| |
Model
|
| Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Panasonic
|
| Name | HF S21 | AG-HMC40 |
| European name ? | Legria HF S21 | AG-HMC41E |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF S21 | AG-HMC40 |
| lowest US price | 1189 $ | 1599 $ |
| On the market since | April 2010 | August 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Panasonic |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | not yet tested |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |  |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card
built-in flash memory
| SD Card
SDHC card
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/50p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/25p
|
| video resolutions US ? | 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
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1280 x 720/60p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/30p
AVCHD 1280 x 720/24p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Leica
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 43,6 mm | 41 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 58 mm | 43 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 ? | 1/2,6 inch | 1/4 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 6010000 Pixel | 2510000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto
manual
presets
| auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
|
| 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 ? | Yes
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70%
100% | 50-105% |
| Histogram ? | No
| waveform
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| Yes
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| Yes
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video | No
| 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
| Mini-jack
XLR optional
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | Yes
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| Standard
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 470 g | 980 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 520 g | 1200 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-807
| Panasonic VW-VBG260E
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 75 mm | 136 mm |
| Width | 74 mm | 135 mm |
| Depth | 140 mm | 304 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 55 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 123000 Pixel | 113000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 922000 Pixel | 230000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Ring
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Ring
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| Yes
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| Yes
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| Yes
|
| Push AF ? | No
| Yes
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons | 1 | 3 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| 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
| Viewfinder
Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory
SDHC card
| SD Card
SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 8020000 Pixel | 10600000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 3264 x 2448
3264 x 2456 max
| 4224 × 2376 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| No
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| Specials | 2 SDHC slots | optional available XLR adapter |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| 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 ? | Good | |
| Resolution ? | Satisfactory | |
| Color performance ? | Very good | |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | |
| Configuration / image ? | Good | |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | |
| Handling ? | Good | |
| Portability ? | Very good | |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | |
| Optics ? | Good | |
| Dynamics ? | Good | |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
| not yet tested |
Total score ?
(maximal 570) | 348 | |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| |
| Cons | - small wide angle
| |
| Conclusion | 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 HF S21 | Panasonic AG-HMC40 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | |  provideocoalition.com
digitalcontentproducer.com
|
| Forum posts | Canon HF S21 - Brave New World video?
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