/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Sony

Samsung

Name

HDR-XR155

SC-HMX-20

European name ?

HDR-XR155E

SC-HMX20C

US name ?

HDR-XR155

SC-HMX-20

lowest US price

424 $

On the market since

March 2010

May 2008

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD
SD MPEG2

MPEG4/AVC

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
SDHC card
Memory Stick PRO Duo

SD Card
SDHC card
built-in flash memory

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576

AVC 1920 x 1080i50
AVC 1920 x 1080p25

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480

AVC 1920 x 1080 60i

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

k. a. Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG2
MPEG4

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

120 GB

8 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Carl Zeiss

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

37,4 mm

50 mm

Filter diameter ?

30 mm

49 mm

Image Stabilization ?

electronical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/4 inch

1/1,8 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

1350000 Pixel

4000000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/auto

Maximum shutter time ?

auto

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

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

About Special Equipment

Out

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out mini

Out

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

USB ?

USB 2.0 OUT

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

300 g

Weight (with battery)

350 g

492 g

Battery type

Sony NP-FV50

Battery capacity

Charger ?

internal

external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

57 mm

66 mm

Width

67 mm

Depth

106 mm

140 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Color Viewfinder ?

Viewfinder format ?

Viewfinder pixels ?

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

S/W

Display size

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

230400 Pixel

230000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Manual Aperture ?

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

Audio Control ?

auto

Audio levels ?

Still

Recording Medium ?

Memory Stick Duo
hard drive
SDHC card

SD Card
built-in flash memory

Medium included ?

16 MB

Effective pixels ?

1570000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

2048 x 1536 max

3264 x 2448

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

+ slow motion recording

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

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

Resolution ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Color performance ?

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Satisfactory

Optical Zoom ?

Good

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Satisfactory

Poor

Configuration / image ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Sufficient

Handling ?

Good

Portability ?

Excellent

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

322

266

Pros

+ good auto modes

+ good price

Cons

- our test model produced unsharp areas at the right image border
- hardly any control

- Little sharpness
- No wide angle
- lens distorted

Conclusion

The camera shows few dark sides but also no highlights for this price range.The wide angle as well as the sharpness and low light performance are ok for this price.If the unsharp area at the right image border is a problem only of our particular test model and not af the whole series, the camera can be recommended to those who do not value any manual control options.

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.

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