| |
Model
|
| Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HDR-TD20 (2D) | HVR-A1 |
| European name ? | HDR-TD20 (2D) | HVR-A1E |
| US name ? | HDR-TD20 (2D) | HVR-A1U |
| lowest US price | (1599) $ | 2149 $ |
| On the market since | March 2012 | October 2005 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |  |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | |  |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD MVC 3D
| MiniDV HDV DVCAM
|
| Recording Medium | SD Card SDHC card Memory Stick PRO Duo built-in flash memory SDXC card
| MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i 3D
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i 3D
| HDV 1440 x 1080/60i MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 28 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| DV MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Sony
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 29,8 mm | 41 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | - mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| Yes
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 2 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4 inch | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 4000000 Pixel | 1983000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets WB-Shift
| auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/10.000 | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70% 100% | 70% 100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | No
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | No
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| Yes
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| Yes
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| In
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| In Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| 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) | 460 g | 1020 g |
| Weight (with battery) | | 1120 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FV70
| Sony NP-FM50
|
| Battery capacity | | 1180 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 71 mm | 140 mm |
| Width | 63 mm | 100 mm |
| Depth | 130 mm | 190 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 26 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | B/W and color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | - | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 1229000 Pixel | 123200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
| Rocker Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Ring Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | bi-functional focus or aperture wheel assignable custom key
| 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-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Audio Formats ? | AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max. Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Mini-jack external 5.1 Internal
| Stereo internal external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | auto 2 steps
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Screen
| Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo SD Card built-in flash memory SDHC card SDXC card
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | | 16 MB
|
| Effective pixels ? | 3540000 Pixel | 2764800 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 6016 x 3384 - Max
| 1920x1080 1440x1080 640x480 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Specials | 3D Full HD recording with 2 separate lenses / signal transducersGPS | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-TD20 (2D) | Sony 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 good | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Excellent | Sufficient |
| Configuration / image ? | Good | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Poor | Good |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 392 | 326 |
| Pros | - Sharp 2D and 3D images - Compact size
| + good picture impression + portable + partly professionally equipped
|
| Cons | - little manual control
| - color resolution only average - DV-quality only average
|
| Conclusion | Compared to the previous model the sharpness of the camera has once more been improved, so the camera delivers pleasing images in the automatic mode.The compact size might also be a convincing argument, because nowhere else do you get similar 3-D quality with this camera size.More manual control however is offered by the competition. | 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-TD20 (2D) | Sony HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | www.dv.com
www.sundancemediagroup.com
|
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