| |
Model
|
| Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Canon 
|
| Name | HF S21 | HG21 |
| European name ? | Legria HF S21 | HG21 |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF S21 | VIXIA HG21 |
| lowest US price | 1189 $ | 1100 $ |
| On the market since | April 2010 | September 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Canon |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card built-in flash memory
| Built-in hard disk SD Card SDHC card
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
| AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/30p
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 24 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | 120 GB |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Canon
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 10 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 43,6 mm | 43,6 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 58 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optically and electronically
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 1 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/2,6 inch | 1/3,2 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 6010000 Pixel | 2070000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/2.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/2 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| Yes
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70% 100% | Off
|
| Histogram ? | No
| Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| No
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Mini-jack
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | Yes
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| Advanced Mini
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 470 g | 490 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 520 g | |
| Battery type | Canon BP-807
| Canon BP-2L13
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| internal
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 75 mm | 80 mm |
| Width | 74 mm | 77 mm |
| Depth | 140 mm | 139 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 7 | 8 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | Color
| Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 123000 Pixel | 123000 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 ? | 922000 Pixel | 211000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | Yes
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Joystick
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
| Joystick
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
| No
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exp Lock ? | No
| No
|
| Gain ? | No
| No
|
| White balance ? | No
| No
|
| Push AF ? | No
| No
|
| Audio Levels ? | No
| No
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | 1 | No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Stereo internal Mini-jack external
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| Recording Medium ? | built-in flash memory SDHC card
| SD Card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | 8020000 Pixel | 2760000 Pixel |
| Resolutions ? | 3264 x 2448 3264 x 2456 max
| 1920x1080 1440x1080 848x480 640x480 2048 x 1536 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| Specials | 2 SDHC slots | 25 P-Mode |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| 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 | Good |
| Resolution ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Very good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Poor | Poor |
| Configuration / image ? | Good | Satisfactory |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Portability ? | Very good | Very good |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 348 | 342 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| + sharpness and colors practically at the upper limit of AVCHD + Many manual controls
|
| Cons | - small wide angle
| - No zebra function - no 1/25 sec. shutter speed in cinema mode - small wide angle - manual focus control badly implemented
|
| Conclusion | The sharpness is only slightly below what is possible in this price range and the options for manual control are also quite ok.The touchscreen is a real improvement, so the problems with focus setting we used to citizise are gone.Since Sony offers more manual in this price range than they did before and both Sony and Panasonic have more wide angle, the HF S models of 2010 appear a little overpriced. | Like its predecessors this cam satisfies with its very good image sharpness and the good manual controlsThe small wide-angle and missing zebra-function must be critizised.In comparison some competitors have notably better displays (Sony SR11/12) and more external manual controls (Sony SR11/12, CX11, Panasonic HS100, SD100). |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF S21 | Canon HG21 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
| Forum posts | Canon HF S21 - Brave New World video?
| Microphone Windscreen for Canon HG21
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Problems installing HG21 Win7 Drivers and Vista
Canon HG21 or SonyHVR-HD1000E
Buy Panasonic HDC-HS300 / Canon HG21 / SonyHDR-XR520VE
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