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Model
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| Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Canon 
|
| Name | HDR-XR550V | HF S21 |
| European name ? | HDR-XR550VE | Legria HF S21 |
| US name ? | HDR-XR550V | VIXIA HF S21 |
| lowest US price | 960 $ | 1189 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | April 2010 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Canon |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD SD MPEG2
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo
| SDHC card built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p AVCHD 1440 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 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2 MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 240 GB | 64 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Sony
| Canon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 29,8 mm | 43,6 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 58 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| optically and electronically
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/2,9 inch | 1/2,6 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 4150000 Pixel | 6010000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/10.000 | 1/2.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/6 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | | No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | | Yes
|
| Peaking ? | | Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| 70% 100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | | Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | | Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | | Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | | Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | About Special Equipment
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| also AV-output
|
| Lanc ? | No
| Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
| Advanced Mini
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 510 g | 470 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 590 g | 520 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FV50
| Canon BP-807
|
| Battery capacity | | 890 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 70 mm | 75 mm |
| Width | 74 mm | 74 mm |
| Depth | 143 mm | 140 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 7 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 201600 Pixel | 123000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 3,5 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 921000 Pixel | 922000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| Yes
|
| 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
| 1 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| 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
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | | Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo hard drive SDHC card
| built-in flash memory SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 8020000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 4000 x 3000 - Max
| 3264 x 2448 3264 x 2456 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| Specials | GPS with geo-tagging functionality | 2 SDHC slots |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| 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 | Good |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 390 | 348 |
| 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
| - small wide angle
|
| 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. | The sharpness is only slightly below what is possible in this price range and the options for manual control are also quite ok.The touchscreen is a real improvement, so the problems with focus setting we used to citizise are gone.Since Sony offers more manual in this price range than they did before and both Sony and Panasonic have more wide angle, the HF S models of 2010 appear a little overpriced. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Canon HF S21 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | HDR-XR550VE and saving on external media
SonyHDR-XR550VE or Panasonic HDC-HS700?
SonyHDR-XR550VE or at Panasonic HDC-HS700
| Canon HF S21 - Brave New World video?
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