Logo Logo

/// HD Camcorder Comparison



multiple selection by CTRL + left mouse button
lowest US price max
Manufacturer
On the market since
Video formats ?
Recording Medium ?
more filters
sorted by
models per page
Best values highlighted
view only tested models
diese Seite auf deutsch
 Jump to: Model | Test preview | Video | Configuration | Audio | Still | Misc. | Product Shots | Test results | More information |
2 models found [ Permalink for this page ]   

models compared on this page: Sony PMW-F3 and Canon XH A1

display: 3 models per page sorted by score Best values highlighted
Model

Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
Picture ?
Manufacturer Sony Information on Sony

Canon Informationen zu Canon

Name PMW-F3XH A1
European name ?PMW-F3KXH A1
US name ?PMW-F3KXH A1
lowest US price (24633) $2799 $
On the market since July 2011 November 2006
Manufacturers URL  link to Canon
Test preview

[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
slashCAM rating ?Very good
Very good
test picture 1200 Lux
Test image 12 lux auto-mode
Video

[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
Video formats ?XDCAM EX
 MiniDV
HDV
Recording Medium SDHC card
MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
video resolutions EU ?XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p
HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25F
video resolutions US ?XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p
MiniDV 720 x 480/30p
Max Bitrate ?35 Mbit/s25 Mbit/s
Compression format ? MPEG2
DV
MPEG2
on-board memory ?  
Optics
Optics Manufacturer ?no
 Canon
Optical Zoom ? 20 x
Wide Angle 16:9 ? 32,5 mm
Filter diameter ?PL-mount
mm		72 mm
Image Stabilization ? optical
ND Filter ?22
Exchangable optics ?Yes
No
Image Sensor
Number of sensors ?13
Size of image sensor ?1/Super35 mm equivalent
inch		1/3 inch
image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?2000000 Pixel 1560000 Pixel
Image Sensor Type ? CMOS
CCD
Controls
White Balance ?auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
auto
manual
presets
Focus ?manual
auto
manual
Minimum shutter time ?1/2.0001/16.000
Maximum shutter time ?1/321/3
Apperture control ?auto
manual
AE-Shift
auto
manual
Infrared recording ? No
Expanded Focus ?Yes
Yes
Peaking ?Yes
Yes
Signal Processing
Zebra ?70-100% Off
70-100%
Histogram ? No
adjustable sharpness ? Yes
Adjustable color ? Yes
Cinegamma ? Yes
Black Strech ? Yes
Knee ? Yes
Colorbars ? Yes
Misc.
Shot Transition ? Yes
Custom Presets ? Yes
Set Time Code ? Yes
Configuration

Connections
[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite		 Out
In
Out
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video		  
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal		  Out
HDMI ? Out
No
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394		 Out
In
Out
USB ?USB 2.0
No
Microphone / Audio input ?  XLR
Mini-jack
Headphones ?Mini-jack
Mini-jack
Lanc ? Yes
Time-code interface ? In
Out
No
Genlock ? In
No
Accessory shoe ?  Standard
HD-SDI ? Out
No
Misc.
Weight (without battery)  2100 g
Weight (with battery) 2400 g2200 g
Battery type  Canon BP-950G
Battery capacity  5200 mAh
Charger ? external
Remote control  Yes
Size
Height  163 mm
Width  189 mm
Depth  350 mm
Relative Size ?0107
Viewfinder
Viewfinder available ?Yes
Yes
Color Viewfinder ?Color
B/W and color
Viewfinder format ? 16:9
Viewfinder pixels ? 269000 Pixel
Display
Display available ?Yes
Yes
Color display ?Color
B/W and color
Display size 3,5 Inch2,8 Inch
Display format ?16:916:9
Display pixels ?921600 Pixel 207000 Pixel
Touch Screen ?No
No
External controls
Manual Zoom ?Rocker
Ring
Rocker
Ring
Manual Focus ? Ring
Ring
Manual Aperture ? Ring
Ring
Focus switcher ? Yes
ND Filter ?Yes
Yes
Exp Lock ? Yes
Gain ?Yes
Yes
White balance ?Yes
Yes
Push AF ? Yes
Audio Levels ?Yes
Yes
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons		 2
Audio

[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
Audio Formats ? MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
Microphone ? Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
external XLR
Audio Control ? auto
manual
Audio levels ? Viewfinder
Screen
display
Still

[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
Recording Medium ? SD Card
Medium included ? No
Effective pixels ? 1560000 Pixel
Resolutions ? 1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
Standard ? JPEG Exif 2.2
Flash ? No
Misc.

