| |
Model
|
| Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Canon 
|
| Name | HF M31 | HF S200 |
| European name ? | Legria HF M31 | Legria HF S200 |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF M31 | VIXIA HF S200 |
| lowest US price | 628 $ | 800 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | April 2010 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Canon |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card built-in flash memory
| SDHC card built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| 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 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| 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 ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 32 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Canon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 15 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39,5 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 ? | 1/4 inch | 1/2,6 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2990000 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 ? | 1/2.000 | 1/2.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | No
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| 70% 100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| also AV-output
|
| Lanc ? | No
| Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| Advanced Mini
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 320 g | 470 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 380 g | 520 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| Canon BP-807
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | 890 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 60 mm | 75 mm |
| Width | 68 mm | 74 mm |
| Depth | 123 mm | 140 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 7 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder format ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 3,5 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 Pixel | 922000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| 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 ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card
| SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 3264 x 2448 3264 x 2456 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| Specials | | 2 SDHC slots |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| 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 ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Resolution ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 369 | 348 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| + Many manual controls
|
| Cons | - No Zebra
| - small wide angle
|
| Conclusion | A big drawback from the previous series has been fixed: setting the focus works much better thanks to the touch screen.But overall the operation is still somewhat fiddly at certain points.The large display of the upcoming HF S series will thus come in handy. On the minus side we have the low light capabilities, the missing zebra mode and the small wide angle.A plus is the lowered price, as well as the cinegamma/25p-mode and the fact, that the camera, given enough light, produces very consistent images in the auto mode. | 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 ] | Canon HF M31 | Canon HF S200 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | | Canon s100 or s200 HF?
|
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