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Model
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| Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| JVC 
|
| Name | HF M31 | GZ-HM550 |
| European name ? | Legria HF M31 | GZ-HM550 BEU |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF M31 | GZ-HM550 |
| lowest US price | 628 $ | 550 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | March 2010 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to JVC |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| 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
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 32 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Konica Minolta
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 15 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39,5 mm | 48 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4 inch | 1/2,33 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2990000 Pixel | 5650000 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 | 1/4000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| No
|
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| No
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| No
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out mini
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| No
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| No
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 320 g | 260 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 380 g | 300 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| JVC BN-VG114E
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | 1400 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 60 mm | 55 mm |
| Width | 68 mm | 62 mm |
| Depth | 123 mm | 110 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 3 |
| 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 | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 Pixel | 123000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| 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 ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| 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
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| |
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card
| built-in flash memory SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 9290000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 3520 x 2640 - Max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| Specials | | Bluetooth |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| 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 | Very good |
| Resolution ? | Good | Excellent |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| 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 | 357 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| - Adjustable aperture and shutter -Very good sharpness -Very good low light behavior
|
| Cons | - No Zebra
| - manual controls are a bit slow - sparse wide angle - display not sharp enough - "loud colors"
|
| 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. | Such a remarkable sharpness, good low light and manual options cannot be found elsewhere in this price range.However, the complicated operation of the camera with its deep submenus ruins the potential fun of manual control.Also, one should be aware of the creative limits set by the minimum focal length of about 48 mm (kb).Setting the focus maually is difficult due to the small and not very sharp display.Clearly, this camera is interesting mainly for "automatic" film makers, who do not need much manual control or wide angle, but are searching for great sharpness and a good low-light performance without having to spend much. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HM550 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | | Review: JVC GZ-HM550
|
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