/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Canon

JVC

Name

XH A1

GY-HM150

European name ?

XH A1

GY-HM150

US name ?

XH A1

GY-HM150

lowest US price

2799 $

(2700) $

On the market since

November 2006

October 2011

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
HDV

MiniDV
HDV
XDCAM EX

Recording Medium

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

SD Card
SDHC card
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

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p

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

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
MiniDV 720 x 576/60i
XDCAM EX x1080/24p 1920, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i
XDCAM EX 1280 x 720/24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p

Max Bitrate ?

25 Mbit/s

35 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
MPEG2

MPEG2

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Canon

Fujinon

Optical Zoom ?

20 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

32,5 mm

39 mm

Filter diameter ?

72 mm

46 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/3 inch

1/4 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

1560000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/16.000

1/10.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

1/3.125

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70-100%

50-105%

Histogram ?

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

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

In
Out

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

XLR
Mini-jack

XLR

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

2100 g

Weight (with battery)

2200 g

1400 g

Battery type

Canon BP-950G

JVC BN-VF823

Battery capacity

5200 mAh

2190 mAh

Charger ?

external

internal
external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

163 mm

179 mm

Width

189 mm

138 mm

Depth

350 mm

366 mm

Relative Size ?

107

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

B/W and color

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

269000 Pixel

260000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

B/W and color

Color

Display size

2,8 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

207000 Pixel

230000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Manual Focus ?

Ring

bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Ring

Wheel
button

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exp Lock ?

Yes

Gain ?

Yes

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Yes

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1

2 channel PCM

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
external XLR

Stereo internal
external XLR

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen
display

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card

SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

1560000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480

1920 x 1080 - max

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Misc.

Specials

Records both HDV and XDCamEX in a Quicktime container on SDHC card.When recording in SD DV-AVI files are written in AVI containers.

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

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

Sufficient

Resolution ?

Very good

Color performance ?

Very good

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Very good

Handling ?

Very good

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Good

Photo function ?

Sufficient

Poor

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Very good

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

433

352

Pros

+ Excellent resolution in brightness and color
+ Exceptionally well equipped

+ professional handling
+ cheap workflow by using XDCAM EX on SDCH cards
+ flexible assignable

Cons

- Occasional image errors due to the lens

- wide angle with slight distortions
- poor low-light
- display and viewfinder have a very low resolution

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.

In addition to the professional focus and features of the camera the XDCAM EX format persuades.The trade-off consists of the no longer up-to-date low-light capabilities, the narrow wide angle and the lens distortion.Also the image stabilizer, as well as the display and viewfinder seem a little out-dated..On the plus side of course you have to add the XLR jacks and the ND filter.In the price range of the estimated 2700 Euro though, these are no unique features, unless one does needs XDCAM EX recording or is looking for CCD sensors.

More information

Reviews and Forums

slashCAM Review

external reviews/tests

www.dv.com

www.camcorderinfo.com

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