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Model
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| Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| Picture ? | | |
| Manufacturer | Canon 
| Panasonic 
|
| Name | HF21 | HDC-SD100 |
| European name ? | Legria HF21 | HDC-SD100EG |
| US name ? | VIXIA HF21 | HDC-SD100 |
| lowest US price | 1099 $ | 1060 $ |
| On the market since | September 2009 | September 2008 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Canon | link to Panasonic |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | | |
| Test image 12 lux auto-mode | | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| Video formats ? | AVCHD
| AVCHD
|
| Recording Medium | SDHC card
| SDHC card
|
| video resolutions EU ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p
| AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p
|
| video resolutions US ? | AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i AVCHD 1920 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
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 24 Mbit/s | 17 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | MPEG4
| MPEG4
|
| on-board memory ? | 64 GB | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Canon
| Leica
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 15 x | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 39,5 mm | 42 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 37 mm | 37 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
| optical
|
| ND Filter ? | No
| No
|
| Exchangable optics ? | No
| No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 1 | 3 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/4 inch | 1/6 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 2990000 Pixel | 520000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CMOS
| CMOS
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual
| auto manual presets
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 1/2.000 | 1/8.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/6 | 1/25 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
| No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Peaking ? | No
| No
|
| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | No
| Off 100%
|
| Histogram ? | No
| Yes
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
| No
|
| Black Strech ? | No
| No
|
| Knee ? | No
| No
|
| Colorbars ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | No
| No
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
| No
|
| Set Time Code ? | No
| No
|
Configuration
|
| Connections |
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | Out
| Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | No
| |
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
| Out
|
| HDMI ? | Out mini
| Out
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | - | - |
| USB ? | USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | Mini-jack
| Yes
|
| Headphones ? | also AV-output
| 3.5 mm mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | No
| No
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
| No
|
| Genlock ? | No
| No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Advanced Mini
| Standard
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
| No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 340 g | 320 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 400 g | 382 g |
| Battery type | Canon BP-809
| Panasonic VW-VBG130-K
|
| Battery capacity | 890 mAh | |
| Charger ? | internal
| external
|
| Remote control | Yes
| Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 62 mm | 65 mm |
| Width | 70 mm | 138 mm |
| Depth | 124 mm | 72 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 5 | 6 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | No
| Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | - | Color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | - | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | | 183000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
| Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
| Color
|
| Display size | 2,7 Inch | 2,7 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 211000 Pixel | 300000 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
| No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker
| Rocker Zoom ring multi-assigned
|
| Manual Focus ? | Menu
| Ring bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Menu
| bi-functional focus or aperture wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | No
| Yes
|
| 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 | No
| No
|
Audio
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| Audio Formats ? | Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz
| AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 640 kbit max.
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal Mini-jack external
| Mini-jack external 5.1 Internal
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
| auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
| Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| Recording Medium ? | SDHC card
| SD Card
|
| Medium included ? | No
| No
|
| Effective pixels ? | | |
| Resolutions ? | 2304 x 1296 - Max
| 1920x1080 |
| Standard ? | JPEG Exif 2.2
| JPEG Exif 2.2
|
| Flash ? | Yes
| Yes
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| Specials | | -Quick Power : ready to record in 1,9 seconds
|
Product Shots
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| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| View 1 | | |
| View 2 | | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| 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 | Satisfactory |
| Resolution ? | Good | Sufficient |
| Color performance ? | Very good | Good |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good | Good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Configuration / image ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
| Handling ? | Satisfactory | Good |
| Portability ? | Excellent | Excellent |
| Photo function ? | Satisfactory | Sufficient |
| Optics ? | Good | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Good | Good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 | Satisfactory
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 367 | 328 |
| Pros | + Many manual controls
| + lens ring with lots of maunal settings
|
| Cons | - fiddly operation - No Zebra - Manual focus very poor
| -average sharpness -menu-structure and menu-handling
|
| Conclusion | Compared with the older models of the same series the smaller sensor, the picture problems and the exaggerated sharpness offer no real advancementsAdd to that the bad low-light sensitivity with some bright pixel noise, the missing histogram and zebra-displays and the manual focus problems.On the positive side: the low price and the fact that the pictures in the automatic mode (assumed there is enough light) are sharp and generally good. | This is going in the right direction.More manual control is what is missing with most of the current AVCHD cams.And this is exactly what Panasonic is delivering.Thanks to histogramm, zebra, luma display and expanded focus manual control is better than on any other camera below 1000 Euros.The somewhat below average sharpness of the camera is something one can live with, but there are also one or two other minor things on this camera which could have been solved better.But definitely one of the most interesting newcomers 2008 |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Canon HF21 | Panasonic HDC-SD100 |
| slashCAM Review | | |
| external reviews/tests | | |
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