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Model
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| Sony HVR-A1 |
| Picture ? | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
|
| Name | HVR-A1 |
| European name ? | HVR-A1E |
| US name ? | HVR-A1U |
| lowest US price | 2149 $ |
| On the market since | October 2005 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux |  |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV
HDV
DVCAM
|
| Recording Medium | MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
DVCAM 720 x 576/50i
|
| video resolutions US ? | 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 ? | Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 41 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | electronical
|
| ND Filter ? | Yes
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 1983000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto
manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto
manual
AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70%
100% |
| Histogram ? | Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
|
| Knee ? | No
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | Yes
|
| Custom Presets ? | No
|
| Set Time Code ? | Yes
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-A1 |
FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite | In
|
YC ?
synonymous: S-Video | In
Out
|
YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal | Out
|
| HDMI ? | No
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | In
Out
|
| USB ? | USB 1.1
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR
|
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
|
| Genlock ? | No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | AI
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 1020 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 1120 g |
| Battery type | Sony NP-FM50
|
| Battery capacity | 1180 mAh |
| Charger ? | internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 140 mm |
| Width | 100 mm |
| Depth | 190 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 26 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | B/W and color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 123200 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Ring
Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel
Menu
Rocker
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | No
|
| Exp Lock ? | Yes
|
| Gain ? | No
|
| White balance ? | No
|
| Push AF ? | Yes
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
|
Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons | 1 |
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Audio Formats ? | MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal
external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | auto
manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder
Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Recording Medium ? | Memory Stick Duo
|
| Medium included ? | 16 MB
|
| Effective pixels ? | 2764800 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 1920x1080
1440x1080
640x480 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-A1 |
| Specials | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-A1 |
| View 1 | |
| View 2 | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | 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 ? | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Sufficient |
| Configuration / image ? | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Good |
| Handling ? | Satisfactory |
| Portability ? | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Satisfactory
|
Total score ?
(maximal 570) | 326 |
| Pros | + good picture impression
+ portable
+ partly professionally equipped
|
| Cons | - color resolution only average
- DV-quality only average
|
| Conclusion | 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 HVR-A1 |
| slashCAM Review | |
| external reviews/tests |  www.dv.com
www.sundancemediagroup.com
|
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