/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Canon

Name

HDR-XR550V

HF21

European name ?

HDR-XR550VE

Legria HF21

US name ?

HDR-XR550V

VIXIA HF21

lowest US price

960 $

1099 $

On the market since

March 2010

September 2009

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD
SD MPEG2

AVCHD

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
SDHC card
Memory Stick PRO Duo

SDHC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG2
MPEG4

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

240 GB

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Sony

Canon

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

15 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

29,8 mm

39,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2,9 inch

1/4 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

4150000 Pixel

2990000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/10.000

1/2.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/6

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

About Special Equipment

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

Out mini

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

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

3.5 mm mini-jack

also AV-output

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Advanced Mini

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

510 g

340 g

Weight (with battery)

590 g

400 g

Battery type

Sony NP-FV50

Canon BP-809

Battery capacity

890 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

70 mm

62 mm

Width

74 mm

70 mm

Depth

143 mm

124 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

201600 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

921000 Pixel

211000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo
hard drive
SDHC card

SDHC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

4000 x 3000 - Max

2304 x 1296 - Max

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

GPS with geo-tagging functionality

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 ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Resolution ?

Very good

Good

Color performance ?

Good

Very good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Wide Angle ?

Excellent

Satisfactory

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Poor

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Very good

Excellent

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

390

367

Pros

+ multi functional ring
+ focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well
+ good lowlight sensibility
+ wide angle
+ Display with high resoultion

+ Many manual controls

Cons

- image characteristics cannot be modified
- no focus or exposure assist

- fiddly operation
- No Zebra
- Manual focus very poor

Conclusion

The wide angle (which shrinks a little with active image stabilization) as well as the low light performance is better than on all competing modells.But in terms of sharpness, manual control options and color reproduction the Sony is not quite on par with the class winners.The automatics work solidly in a Sony-typical way.Remarkably good is the high-resolving display, but a focus assist option is nevertheless missed when setting the focus manually.

Compared with the older models of the same series the smaller sensor, the picture problems and the exaggerated sharpness offer no real advancementsAdd to that the bad low-light sensitivity with some bright pixel noise, the missing histogram and zebra-displays and the manual focus problems.On the positive side: the low price and the fact that the pictures in the automatic mode (assumed there is enough light) are sharp and generally good.

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