| |
Model
|
| Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HF M41 | HDR-TG3 |
| European name ? | Legria HF M41 | HDR-TG3E |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF M41 | HDR-TG3 |
| lowest US price | (799) $ | 979 $ |
| On the market since | March 2011 | May 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card built-in flash memory SDXC card
| Memory Stick PRO Duo
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 32 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 43,6 mm | 42,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 43 mm | |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch | 1/5 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2000000 Pixel | 1430000 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 ? | 1/6 | auto
|
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| 70% 100% |
| 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 M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| via accessories
|
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) | 360 g | 240 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 400 g | 300 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-808
| Sony NP-FH50
|
| Battery capacity | 850 mAh | 900 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| No
|
| Size |
| Height | 74 mm | 32 mm |
| Width | 71 mm | 119 mm |
| Depth | 137 mm | 63 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 2 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| No
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| - |
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | - |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 260000 Pixel | |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,0 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 230000 Pixel | 211200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| thumb wheel
|
| 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 M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max. Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| 5.1 Internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card SDXC card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| 4 GB
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 | 2304x1728 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | | Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Specials | Cinema-style filterStory CreatorTouch Decoration | Outside Europe the Cam is named Sony HDR-TG1 |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| 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 ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Poor |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Very good | Excellent |
| Photo function ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 362 | 288 |
| Pros | + Manual control over image characteristics + Good low-light characteristics
| |
| Cons | - No Zebra - (Too) little external controls
| |
| Conclusion | In terms of sharpness, the new camcorders are finally on par again with the generation preceeding its predecessors.The good low light performance and the - for many users - sufficient manual features certainly make the RF M-series interesting for price-sensitive buyers.However, has to live with the small wide-angle, a low-resolution display, missing features such as zebra or histogram as well as the automatics. | While the new Exmor CMOS technology and the Bionz signal processor provide great results with the SR-12, their benefits are leveled by the smaller chip area of the TG3.Demanding filmmakers will find too many compromises in terms of lowlight, ports and manual controls, preventing them from using the camera seriously.Ambitious filmmakers on the other hand will like the nice interface via touch screen. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF M41 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | New Canon (Vixia HF as G10 / M41 RF) compared to Panasonic HDC-750 SDT
Test: Canon HF M41 - Interestingly harbinger
| Buy TG3 camcorder or similar
SONY TG3 synonymous HDT-suited for short films?
Successor to the Sony HDR-TG3
|
| |