/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Canon

Panasonic

Name

HF21

HDC-DX1

European name ?

Legria HF21

HDC-DX1EG

US name ?

VIXIA HF21

HDC-DX1

lowest US price

1099 $

949 $

On the market since

September 2009

March 2007

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

Recording Medium

SDHC card

MiniDVD 8cm
MiniDVD-DL 8cm
MiniDVD RAM 8cm

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

13 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

64 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Canon

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

15 x

12 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

39,5 mm

38,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2990000 Pixel

520000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/6

1/50

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out mini

Out

DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

also AV-output

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Advanced Mini

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

340 g

680 g

Weight (with battery)

400 g

800 g

Battery type

Canon BP-809

Battery capacity

890 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

62 mm

92 mm

Width

70 mm

91 mm

Depth

124 mm

163 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

Viewfinder pixels ?

183000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

2,7 Inch

3,0 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

211000 Pixel

251000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Manual Aperture ?

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SDHC card

SD Card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

2304 x 1296 - Max

1920x1080

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

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

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Handling ?

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Excellent

Good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

367

320

Pros

+ Many manual controls

+ Acceptable wide-angle
+ Good lowlight characteristics

Cons

- fiddly operation
- No Zebra
- Manual focus very poor

- No FullHD
-3CCDs with pixelshif do not result in full sharpness
- MiniDVD

Conclusion

Compared with the older models of the same series the smaller sensor, the picture problems and the exaggerated sharpness offer no real advancementsAdd to that the bad low-light sensitivity with some bright pixel noise, the missing histogram and zebra-displays and the manual focus problems.On the positive side: the low price and the fact that the pictures in the automatic mode (assumed there is enough light) are sharp and generally good.

The MiniDVD as a recording medium does not strike us as particularly useful for HD , so the similar model SD1 is much more interesting.

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