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Model
|
| Sony HDR-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
| Sony 
|
| Name | HDR-SR12 | HVR-A1 |
| European name ? | HDR-SR11E | HVR-A1E |
| US name ? | HDR-SR12 | HVR-A1U |
| lowest US price | 1700 $ | 2149 $ |
| On the market since | March 2008 | October 2005 |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |  |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | |  |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| MiniDV HDV DVCAM
|
| Recording Medium | Built-in hard disk Memory Stick PRO Duo
| MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
| HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
| HDV 1440 x 1080/60i MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 16 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG2 MPEG4
| DV MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | 120 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Carl Zeiss
| Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 40 mm | 41 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| Yes
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3, 1 inch
| 1/3 inch
|
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 3810000 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 ? | 1/800 | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/2 | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | Yes
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | No
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | No
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70% 100% | 70% 100% |
| Histogram ? | No
| Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | No
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | No
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | No
| 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-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| In
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | Out
| 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 ? | 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) | 570 g | 1020 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 650 g | 1120 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FH60
| Sony NP-FM50
|
| Battery capacity | 1000 mAh | 1180 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 76 mm | 140 mm |
| Width | 83 mm | 100 mm |
| Depth | 138 mm | 190 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 8 | 26 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| B/W and color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 123200 Pixel | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 3,2 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 921600 Pixel | 123200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Ring Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| 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-SR12 | Sony 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 ? | Mini-jack external 5.1 Internal
| Stereo internal external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | No
| Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo
| Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | No
| 16 MB
|
| Effective pixels ? | 5080000 Pixel | 2764800 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 3680 x 2760 | 1920x1080 1440x1080 640x480 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Specials | | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HDR-SR12 | 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 ? | | |
| Manufacturers URL | Website Sony | Website Sony |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Configuration / image ? | Good | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Handling ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 366 | 326 |
| Pros | + focus and exposure control via touchscreen works well + focus ring replacement is OK + Good image in terms of sharpness and color + Very sharp display
| + good picture impression + portable + partly professionally equipped
|
| Cons | - no manual shutter control - the owner is put under tutelage
| - color resolution only average - DV-quality only average
|
| Conclusion | In terms of picture quality the gap between the best Canon-cams in this class ist almost leveled, and the handling offers many unique features (camera control ring, focus and exposure via touchscreen, high-resolution LCD), which can´t be found elsewhere (yet).If Sony would allow the user to manually set the shutter (and with meaningful numerical values), this camera would really rock | 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-SR12 | Sony HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | www.dv.com
www.sundancemediagroup.com
|
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