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Model
|
| Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | XA10 | HDR-CX550V |
| European name ? | XA10 | HDR-CX550VE |
| US name ? | XA10 | HDR-CX550V |
| lowest US price | 1869 $ | 1899 $ |
| On the market since | April 2011 | March 2010 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD SD MPEG2
|
| Recording Medium | SD Card SDHC card built-in flash memory SDXC card
| SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG2 MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Sony
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 30,4 mm | 29,8 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 58 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| optically and electronically
|
| ND Filter ? | Digital (auto)
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/2,9 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2070000 Pixel | 4150000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/6 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual AE-Shift
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | Yes
| |
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| |
| Peaking ? | Yes
| |
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70% 100% | No
|
| Histogram ? | waveform
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| |
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| |
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| |
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| |
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| About Special Equipment
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0 OUT
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
| 3.5 mm mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | Yes
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | | 440 g |
| Weight (with battery) | | 490 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| Sony NP-FV50
|
| Battery capacity | 850 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 144 mm | 66 mm |
| Width | 77 mm | 74 mm |
| Depth | 161 mm | 143 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 17 | 6 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | S/W | Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 260000 Pixel | 201600 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 ? | 922000 Pixel | 921000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
|
| Manual Focus ? | Ring bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| No
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| No
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | Yes
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | 2 | No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal external XLR
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| |
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| Recording Medium ? | SD Card built-in flash memory SDHC card SDXC card
| Memory Stick Duo hard drive SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 | 4000 x 3000 - Max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | No
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| Specials | 2 memory card slots | GPS with geo-tagging functionality |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
| 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 | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Very good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Very good | Excellent |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Very good | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Sufficient | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Very good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 438 | 390 |
| Pros | + Manual control over image characteristics + Low-Light Properties + XLR + Manual buttons, wheel and lens ring + Touch focus in manual mode
| + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + wide angle + Display with high resoultion
|
| Cons | - ND-filter function toothless - 4:2:2 codec is not "activated"
| - image characteristics cannot be modified - no focus or exposure assist
|
| Conclusion | In terms of manual control Canon leaves comparable consumer camcorders behind: the three custom keys, the dial and the lens ring make for the best camera operation we have seen for a long time in the price range under 1500 Euro (March 2011).The possibility to use touch focus in the manual mode is also a great plus.Even the extra charge of 500 Euro for the XA10 seems fair, as the added value not only inludes XLR, but also an accessory shoe, improved ergonomics, and an infrared mode. | 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. |
More information
|
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| [ top ] | Canon XA10 | Sony HDR-CX550V |
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