/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Canon

Name

HDR-SR11

HV40

European name ?

HDR-SR11E

Legria HV40

US name ?

HDR-SR11

VIXIA HV40

lowest US price

585 $

On the market since

March 2008

April 2009

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

MiniDV
HDV

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
Memory Stick PRO Duo

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
MPEG2 720 x756/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

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
MPEG2 720 x 480/60i

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 ?

16 Mbit/s

25 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG2
MPEG4

DV
MPEG2

on-board memory ?

60 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Carl Zeiss

Canon

Optical Zoom ?

12 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

40 mm

43,6 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/3,1 inch

1/2,7 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

3810000 Pixel

2070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/800

1/2.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Yes

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

70%
100%

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Adjustable color ?

Cinegamma ?

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

Out

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Mini-jack
Cinch

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

560 g

535 g

Weight (with battery)

Battery type

Sony NP-FH60

Canon BP-2L13

Battery capacity

1000 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

76 mm

82 mm

Width

83 mm

88 mm

Depth

138 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

123200 Pixel

123000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,2 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

921600 Pixel

211000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Wheel
Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

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 ?

Mini-jack external
5.1 Internal

Audio Control ?

auto

manual

Audio levels ?

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo

MiniSD

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

5080000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

3680 x 2760

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
2048 x 1536

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

Which Tripod for HDR-SR11E?

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

Resolution ?

Good

Color performance ?

Very good

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Good

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Good

Portability ?

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

366

Pros

+ focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well
+ focus ring replacement is OK
+ Good image in terms of sharpness and color
+ Very sharp display

Cons

- no manual shutter control
- the owner is put under tutelage

Conclusion

In terms of picture quality the gap between the best Canon-cams in this class ist almost leveled, and the handling offers many unique features (camera control ring, focus and exposure via touchscreen, high-resolution LCD), which can´t be found elsewhere (yet).If Sony would provide meaningful numerical exposure parameters and allow the user to manually set the shutter, this camera would really rock

More information

Reviews and Forums

slashCAM Review

external reviews/tests

Forum posts

FlipHack with the SonyHDR-SR11E ... what?

Sell SONY HDR-SR11 to the start price of 1 ¬

Update of SonyHDR-SR11E to SonyHDR-XR500VE ... what do you think?

Lanc Adapter for SonyHDR-SR11E wanted!

Sonyhdr sr11 and Final Cut

SONY SR11/12 (; good price / store)

SONY HDR-SR11 or Canon HF-100 or wait

SonyHDR-SR11E as a webcam? Is this possible?

HDR SR11 with S-Video can not whip off!

>> Buy me a few days SonyHDR-SR11E .... and ask for Pro

Microphone for Sony HDR-SR11E sought <<--- purchase advice please!

How do I get light and microphone s.die SonyHDR-SR11E

Canon VIXIA HV40 with live stream over Firewire / 1394?

Without Cam I feel "naked"! ... Reservecam as HV40 vs SD707?

Canon HV40 drive problem