| |
Model
|
| Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HDR-XR550V | HDR-HC1 |
| European name ? | HDR-XR550VE | HDR-HC1E |
| US name ? | HDR-XR550V | HDRHC1 |
| lowest US price | 960 $ | 911 $ |
| On the market since | March 2010 | August 2005 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |  |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | |  |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| 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
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
| HDV 1440 x 1080/60i MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2 MPEG4
| DV MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | 240 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Sony
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 29,8 mm | 41 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 ? | 1/2,9 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 4150000 Pixel | 1983000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/10.000 | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | | Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | | |
| Peaking ? | | |
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| 70% 100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | | Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | | Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | | No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| Yes
|
| Custom Presets ? | | No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| In
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | About Special Equipment
| In Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| No
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | In Out
|
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 1.1
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | 3.5 mm mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 510 g | 680 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 590 g | 780 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FV50
| Sony NP-FM50
|
| Battery capacity | | 1180 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 70 mm | 71 mm |
| Width | 74 mm | 94 mm |
| Depth | 143 mm | 188 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 12 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 201600 Pixel | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 921000 Pixel | 123200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| |
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Ring Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Wheel Menu
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| Yes
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | No
| |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
| MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | | Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo hard drive SDHC card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| 16 MB
|
| Effective pixels ? | | 2764800 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 4000 x 3000 - Max
| 1920x1080 1440x1080 640x480 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| Specials | GPS with geo-tagging functionality | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| 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 good | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Sufficient |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 390 | 308 |
| Pros | + multi functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + good lowlight sensibility + wide angle + Display with high resoultion
| + good picture impression + portable
|
| Cons | - image characteristics cannot be modified - no focus or exposure assist
| - color resolution only average - DV-quality only average
|
| 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. | The Sony HDR-HC1 shines with very good brightness resolution, but on fine details it occasionally tends to (colored) moirees.The color resolution is not on a HDV-level, though the CMOS sensor theoretically should have more reserves.The overall picture impression is good, partly due to the good dynamics behavior with little noise and few smear-effects.Color-wise the HC1 is fairly neutral, almost somewhat low-key.The wide angle is very limited for indoors, but on the other hand there are only few lens errors.In low light situations the HC1 loses color fast, in terms of configuration the touchscreen prevents a better rating. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR550V | Sony HDR-HC1 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | unterhaltung.thgweb.de
digitalproducer.com
www.camcorderinfo.com
|
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