/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

Canon

Panasonic

Name

HG21

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

European name ?

HG21

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

US name ?

VIXIA HG21

HC-X909 (3D mit VW-CLT2)

lowest US price

1100 $

(1299) $

On the market since

September 2008

February 2012

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

MVC 3D

Recording Medium

Built-in hard disk
SD Card
SDHC card

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i 3D

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 1440 x 1080/30p

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i 3D

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

28 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

120 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

Canon

Leica

Optical Zoom ?

12 x

1,5 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

43,6 mm

29,8 mm

Filter diameter ?

37 mm

- mm

Image Stabilization ?

optical

optically and electronically

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/3,2 inch

1/4,1 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2070000 Pixel

2190000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
manual
presets
WB-Shift

Focus ?

auto
manual

auto

Minimum shutter time ?

1/2.000

1/8.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

1/25

Apperture control ?

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Yes

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off

100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

Out mini

DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Advanced Mini

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

490 g

425 g

Weight (with battery)

480 g

Battery type

Canon BP-2L13

Panasonic VW-VBN 130

Battery capacity

1250 mAh

Charger ?

internal

internal
external

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

80 mm

67 mm

Width

77 mm

72 mm

Depth

139 mm

150 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

123000 Pixel

263000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

2,7 Inch

3,5 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

211000 Pixel

1152000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Rocker
Zoom ring multi-assigned

Manual Focus ?

Joystick

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Manual Aperture ?

Joystick

Menu
bi-functional focus or aperture wheel

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

Microphone ?

Stereo internal
Mini-jack external

5.1 Internal

Audio Control ?

auto
manual

Audio levels ?

Viewfinder
Screen

Still

Recording Medium ?

SD Card

SD Card
SDHC card
SDXC card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

2760000 Pixel

2370000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
2048 x 1536

1920x1080

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

25 P-Mode

- Less options in 3D mode (see chart)

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

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

Satisfactory

Resolution ?

Good

Poor

Color performance ?

Very good

Satisfactory

subj.Picture impression ?

Very good

Sufficient

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Poor

Wide Angle ?

Poor

Good

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Satisfactory

Handling ?

Sufficient

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Poor

Optics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Dynamics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

342

271

Pros

+ sharpness and colors practically at the upper limit of AVCHD
+ Many manual controls

- optional 3D
- No more Trauerraender

Cons

- No zebra function
- no 1/25 sec. shutter speed in cinema mode
- small wide angle
- manual focus control badly implemented

- Low sharpness

Conclusion

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).

Those who plan to shoot a lot of 3D should rather go for a dual-lens model of any major manufacturer.Panasonics adapter solution has indeed improved compared to the predecessor, but does not deliver particularly sharp results.

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