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models compared on this page: Sony HDR-CX550V and Sony HVR-A1

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Model

Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
Picture ?
Manufacturer Sony Information on Sony

Sony Information on Sony

Name HDR-CX550VHVR-A1
European name ?HDR-CX550VEHVR-A1E
US name ?HDR-CX550VHVR-A1U
lowest US price 1899 $2149 $
On the market since March 2010 October 2005
Manufacturers URL link to Sonylink to Sony
Test preview

[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
slashCAM rating ?Good
Satisfactory
test picture 1200 Lux
Test image 12 lux auto-mode
Video

[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
Video formats ? AVCHD
SD MPEG2
 MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM
Recording Medium SDHC card
Memory Stick PRO Duo
built-in flash memory
MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
video resolutions EU ?AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
SD MPEG2 720 x 576
HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
video resolutions US ?AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
SD MPEG2 720 x 480
HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
Max Bitrate ?24 Mbit/s25 Mbit/s
Compression format ? MPEG2
MPEG4
DV
MPEG2
on-board memory ?64 GB 
Optics
Optics Manufacturer ?Sony
Carl Zeiss
Optical Zoom ?10 x10 x
Wide Angle 16:9 ?29,8 mm41 mm
Filter diameter ?37 mm37 mm
Image Stabilization ?optically and electronically
electronical
ND Filter ?No
Yes
Exchangable optics ?No
No
Image Sensor
Number of sensors ?11
Size of image sensor ?1/2,9 inch1/3 inch
image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?4150000 Pixel 1983000 Pixel
Image Sensor Type ? CMOS
CMOS
Controls
White Balance ?auto
manual
presets
auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
Focus ?auto
manual
auto
manual
Minimum shutter time ?1/10.0001/10.000
Maximum shutter time ?1/61/3
Apperture control ?auto
manual
auto
manual
AE-Shift
Infrared recording ? No
Expanded Focus ? Yes
Peaking ? Yes
Signal Processing
Zebra ?No
70%
100%
Histogram ?No
Yes
adjustable sharpness ? Yes
Adjustable color ? Yes
Cinegamma ? Yes
Black Strech ?No
No
Knee ?No
No
Colorbars ?No
Yes
Misc.
Shot Transition ?No
Yes
Custom Presets ? No
Set Time Code ?No
Yes
Configuration

Connections
[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite		 Out
In
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video		About Special Equipment
 In
Out
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal		 Out
Out
HDMI ? Out
No
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394		- In
Out
USB ?USB 2.0
USB 1.1
Microphone / Audio input ?Mini-jack
 XLR
Headphones ?3.5 mm mini-jack
Mini-jack
Lanc ?No
Yes
Time-code interface ?No
No
Genlock ?No
No
Accessory shoe ? AI
AI
HD-SDI ?No
No
Misc.
Weight (without battery) 440 g1020 g
Weight (with battery) 490 g1120 g
Battery type Sony NP-FV50
Sony NP-FM50
Battery capacity  1180 mAh
Charger ?internal
internal
Remote control Yes
Yes
Size
Height 66 mm140 mm
Width 74 mm100 mm
Depth 143 mm190 mm
Relative Size ?626
Viewfinder
Viewfinder available ?Yes
Yes
Color Viewfinder ?Color
B/W and color
Viewfinder format ?16:916:9
Viewfinder pixels ?201600 Pixel 252000 Pixel
Display
Display available ?Yes
Yes
Color display ?Color
Color
Display size 3,5 Inch2,7 Inch
Display format ?16:916:9
Display pixels ?921000 Pixel 123200 Pixel
Touch Screen ?Yes
Yes
External controls
Manual Zoom ?Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned
Rocker
Ring
Manual Focus ?Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
 Ring
Menu
Manual Aperture ?Wheel
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
Wheel
Menu
Rocker
Focus switcher ?No
Yes
ND Filter ?No
No
Exp Lock ?No
Yes
Gain ?No
No
White balance ?No
No
Push AF ?No
Yes
Audio Levels ?No
No
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons		No
1
Audio

[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
Audio Formats ?AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
Microphone ?Stereo internal
Mini-jack external
Stereo internal
external XLR
Audio Control ?auto
auto
manual
Audio levels ? Viewfinder
Screen
Still

[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
Recording Medium ?Memory Stick Duo
hard drive
SDHC card
Memory Stick Duo
Medium included ?No
16 MB
Effective pixels ? 2764800 Pixel
Resolutions ?4000 x 3000 - Max
1920x1080
1440x1080
640x480
Standard ?JPEG Exif 2.2
JPEG Exif 2.2
Flash ?Yes
Yes
Misc.

[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
Specials GPS with geo-tagging functionality 
Product Shots

[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
View 1
View 2
Test results

Test pictures
[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
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 goodSatisfactory
Resolution ?Very goodSatisfactory
Color performance ?GoodSatisfactory
subj.Picture impression ?Very goodGood
Optical Zoom ?SufficientSufficient
Wide Angle ? Excellent Sufficient
Configuration / image ?SatisfactoryGood
Configuration / sound ?PoorGood
Handling ?GoodSatisfactory
Portability ?Very goodVery good
Photo function ?SatisfactorySufficient
Optics ?GoodGood
Dynamics ?GoodGood
Conclusion slashCAM
slashCAM rating ?Good
Satisfactory
Total score ?
(maximal 570)		390326
Pros + multi functional ring
+ focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well
+ good lowlight sensibility
+ wide angle
+ Display with high resoultion
+ good picture impression
+ portable
+ partly professionally equipped
Cons - image characteristics cannot be modified
- no focus or exposure assist
- color resolution only average
- DV-quality only average
Conclusion The wide angle (which shrinks a little with active image stabilization) as well as the low light performance is better than on all competing modells.But in terms of sharpness, manual control options and color reproduction the Sony is not quite on par with the class winners.The automatics work solidly in a Sony-typical way.Remarkably good is the high-resolving display, but a focus assist option is nevertheless missed when setting the focus manually.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
[ top ]Sony HDR-CX550VSony HVR-A1
slashCAM Review
HVR-A1 Review
external reviews/tests  www.dv.com
www.sundancemediagroup.com
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XH A1 s.TV join? Help!


Please consider that these data have been entered into this database by human beings.Also, the technical information provided by the manufacturers are at times contradictory, incomplete and sometimes even incorrect.Although we take great care checking all information, we can not gurantee for its correctness.Should you find this data to have some omission or error, please let us know! Mail:



update am 24.Mai 2012 - 14:40
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