| |
Model
|
| Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Canon
|
| Name | HF20 | HF S20 |
| European name ? | Legria HF20 | Legria HF S20 |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF20 | VIXIA HF S20 |
| lowest US price | 699 $ | 848 $ |
| On the market since | April 2009 | April 2010 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Canon |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
|
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card
| SDHC card
built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| 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
| optically and electronically
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| 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
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
presets
|
| Focus ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/2.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | No
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| 70%
100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video | No
| No
|
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| also AV-output
|
| Lanc ? | No
| Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| Advanced Mini
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 340 g | 470 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 400 g | 520 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-809
| Canon BP-807
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | 890 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 62 mm | 75 mm |
| Width | 70 mm | 74 mm |
| Depth | 124 mm | 140 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 7 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder format ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 3,5 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 Pixel | 922000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| 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
| 1 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder
Screen
| Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| Recording Medium ? | SDHC card
| built-in flash memory
SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 3264 x 2448
3264 x 2456 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| Specials | | 2 SDHC slots |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| 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 | Good |
| Resolution ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
| Good
|
Total score ?
(maximal 570) | 367 | 348 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| + Many manual controls
|
| Cons | - fiddly operation
- No Zebra
- Manual focus very poor
| - 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 sharpness is only slightly below what is possible in this price range and the options for manual control are also quite ok.The touchscreen is a real improvement, so the problems with focus setting we used to citizise are gone.Since Sony offers more manual in this price range than they did before and both Sony and Panasonic have more wide angle, the HF S models of 2010 appear a little overpriced. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF20 | Canon HF S20 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests |  www.camcorderinfo.com
| |
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