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Model
|
| Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Toshiba b>
|
| Name | HDR-XR155 | GSC A40F |
| European name ? | HDR-XR155E | GSC A40F |
| US name ? | HDR-XR155 | GSC A40F |
| lowest US price | 424 $ | |
| On the market since | March 2010 | April 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Toshiba |
|
|
Test preview
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| slashCAM rating ? | Satisfactory
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD SD MPEG2
| MPEG4/AVC
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo
| Built-in hard disk
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i SD MPEG2 720 x 576
| AVC/h.264 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i SD MPEG2 720 x 480
| AVC/h.264 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2 MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 120 GB | 40 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Carl Zeiss
| Fujinon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 37,4 mm | 35,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 30 mm | 43 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | electronical
| 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 ? | 1350000 Pixel | 1490000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/auto
| 1/auto
|
| Maximum shutter time ? | auto
| auto
|
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| Off
|
| Histogram ? | No
| No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | No
| No
|
| Adjustable color ? | No
| No
|
| Cinegamma ? | No
| 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 ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | About Special Equipment
| Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | |
| USB ? | USB 2.0 OUT
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | No
| No
|
| Headphones ? | No
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | No
| No
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 300 g | 485 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 350 g | 545 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FV50
| Toshiba GSC-BT6
|
| Battery capacity | | |
| Charger ? | internal
| external
|
| Remote control | | Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 57 mm | 78 mm |
| Width | 67 mm | 79 mm |
| Depth | 106 mm | 135 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 4 | 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 ? | 230400 Pixel | 230000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| 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
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AAC Stereo
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
| Stereo internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | No
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo hard drive SDHC card
| SD Card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 1570000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 2048 x 1536 max
| 1920x1080 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | No
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Specials | | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-XR155 | 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 ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Optical Zoom ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Configuration / image ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Sufficient | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Satisfactory
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 322 | 276 |
| Pros | + good auto modes
| |
| Cons | - our test model produced unsharp areas at the right image border - hardly any control
| |
| 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. | 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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| Reviews and Forums |
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| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
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