/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Canon

Sony

Name

XH A1

HVR-A1

European name ?

XH A1

HVR-A1E

US name ?

XH A1

HVR-A1U

lowest US price

2799 $

2149 $

On the market since

November 2006

October 2005

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Satisfactory

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

MiniDV
HDV

MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM

Recording Medium

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

video resolutions EU ?

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25F

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i

video resolutions US ?

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p
MiniDV 720 x 480/30p

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i

Max Bitrate ?

25 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

DV
MPEG2

on-board memory ?

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Canon

Carl Zeiss

Optical Zoom ?

20 x

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

32,5 mm

41 mm

Filter diameter ?

72 mm

37 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

electronical

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/3 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

1560000 Pixel

1983000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CCD

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/16.000

1/10.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/3

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70-100%

70%
100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Yes

Knee ?

Yes

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Yes

Custom Presets ?

Yes

Set Time Code ?

Yes

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

In
Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

In
Out

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394

In
Out

USB ?

USB 1.1

Microphone / Audio input ?

XLR
Mini-jack

XLR

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Yes

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

2100 g

1020 g

Weight (with battery)

2200 g

1120 g

Battery type

Canon BP-950G

Sony NP-FM50

Battery capacity

5200 mAh

1180 mAh

Charger ?

external

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

163 mm

140 mm

Width

189 mm

100 mm

Depth

350 mm

190 mm

Relative Size ?

107

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

B/W and color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

269000 Pixel

252000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

B/W and color

Color

Display size

2,8 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

207000 Pixel

123200 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker
Ring

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Ring
Menu

Manual Aperture ?

Ring

Wheel
Menu
Rocker

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exp Lock ?

Yes

Gain ?

Yes

White balance ?

Yes

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Yes

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
external XLR

Stereo internal
external XLR

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen
display

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card

Memory Stick Duo

Medium included ?

16 MB

Effective pixels ?

1560000 Pixel

2764800 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480

1920x1080
1440x1080
640x480

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

www.sundancemediagroup.com

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 ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Color performance ?

Very good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Very good

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Very good

Good

Configuration / sound ?

Excellent

Good

Handling ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Satisfactory

Very good

Photo function ?

Sufficient

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Very good

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Very good

Satisfactory

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

433

326

Pros

+ Excellent resolution in brightness and color
+ Exceptionally well equipped

+ good picture impression
+ portable
+ partly professionally equipped

Cons

- Occasional image errors due to the lens

- color resolution only average
- DV-quality only average

Conclusion

The XHA1 Canon has CCDs with excellent resolution of both brightness as well as color.The dynamic behavior can be changed to outstanding values with knee, noise suppression and -3dB gain, which combined with the sober colors ensures a very clean image impression.Only the lens with its 20x zoom shows occasional distortion and chromatic aberrations.Partly due to much noise, the XH A1 is only "good" in low-light situations.

Like its consumer twin HC1 the Sony HVR-A1 has a very good brightness resolution, but tends sometimes to show color moirés on fine details.The color resolution is not on a HDV-level, though the CMOS sensor theoretically should have more reserves.The overall picture impression is good, partly due to the good dynamics behavior with little noise and few smear-effects.Color-wise the A1 is fairly neutral, almost somewhat low-key.The wide angle is very limited for indoors, but on the other hand there are only few lens errors.In low light situations the A1 loses color fast.Compared to the HC1 it is slightly better equipped in terms of sound and image.The handling remains only satisfactory due to the touch screen.

More information

Reviews and Forums

slashCAM Review

external reviews/tests

www.dv.com

www.camcorderinfo.com

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