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Model
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| Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Toshiba b>
|
| Name | HDR-CX11 | GSC A40F |
| European name ? | HDR-CX11E | GSC A40F |
| US name ? | HDR-CX12 | GSC A40F |
| lowest US price | 425 $ | 400 $ |
| On the market since | August 2008 | April 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Toshiba |
|
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Test preview
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| test picture 12 Lux | | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| MPEG4/AVC
|
| Recording Medium | Memory Stick PRO Duo
| Built-in hard disk
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
| AVC/h.264 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
| AVC/h.264 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 16 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | | 40 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Carl Zeiss
| Fujinon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 40 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 ? | 1/3,1 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | | 1490000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets WB-Shift
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | auto
| auto
|
| Maximum shutter time ? | auto
| auto
|
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | Yes
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| No
|
| Peaking ? | No
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | Off 70% 100%
| 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-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | via accessories
| Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | No
| No
|
| Headphones ? | No
| No
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
| No
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 370 g | 485 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 450 g | 545 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FH60
| Toshiba GSC-BT6
|
| Battery capacity | 1000 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 69 mm | 78 mm |
| Width | 67 mm | 79 mm |
| Depth | 130 mm | 135 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 6 | 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 ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Joystick
|
| Manual Aperture ? | bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| 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-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
| AAC Stereo
|
| Microphone ? | 5.1 Internal
| Stereo internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | No
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo
| SD Card
|
| Medium included ? | 4 GB
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 640x480 1600x1200 2848x2136 3680 x 2760 3680 x 2070 | 1920x1080 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| Specials | -smile shutter: a photo is shot automatically when detecting a smiling face
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Product Shots
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| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
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| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| luminance resolution | | |
| chrominance resolution | | |
| lens distortion | | |
| test small ISO image | | |
| noise / internal microphone | | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| test picture 12 Lux | | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Sufficient | Good |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 340 | 276 |
| Pros | + manual, multi-functional ring + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + Good image in terms of sharpness and color
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| Cons | - no manual shutter control - no microphone and headphone jacks
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| Conclusion | On the one hand, buying the CX11 is the cheapest way to get Sonys 1/3" Exmor image quality (which together with Canon is the non-plus-ultra in the price range of 1000 Euros camcorders).Other great features are the manual control ring and the menu control via touch screen (especially practical on small cameras, but not to be found on competing models).On the other hand a viewfinder, microphone / headphone jacks and manual shutter control are badly missed.Likewise negative: the high costs for memory sticksUnfortunately, the great display of the SR-11/12 was not used, but on the other hand the camera is clearly more compact than its HDD-siblings | 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 |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-CX11 | Toshiba GSC A40F |
| slashCAM Review | HDR-CX11 Review | GSC A40F Review |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | SonyHDR CX11 - AVCHD files on Mac os x cut!
SonyHDR-CX11E AVCHD files via Mac in Apple Final Cut 4
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