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Model
|
| Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HF M306 | HDR-XR155 |
| European name ? | Legria HF M306 | HDR-XR155E |
| US name ? | HF M306 | HDR-XR155 |
| lowest US price | 400 $ | 424 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | March 2010 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
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| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD SD MPEG2
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card
| Built-in hard disk SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG2 MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | | 120 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 15 x | |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39,5 mm | 37,4 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 30 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 | 1/4 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2990000 Pixel | 1350000 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/auto
|
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/2 | auto
|
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| No
|
| 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 M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| About Special Equipment
|
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 OUT
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack No
| 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 | 300 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 380 g | 350 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| Sony NP-FV50
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| |
| Size |
| Height | 60 mm | 57 mm |
| Width | 68 mm | 67 mm |
| Depth | 123 mm | 106 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 4 |
| 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 | 230400 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| 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 M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
| Stereo internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| Recording Medium ? | SDHC card
| Memory Stick Duo hard drive SDHC card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 1570000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 2048 x 1536 max
|
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| No
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| Specials | | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| 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 | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Excellent |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 361 | 322 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| + good auto modes
|
| Cons | - No Zebra
| - our test model produced unsharp areas at the right image border - hardly any control
|
| 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 camera shows few dark sides but also no highlights for this price range.The wide angle as well as the sharpness and low light performance are ok for this price.If the unsharp area at the right image border is a problem only of our particular test model and not af the whole series, the camera can be recommended to those who do not value any manual control options. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Sony HDR-XR155 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | Canon HF M306 vs Panasonic SD-707 = more worth the price?
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