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Model
|
| Canon HF M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HF M36 | HDR-CX520V |
| European name ? | Legria HF M36 | HDR-CX520VE |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF M36 | HDR-CX520V |
| lowest US price | (749) $ | 951 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | August 2009 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card built-in flash memory
| Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 8 GB | 64 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Sony
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 15 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39,5 mm | 42,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 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 ? | 1/4 inch | 1/2,9 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2990000 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 ? | 1/2 | 1/25 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| 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 M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
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
| 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) | 320 g | 370 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 380 g | 450 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| Sony NP-FH60
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | 1000 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 60 mm | 62 mm |
| Width | 68 mm | 65 mm |
| Depth | 123 mm | 125 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 5 |
| 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 | 3,0 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 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 M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
| 5.1 Internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 6631000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 3640 x 2160 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| Specials | | -50 upscaling in playback mode - image stabilizator corrects hand rotations - GPS receiver built in
|
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| 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 | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Good | Good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Sufficient | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 361 | 328 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + six freely configuarable display buttons
|
| Cons | - No Zebra
| - no microphone and headphone jacks + mediocre display resolution - upgradeable only with expensive and proprietary MemorySticks
|
| Conclusion | A big drawback from the previous series has been fixed: setting the focus works much better thanks to the touch screen.But overall the operation is still somewhat fiddly at certain points.The large display of the upcoming HF S series will thus come in handy. On the minus side we have the low light capabilities, the missing zebra mode and the small wide angle.A plus is the lowered price, as well as the cinegamma/25p-mode and the fact, that the camera, given enough light, produces very consistent images in the auto mode. | 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 M36 | Sony HDR-CX520V |
| slashCAM Review | | |
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