| |
Model
|
| Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Toshiba
|
| Name | HF21 | GSC A40F |
| European name ? | Legria HF21 | GSC A40F |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF21 | GSC A40F |
| lowest US price | 1099 $ | |
| On the market since | September 2009 | April 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Toshiba |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| MPEG4/AVC
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card
| Built-in hard disk
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVC/h.264 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| AVC/h.264 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | 40 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Fujinon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 15 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39,5 mm | 35,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 43 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2990000 Pixel | 1490000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/auto
|
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | auto
|
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| Off
|
| 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 ? | Yes
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
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
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| No
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 340 g | 485 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 400 g | 545 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-809
| Toshiba GSC-BT6
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 62 mm | 78 mm |
| Width | 70 mm | 79 mm |
| Depth | 124 mm | 135 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 8 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder format ? | - | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 3,0 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 Pixel | 230000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Joystick
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| Joystick
|
| 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 HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AAC Stereo
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Recording Medium ? | SDHC card
| SD Card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 1920x1080 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Specials | | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| 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 | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Handling ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 367 | 276 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| |
| Cons | - fiddly operation - No Zebra - Manual focus very poor
| |
| Conclusion | Compared with the older models of the same series the smaller sensor, the picture problems and the exaggerated sharpness offer no real advancementsAdd to that the bad low-light sensitivity with some bright pixel noise, the missing histogram and zebra-displays and the manual focus problems.On the positive side: the low price and the fact that the pictures in the automatic mode (assumed there is enough light) are sharp and generally good. | No focus ring, no manual controls, no viewfinder, no audio connections, and crippled manual values are inaccessibly hidden in colorful menus.Analog output is NTSC-only, and a new video format is used that is even worse to edit than AVCHD.The sharpness is achieved through extreme contourCompared to Sony, Panasonic and Canon the codec shows even more artifacts. |
More information
|
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| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
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