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models compared on this page: Canon XH A1 and Sony NEX-VG20

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

Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
Picture ?
Manufacturer Canon Informationen zu Canon

Sony Information on Sony

Name XH A1NEX-VG20
European name ?XH A1NEX-VG20
US name ?XH A1NEX-VG20
lowest US price 2799 $ (2199) $
On the market since November 2006 November 2011
Manufacturers URL link to Canon 
Test preview

[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
slashCAM rating ?Very good
Good
test picture 1200 Lux
Test image 12 lux auto-mode
Video

[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
Video formats ? MiniDV
HDV
AVCHD
Recording Medium MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
SDHC card
Memory Stick PRO Duo
SDXC card
video resolutions EU ?HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25F
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
video resolutions US ?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
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60p
Max Bitrate ?25 Mbit/s28 Mbit/s
Compression format ? DV
MPEG2
MPEG4
on-board memory ?  
Optics
Optics Manufacturer ? Canon
Sony
Optical Zoom ?20 x11 x
Wide Angle 16:9 ?32,5 mm32,5 mm
Filter diameter ?72 mm67 (kit lens)
mm
Image Stabilization ?optical
optically and electronically
ND Filter ?2No
Exchangable optics ?No
Yes
Image Sensor
Number of sensors ?31
Size of image sensor ?1/3 inch1/APS-C (23.4 × 15.6mm)
inch
image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?1560000 Pixel 16700000 Pixel
Image Sensor Type ? CCD
CMOS
Controls
White Balance ?auto
manual
presets
auto
manual
presets
Focus ?auto
manual
auto
manual
Minimum shutter time ?1/16.0001/8.000
Maximum shutter time ?1/31/4
Apperture control ?auto
manual
auto
manual
Infrared recording ?No
No
Expanded Focus ?Yes
Yes
Peaking ?Yes
Yes
Signal Processing
Zebra ? Off
70-100%
70%
100%
Histogram ?No
Yes
adjustable sharpness ?Yes
No
Adjustable color ?Yes
No
Cinegamma ?Yes
Yes
Black Strech ?Yes
No
Knee ?Yes
No
Colorbars ?Yes
No
Misc.
Shot Transition ?Yes
No
Custom Presets ?Yes
No
Set Time Code ?Yes
No
Configuration

Connections
[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite		 In
Out
Out
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video		 No
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal		 Out
 
HDMI ?No
 Out
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394		 In
Out
-
USB ?No
USB 2.0
Microphone / Audio input ? XLR
Mini-jack
Mini-jack
Headphones ?Mini-jack
Mini-jack
Lanc ?Yes
No
Time-code interface ?No
No
Genlock ?No
No
Accessory shoe ? Standard
1 x 1 x Standard Hotshoe
HD-SDI ?No
No
Misc.
Weight (without battery) 2100 g1300 g
Weight (with battery) 2200 g 
Battery type Canon BP-950G
Sony NP-FV70
Battery capacity 5200 mAh 
Charger ?external
internal
Remote control Yes
No
Size
Height 163 mm91 mm
Width 189 mm130 mm
Depth 350 mm223 mm
Relative Size ?10726
Viewfinder
Viewfinder available ?Yes
Yes
Color Viewfinder ?B/W and color
Color
Viewfinder format ?16:916:9
Viewfinder pixels ?269000 Pixel 1152000 Pixel
Display
Display available ?Yes
Yes
Color display ?B/W and color
Color
Display size 2,8 Inch3,0 Inch
Display format ?16:916:9
Display pixels ?207000 Pixel 921600 Pixel
Touch Screen ?No
Yes
External controls
Manual Zoom ?Rocker
Ring
Ring
Manual Focus ? Ring
Ring
Manual Aperture ? Ring
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
Focus switcher ?Yes
Yes
ND Filter ?Yes
No
Exp Lock ?Yes
No
Gain ?Yes
No
White balance ?Yes
No
Push AF ?Yes
No
Audio Levels ?Yes
No
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons		21
Audio

[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
Audio Formats ?MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
Microphone ?Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
external XLR
Mini-jack external
5.1 Internal
Audio Control ?auto
manual
auto
manual
Audio levels ?Viewfinder
Screen
display
Viewfinder
Screen
Still

[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
Recording Medium ?SD Card
Memory Stick Duo
SDHC card
Medium included ?No
No
Effective pixels ?1560000 Pixel  
Resolutions ?1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480		4912 x 3264
Standard ?JPEG Exif 2.2
JPEG Exif 2.2
Flash ?No
No
Misc.

[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
Specials   
Product Shots

[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
View 1
 
View 2
 
Test results

Test pictures
[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
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 ?GoodVery good
Resolution ?Very goodSatisfactory
Color performance ?Very goodGood
subj.Picture impression ?Very goodVery good
Optical Zoom ?SatisfactorySufficient
Wide Angle ?Very goodVery good
Configuration / image ?Very goodVery good
Configuration / sound ? Excellent Satisfactory
Handling ?Very goodGood
Portability ?SatisfactoryGood
Photo function ?SufficientVery good
Optics ?GoodGood
Dynamics ?Very goodGood
Conclusion slashCAM
slashCAM rating ?Very good
Good
Total score ?
(maximal 570)		433396
Pros + Excellent resolution in brightness and color
+ Exceptionally well equipped
+ APS-C chip with interchangeable lens
+ complete manual control over iris, shutter, gain, white balance
Cons - Occasional image errors due to the lens
- Image characteristics can not be changed
- no motorized zoom
- Scaling artifacts
Conclusion 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.A large imaging sensor and manual control when filming, coupled with the handling of a classic camcorder.This combination is offered by no other manufacturer in this price range.But due to the fixed image characteristics a flat film look can not be achieved.Since the image quality is comparable only to medium-level HDSLR, the device offers few advantages over the DSLR-competitors besides the familiar form factor.A zoom rocker or an ND filter would be a nice addition.Furthermore Sony needs to realise that to a large extent it is the manual control settings that make companies like Red, Canon or Panasonic successful in the large-format sensor world.
More information

Reviews and Forums
[ top ]Canon XH A1Sony NEX-VG20
slashCAM Review
XH A1 Review
XH A1 Review
NEX-VG20 Review
external reviews/tests www.dv.com
www.camcorderinfo.com
 
Forum posts 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
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