| |
Model
|
| Canon HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HG20 | HDR-TG3 |
| European name ? | HG20 | HDR-TG3E |
| US name ? | VIXIA HG20 | HDR-TG3 |
| lowest US price | | 979 $ |
| On the market since | September 2008 | May 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk SD Card SDHC card
| Memory Stick PRO Duo
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/30p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 16 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 60 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 43,6 mm | 42,9 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3,2 inch | 1/5 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2070000 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 ? | 1/2 | auto
|
| Apperture control ? | auto manual AE-Shift
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | Yes
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| No
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | Off
| 70% 100% |
| Histogram ? | Yes
| 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 HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| via accessories
|
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 ? | Mini-jack
| No
|
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
| 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) | 465 g | 240 g |
| Weight (with battery) | | 300 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-2L13
| Sony NP-FH50
|
| Battery capacity | | 900 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| No
|
| Size |
| Height | 80 mm | 32 mm |
| Width | 77 mm | 119 mm |
| Depth | 138 mm | 63 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 8 | 2 |
| 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 | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 Pixel | 211200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| thumb wheel
|
| Manual Focus ? | Joystick
| Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Joystick
| 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 HG20 | 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 ? | Screen
| No
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Recording Medium ? | SD Card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| 4 GB
|
| Effective pixels ? | 2760000 Pixel | |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080 1440x1080 848x480 640x480 2048 x 1536 | 2304x1728 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| Specials | 25 P-Mode | Outside Europe the Cam is named Sony HDR-TG1 |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HG20 | 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 ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | 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 ? | Sufficient | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Very good | Excellent |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 342 | 288 |
| Pros | + sharpness and colors practically at the upper limit of AVCHD + Many manual controls
| |
| Cons | - No zebra function - no 1/25 sec. shutter speed in cinema mode - small wide angle - manual focus control badly implemented
| |
| Conclusion | Like its predecessors this cam satisfies with its very good image sharpness and the good manual controlsThe small wide-angle and missing zebra-function must be critizised.In comparison some competitors have notably better displays (Sony SR11/12) and more external manual controls (Sony SR11/12, CX11, Panasonic HS100, SD100). | 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 HG20 | Sony HDR-TG3 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
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