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Model
|
| Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HF M41 | HDR-CX505V |
| European name ? | Legria HF M41 | HDR-CX505VE |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF M41 | HDR-CX500V |
| lowest US price | (799) $ | 951 $ |
| On the market since | March 2011 | August 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card built-in flash memory SDXC card
| Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Sony
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 43,6 mm | 42,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 43 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/2,9 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2000000 Pixel | 4150000 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 | 1/1000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/6 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| No
|
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| No
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| No
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| About Special Equipment
|
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
| No
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 360 g | 370 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 400 g | 450 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| Sony NP-FH60
|
| Battery capacity | 850 mAh | 1000 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 74 mm | 62 mm |
| Width | 71 mm | 65 mm |
| Depth | 137 mm | 125 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 5 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| - |
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 260000 Pixel | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,0 Inch | 3,0 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 230000 Pixel | 230000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| No
|
| 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
| No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| 5.1 Internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card SDXC card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 6631000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 | 3640 x 2160 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | | Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| Specials | Cinema-style filterStory CreatorTouch Decoration | -50 upscaling in playback mode - image stabilizator corrects hand rotations - GPS receiver built in
|
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| 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 | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Sufficient | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 362 | 328 |
| Pros | + Manual control over image characteristics + Good low-light characteristics
| + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + six freely configuarable display buttons
|
| Cons | - No Zebra - (Too) little external controls
| - no microphone and headphone jacks + mediocre display resolution - upgradeable only with expensive and proprietary MemorySticks
|
| Conclusion | In terms of sharpness, the new camcorders are finally on par again with the generation preceeding its predecessors.The good low light performance and the - for many users - sufficient manual features certainly make the RF M-series interesting for price-sensitive buyers.However, has to live with the small wide-angle, a low-resolution display, missing features such as zebra or histogram as well as the automatics. | for now, the low-light image quality rules superior in the sub 1000 Euro camcorder class.The great dynamic range when using the factory settings as well as its abandonment of moving part makes this cam interesting for independent filmmakers.On the other hand there are some features missing, there is no histogram, no zebra, no exposure time control, no sharpness helper and no image adjustment. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-CX505V |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | New Canon (Vixia HF as G10 / M41 RF) compared to Panasonic HDC-750 SDT
Test: Canon HF M41 - Interestingly harbinger
| import of AVCHD (; m2ts) of sony CX505VE in Final Cut Express 4 is not funzt
SonyHDR-CX505VE or Panasonic HDC-SD707
Hardcase for SonyHDR-CX505VE
Test: SonyHDR-CX505VE and HDR-CX520VE
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