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Model
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| Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Samsung 
|
| Name | HF M306 | SC-HMX-20 |
| European name ? | Legria HF M306 | SC-HMX20C |
| US name ? | HF M306 | SC-HMX-20 |
| lowest US price | 400 $ | |
| On the market since | March 2010 | May 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Samsung |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Sufficient
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| MPEG4/AVC
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card
| SD Card SDHC card built-in flash memory
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVC 1920 x 1080i50 AVC 1920 x 1080p25
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| AVC 1920 x 1080 60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | k. a. Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | | 8 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| |
| Optical Zoom ? | 15 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39,5 mm | 50 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 49 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| 2 |
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4 inch | 1/1,8 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2990000 Pixel | 4000000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/auto
|
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| No
|
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| No
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| No
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack No
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 320 g | |
| Weight (with battery) | 380 g | 492 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| |
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 60 mm | 66 mm |
| Width | 68 mm | 67 mm |
| Depth | 123 mm | 140 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 6 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder format ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| S/W |
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 Pixel | 230000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| Menu
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| No
|
| 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 ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| |
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| Recording Medium ? | SDHC card
| SD Card built-in flash memory
|
| Medium included ? | No
| 16 MB
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 3264 x 2448 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| Specials | | + slow motion recording
|
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| 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 | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Handling ? | Good | Good |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Sufficient
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 361 | 266 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| + good price
|
| Cons | - No Zebra
| - Little sharpness - No wide angle - lens distorted
|
| Conclusion | A big drawback from the previous series has been fixed: setting the focus works much better thanks to the touch screen.But overall the operation is still somewhat fiddly at certain points.The large display of the upcoming HF S series will thus come in handy. On the minus side we have the low light capabilities, the missing zebra mode and the small wide angle.A plus is the lowered price, as well as the cinegamma/25p-mode and the fact, that the camera, given enough light, produces very consistent images in the auto mode. | Low-light capabilities only average despite big sensor sizeImage sharpness, lens distortion and audio-features are almost all below averageAnd there seem to be no revolutionary concepts at work at the touchscreen-controlsThe fact that the Samsung camera mostly is priced a little below other models is no big comfort, since you also get notably more for the additional charge by the competion. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M306 | Samsung SC-HMX-20 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | Canon HF M306 vs Panasonic SD-707 = more worth the price?
[Purchase]: Canon HF 200 vs. M306 vs Canon HF. Panasonic SD66
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