100 |
| European name ? | HDR-CX550VE | GY-HM100 |
| US name ? | HDR-CX550V | GY-HM100 |
| lowest US price | 1899 $ | 2795 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | April 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to JVC |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD SD MPEG2
| HDV XDCAM EX
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory
| SDHC card
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i HDV 1440 x 1080/60i XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
| XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 35 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2 MPEG4
| MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Sony
| Fujinon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 29,8 mm | 39 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 46 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| Yes
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 3 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/2,9 inch | 1/4 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 4150000 Pixel | |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CCD
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/10.000 | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/4 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | | No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | | No
|
| Peaking ? | | Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| 50-105% |
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | | Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | | Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | | Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| Yes
|
| Knee ? | No
| Yes
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | | Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| Yes
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | About Special Equipment
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| XLR Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
| Standard
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 440 g | |
| Weight (with battery) | 490 g | 1400 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FV50
| JVC BN-VF823
|
| Battery capacity | | 2190 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 66 mm | 178 mm |
| Width | 74 mm | 138 mm |
| Depth | 143 mm | 365 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 6 | 89 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 201600 Pixel | 235000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 2,8 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 921000 Pixel | 921600 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
|
| Manual Focus ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| button
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| Yes
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| Yes
|
| Gain ? | No
| Yes
|
| White balance ? | No
| Yes
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| 3 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
| 2 channel PCM
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | | Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo hard drive SDHC card
| SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 4000 x 3000 - Max
| 1920 x 1080 - max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| No
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| Specials | GPS with geo-tagging functionality | Records in HDV as well as XDCAMEX in a QuickTime container on a SDHC card |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| 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 ? | Very good | Sufficient |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Good |
| Color performance ? | Good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Very good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Very good |
| Handling ? | Good | Very good |
| Portability ? | Very good | Good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 390 | 348 |
| Pros | + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + wide angle + Display with high resoultion
| + professional handling + cheap workflow by using XDCAM EX on SDCH cards + flexible assignable
|
| Cons | - image characteristics cannot be modified - no focus or exposure assist
| - wide angle with slight distortions - poor low-light
|
| Conclusion | The wide angle (which shrinks a little with active image stabilization) as well as the low light performance is better than on all competing modells.But in terms of sharpness, manual control options and color reproduction the Sony is not quite on par with the class winners.The automatics work solidly in a Sony-typical way.Remarkably good is the high-resolving display, but a focus assist option is nevertheless missed when setting the focus manually. | The possibility to record professional formats as Quicktime or MP4 files on cheap SDHC cards is a great feature.The accessories and configuration is ample for this price.The low sharpness and gaudy colour are no big minus, but the bad low-light capabilities and small wide angle with distortions are a serious drawback. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX550V | JVC GY-HM100 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | digitalcontentproducer.com
|
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