| |
Model
|
| Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Samsung 
| Canon
|
| Name | HMX-H204 | HV30 |
| European name ? | HMX-H204 | HV30 |
| US name ? | HMX-H204 | VIXIA HV30 |
| lowest US price | 387 $ | |
| On the market since | May 2010 | April 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Samsung | link to Canon |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
|
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| Video formats ? | MPEG4/AVC
| MiniDV
HDV
|
| Recording Medium | SD Card
SDHC card
built-in flash memory
| MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVC 1920 x 1080i50
AVC 1920 x 1080p25
MP4 720 x 576 50i
AVC 1280 720p25/p50
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25p
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVC 1920 x 1080 60i
MP4 720 x 480 60i
AVC 1280 720p30/p60
| 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 ? | k. a. Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| DV
MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | 16 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Tailor Kreunznach
| Canon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 20 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 37,4 mm | 43,6 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 34 mm | 43 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| Yes
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4 inch | 1/2,7 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2200000 Pixel | 2070000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto
manual
presets
| auto
presets
|
| Focus ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/10.000 | 1/2.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/50 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto
manual
| auto
manual
AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| |
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| |
| Peaking ? | No
| |
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| |
| Histogram ? | No
| |
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| |
| Adjustable color ? | No
| |
| Cinegamma ? | No
| |
| Black Strech ? | No
| |
| Knee ? | No
| |
| Colorbars ? | No
| |
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| |
| Custom Presets ? | No
| |
| Set Time Code ? | No
| |
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| |
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video | 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 ? | No
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | No
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | No
| |
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 271 g | 535 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 300 g | |
| Battery type | Samsung IA-BP210E
| Canon BP-2L13
|
| Battery capacity | | |
| Charger ? | external
| |
| Remote control | No
| |
| Size |
| Height | 58 mm | 82 mm |
| Width | 59 mm | 88 mm |
| Depth | 112 mm | 138 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 3 | 9 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | - | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | 123000 Pixel |
| 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 ? | 230000 Pixel | 211000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| |
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| |
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| |
| Focus switcher ? | No
| |
| ND Filter ? | No
| |
| Exp Lock ? | No
| |
| Gain ? | No
| |
| White balance ? | No
| |
| Push AF ? | No
| |
| Audio Levels ? | No
| |
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons | No
| |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| Audio Formats ? | AAC Stereo
| MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
| |
| Audio Control ? | auto
| manual
|
| Audio levels ? | No
| |
Still
|
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| Recording Medium ? | SD Card
built-in flash memory
SDHC card
| MiniSD
|
| Medium included ? | No
| |
| Effective pixels ? | 4700000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 3264 x 2448
2880 x 1620 - Max
| 1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
2048 x 1536 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| |
| Flash ? | No
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| Specials | + Time lapse recording
| |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| 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 ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Very good |
| Color performance ? | Good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
| Good
|
Total score ?
(maximal 570) | 345 | 340 |
| Pros | + Sharpness and lowlight behavior
+ Some good manual control
+ Touch Focus
| + excellent resolution in brightness and color
|
| Cons | - Automatics never completely switched off
- aberrations due to the lens
- No support for AVCHD
- audio levels too high and not adjustable
| - small wide angle
- dull audio section
|
| Conclusion | Sharpness as well as low light capabilities of the Samsung HMX-H204 are quite satisfactory considering its price, and also the available manual options are good for this product segment.The lens errors (blurring and chromatic aberrations) are mainly visible in synthetic test images, but can also be seen in more common motifs.Furthermore the high microphone levels do not provide a clean sound. | Thanks to the excellent resolution of its CMOS the Canon HV30 makes almost full use of the HDV-system in brightness as well as colorNoticeable is the high resolution in diagonals.In lowlight situations the performance is only average.The lens shows little abberations, but offers only a small wide angle. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Samsung HMX-H204 | Canon HV30 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | |  www.camcorderinfo.com
|
| Forum posts | Re: Test: Samsung HMX-H204
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