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models compared on this page: Sony HDR-XR550V and Canon HV20

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Model

Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
Picture ?
Manufacturer Sony Information on Sony

Canon Informationen zu Canon

Name HDR-XR550VHV20
European name ?HDR-XR550VEHV20
US name ?HDR-XR550VHV20
lowest US price 960 $ 
On the market since March 2010 April 2007
Manufacturers URL link to Sonylink to Canon
Test preview

[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
slashCAM rating ?Good
Good
test picture 1200 Lux
Test image 12 lux auto-mode
Video

[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
Video formats ? AVCHD
SD MPEG2
 MiniDV
HDV
Recording Medium Built-in hard disk
SDHC card
Memory Stick PRO Duo
MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
video resolutions EU ?AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576
HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25p
video resolutions US ?AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p
Max Bitrate ?24 Mbit/s25 Mbit/s
Compression format ? MPEG2
MPEG4
DV
MPEG2
on-board memory ?240 GB 
Optics
Optics Manufacturer ?Sony
 Canon
Optical Zoom ?10 x10 x
Wide Angle 16:9 ?29,8 mm43,6 mm
Filter diameter ?37 mm43 mm
Image Stabilization ?optically and electronically
optical
ND Filter ?No
Yes
Exchangable optics ?No
No
Image Sensor
Number of sensors ?11
Size of image sensor ?1/2,9 inch1/2,7 inch
image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?4150000 Pixel 2070000 Pixel
Image Sensor Type ? CMOS
CMOS
Controls
White Balance ?auto
manual
presets
auto
manual
presets
Focus ?auto
manual
auto
manual
Minimum shutter time ?1/10.0001/2.000
Maximum shutter time ?1/61/2
Apperture control ?auto
manual
auto
manual
AE-Shift
Infrared recording ? No
Expanded Focus ? Yes
Peaking ? Yes
Signal Processing
Zebra ?No
 Off
70%
100%
Histogram ?No
No
adjustable sharpness ? Yes
Adjustable color ? Yes
Cinegamma ? Yes
Black Strech ?No
No
Knee ?No
No
Colorbars ?No
No
Misc.
Shot Transition ?No
No
Custom Presets ? No
Set Time Code ?No
No
Configuration

Connections
[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite		 Out
In
Out
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video		About Special Equipment
No
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal		 Out
Out
HDMI ? Out
Out
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394		- In
Out
USB ?USB 2.0
USB 2.0
Microphone / Audio input ?Mini-jack
Mini-jack
Headphones ?3.5 mm mini-jack
Mini-jack
Lanc ?No
No
Time-code interface ?No
No
Genlock ?No
No
Accessory shoe ? AI
Intelligent
HD-SDI ?No
No
Misc.
Weight (without battery) 510 g 
Weight (with battery) 590 g535 g
Battery type Sony NP-FV50
Canon BP-2L13
Battery capacity   
Charger ?internal
internal
Remote control Yes
Yes
Size
Height 70 mm80 mm
Width 74 mm88 mm
Depth 143 mm138 mm
Relative Size ?79
Viewfinder
Viewfinder available ?Yes
Yes
Color Viewfinder ?Color
Color
Viewfinder format ?16:916:9
Viewfinder pixels ?201600 Pixel 123000 Pixel
Display
Display available ?Yes
Yes
Color display ?Color
Color
Display size 3,5 Inch2,7 Inch
Display format ?16:916:9
Display pixels ?921000 Pixel 210000 Pixel
Touch Screen ?Yes
No
External controls
Manual Zoom ?Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned
Rocker
Manual Focus ?Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
Manual Aperture ?Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
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
No
Audio

[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
Audio Formats ?AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
Microphone ?Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
Audio Control ?auto
auto
manual
Audio levels ? No
Still

[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
Recording Medium ?Memory Stick Duo
hard drive
SDHC card
MiniSD
Medium included ?No
No
Effective pixels ? 2760000 Pixel
Resolutions ?4000 x 3000 - Max
1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
2048 x 1536
Standard ?JPEG Exif 2.2
JPEG Exif 2.2
Flash ?Yes
Yes
Misc.

[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
Specials GPS with geo-tagging functionality 
Product Shots

[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
View 1
View 2
Test results

Test pictures
[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
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 goodSatisfactory
Resolution ?Very goodVery good
Color performance ?GoodVery good
subj.Picture impression ?Very goodVery good
Optical Zoom ?SufficientSufficient
Wide Angle ? Excellent Poor
Configuration / image ?SatisfactorySatisfactory
Configuration / sound ?PoorSatisfactory
Handling ?GoodSufficient
Portability ?Very goodVery good
Photo function ?SatisfactorySatisfactory
Optics ?GoodGood
Dynamics ?GoodGood
Conclusion slashCAM
slashCAM rating ?Good
Good
Total score ?
(maximal 570)		390340
Pros + multi functional ring
+ focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well
+ good lowlight sensibility
+ wide angle
+ Display with high resoultion
+ Excellent resolution in brightness and color
+ Compact
+ Very good price / performance ratio
Cons - image characteristics cannot be modified
- no focus or exposure assist
- small wide angle
- slight problems with reds
- over-simplified operation
Conclusion 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.Thanks to the excellent resolution of its CMOS the Canon HV20 makes almost full use of the HDV-system in brightness as well as color.Noticeable is the high resolution in diagonals.With enough light the HV20 makes a very clean picture, only in low light there is visible image noise.The optics has very little distorsion, but offers only a small wide angle.
More information

Reviews and Forums
[ top ]Sony HDR-XR550VCanon HV20
slashCAM Review
HV20 Review
external reviews/tests  www.videomaker.com
www.camcorderinfo.com
Forum posts HDR-XR550VE and saving on external media
SonyHDR-XR550VE or Panasonic HDC-HS700?
SonyHDR-XR550VE or at Panasonic HDC-HS700
Pana G2 + Canon HV20
Canon HV20 + 35mm adapter + wide angle converter useful?
Firewire under Windows7 and HV20 shows artifacts
A question of storage media - used or new HF10 Canon HV20
In Memoriam Canon HV20 - HDV long-lived
Focus ring for Canon hv20
Canon HV20 and Final Cut Pro Log and Capture problem
Wanted: Canon's successor to the Canon HV20 ...
Canon HV20 PAL + NTSC?
Sunshade for the Canon HV20 with wide-angle attachment
Getting Started with the GT35PRO 35mm s.der Canon HV20
HF100 or HV20 + Questions
Test - Sin City Effect with a Canon HV20


Please consider that these data have been entered into this database by human beings.Also, the technical information provided by the manufacturers are at times contradictory, incomplete and sometimes even incorrect.Although we take great care checking all information, we can not gurantee for its correctness.Should you find this data to have some omission or error, please let us know! Mail:



update am 11.Februar 2012 - 12:40
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