[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
Specials   
Product Shots

[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
View 1  
View 2  
Test results

Test pictures
[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
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 ? Excellent Good
Resolution ? Excellent Very good
Color performance ?Very goodVery good
subj.Picture impression ?Very goodVery good
Optical Zoom ?PoorSatisfactory
Wide Angle ?GoodVery good
Configuration / image ? Excellent Very good
Configuration / sound ? Excellent Excellent
Handling ?Very goodVery good
Portability ?SufficientSatisfactory
Photo function ?PoorSufficient
Optics ?Very goodGood
Dynamics ?Very goodVery good
Conclusion slashCAM
slashCAM rating ?Very good
Very good
Total score ?
(maximal 570)		447433
Pros + excellent image quality
+ Large sensor
+ Manual settings
+ Excellent resolution in brightness and color
+ Exceptionally well equipped
Cons  - Occasional image errors due to the lens
Conclusion In spite of the CMOS chip the F3 is closer to the F35 than it seems at first glance: it supports dual link 4:4:4 RGB, S-Log, so with robust PL-recording and decent lenses the F3 might make a good B-camera at a cinema movie set.The 35 Mbs MPEG2 material on a SxS device functions in addition to the external recording capabilities almost as a kind of proxy.Sure, a higher quality internal recording would be nice, but as there are lots of inexpensive options for an external recording in these modular times it is not mandatory.The Sony PMW-F3 convinces with extremely good light sensitivity with very low noise even at higher gain levels.With an MSRP of around 24,000 Euro for the Sony PMW-F3K (approximately 16,000 Euro for the L-version without PL-lens kit), it is a very attractive entry in the S35 digital cinema class.The XHA1 Canon has CCDs with excellent resolution of both brightness as well as color.The dynamic behavior can be changed to outstanding values with knee, noise suppression and -3dB gain, which combined with the sober colors ensures a very clean image impression.Only the lens with its 20x zoom shows occasional distortion and chromatic aberrations.Partly due to much noise, the XH A1 is only "good" in low-light situations.
More information

Reviews and Forums
[ top ]Sony PMW-F3Canon XH A1
slashCAM Review
PMW-F3 Review
XH A1 Review
XH A1 Review
external reviews/tests timurcivan.blogspot.fr
www.xdcam-user.com
johnbrawley.wordpress.com
www.fxguide.com
www.dv.com
www.camcorderinfo.com
Forum posts Sonykontert with F3 update gegenCanonC300 introduction
Canon EOS-C300 and SonyPMW F3 in Comparison
Confusion about SonyPMW F3 assessment of Alan Roberts for the BBC
And a teaser: SonyPMW F3 or tease me to death
Canon XH A1
Audio channel raise (XH A1 + Zoom H4n)
XH A1 - Recording directly to hard drive
For XH A1 do shoulder camera
XH A1 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 - Sound recording problem
XLR cable for XH A1 and setting with Rode NTG-1
XH A1 capture tapes with XL H1?
Start with Canon XH A1s?
ABT A1 Aloha: You look at the video synonymous only to the woman?
XH A1 Anal / dv
XH A1 High Definition: Violent Noise despite presets
XH A1 Audio MONO MIC Jack?
Conclusion XH A1 vs VX2100E


Please consider that these data have been entered into this database by human beings.Also, the technical information provided by the manufacturers are at times contradictory, incomplete and sometimes even incorrect.Although we take great care checking all information, we can not gurantee for its correctness.Should you find this data to have some omission or error, please let us know! Mail:



update am 22.Mai 2012 - 08:40
slashCAM ist ein Projekt der channelunit GmbH
*Datenschutzhinweis*