Canon XL H1A Camcorder Review

Canon XL H1A versus Sony HDR-FX1000
• The Canon XL H1A offers, better low light sensitivity, superior manual controls, and far better battery life. • The Sony HDR-FX1000 offers a much smaller and lighter design as well as better video resolution. • The HDR-FX1000 stands up to the XL H1A where video quality is concerned, despite it's far cheaper price tag.
	Playback & Connectivity	(Page 11 of 12)	Conclusion

The Sony HDR-FX1000 is the consumer version of the HVR-Z5U. It features an identical lens, with a slightly different sensor and processor (no native progressive record modes). It also lacks XLR inputs and many of the finer manual controls found on the Z5U. Basic performance of the two Sony camcorders should be similar and our review of the HDR-FX1000 is due very soon.

The main differences between the Canon XL H1A and the Sony HDR-FX1000 is manual control, connectivity (specifically audio), and size. The HDR-FX1000 does not utilize a shoulder mount and it weighs nearly half as much as the Canon. The Sony does come with a larger, higher-resolution LCD monitor, and an independent electronic viewfinder. The HDR-FX1000 doesn't offer interchangeable lenses and the amount of manual controls on the camcorder simply doesn't compare to the XL H1A. Even so, the Sony performed very well in our testing for a low-end prosumer model and it even bested the XL H1A in a few categories.

	Comparison Specs
	Canon XL H1A	Sony HDR-FX1000
Price	$5999 (with lens)	$3199
Primary Recording Media	MiniDV tape	MiniDV tape
Still Image Media	SD/SDHC, MMC cards	Memory Stick Pro Duo
Image Sensor	Three 1/3-inch CCD	Three 1/3-inch CMOS
Effective Pixel Count	1.56 Megapixels	1.04 Megapixels
Lens Mount	XL interchangeable lens system	No interchangeable lens
Audio Input	2 XLR, 3.5mm mini-jack (2-channel capable)	3.5mm mini-jack
LCD/Viewfinder	2.4-inch color LCD; Approx. 215,000 pixels LCD also serves as viewfinder	LCD Screen : 3.2-inch; Approx 215,000 pixels Viewfinder : 0.45-inch; Approx 1,227,000 pixels
Weight	3935g (8.7 lbs.) fully loaded	2100g (4.56 lbs.) fully loaded
Dimensions	226 x 220 x 496mm (8.9 x 8.7 x 19.5 in.)	169 × 178 × 349mm (6.75 x 7 x 13.9 in.)
Uncompressed Video ouput	No	No
Optical Zoom	20x (with provided lens)	20x
Frame Rates	1080/60i, 30F, 24F	60i, 30p, 24p
	Scores
Color	11.7	9.05
Noise	9.56	7.22
Video Resolution	9.34	11.79
Low Light Sensitivity	8.04	4.56
Low Light Color	7.36	6.53
Low Light Noise	6.29	6.22
Battery Life (LCD)	11.8	7.6

The Sony HDR-FX1000 consistently produced a darker image than the Canon XL H1A in our tests, and our Low Light Sensitivity results reflected this visual consistency:

The XL H1A required significantly less light than the Sony when shooting with both 0dB gain and Auto Gain control. This means the Canon will be able to record an image in a darker environment than the Sony. The Sony HDR-FX1000, however, scored better than the Canon when it comes to low light noise and it held up adequately in low light color. The Canon XL H1A did a bit better in bright light noise, likely due to the fact that the camcorder has multiple noise reduction settings. This 100% crop with the HDR-FX1000 shows off the differences between the two camcorders at 3000 lux:

Noise Comparisons
Canon XL H1A 100% Crop	Sony HDR-FX1000 100% Crop

One of the most surprising aspects of the XL H1A's performance was its battery life results. The provided battery on the Canon lasted an incredible 236 minutes, 6 seconds in our battery test (close to 4 hours). This is roughly an hour and a half longer than the provided battery lasted on the Sony HDR-FX1000. We should also note the Sony didn't show a significant battery life improvement when using the viewfinder instead of the LCD.

Battery Life (LCD) Comparisons

The biggest surprise for the Sony HDR-FX1000 was its video resolution score, which beat out the XL H1A by a noteworthy margin. It seems the sensor and processor on the HDR-FX1000 is especially well designed—despite the fact that it is an entry-level prosumer camcorder and $2800 cheaper than the XL H1A. The XL H1A measured a horizontal of 800 lw/ph and a vertical resolution of 700 lw/ph, while the HDR-FX1000 produced 900 and 800, respectively.

Video Resolution Score Comparisons

Canon XL H1A versus Canon XL H1

• The two camcorders are nearly identical as far as performance is concerned • The main difference is, with the XL H1, you get extra ports, 4-channel audio, and the ability to output uncompressed video. • The XL H1 costs an extra $3000 over the XL H1A

The original Canon XL H1 was released in 2006, one of two first-generation HDV camcorders from Canon. The upgrades in this second-generation model are few. Firstly, Canon expanded the shoulder-mounted line by splitting it into two versions, one fully loaded for pros with uncompressed output, Timecode and Genlock, and a second, less expensive version that retained the professional look and feel. Other updates are few, but potentially useful to some. The kit lens has been upgraded with an iris ring, and the sensitivity of the zoom has been enhanced. Some of the ports were bulked up, though functionality remained the same. Internally, the already overwhelming level of fine tuning has been expanded even further. Several color settings that had a range of -9 to +9 now have a range of -50 to +50. There's one minor loss, as well. 4-channel audio recording was reduced to 2-channel, dropped to lack of use, according to Canon.

	Comparison Specs
	Canon XL H1A	Canon XL H1
Price	$5999 (with lens)	$8999 (with lens)
Primary Recording Media	MiniDV tape	MiniDV tape
Still Image Media	SD/SDHC, MMC cards	SD/SDHC, MMC cards
Image Sensor	Three 1/3-inch CCD	Three 1/3-inch CMOS
Effective Pixel Count	1.56 Megapixels	1.56 Megapixels
Lens Mount	XL interchangeable lens system	XL interchangeable lens system
Audio Input	2 XLR, 3.5mm mini-jack (2-channel capable)	2 XLR, 3.5mm mini-jack (4-channel capable)
LCD/Viewfinder	2.4-inch color LCD; Approx. 215,000 pixels LCD also serves as viewfinder	2.4-inch color LCD; Approx. 215,000 pixels
Weight	3935g (8.7 lbs.) fully loaded	3750g (8.3 lbs.) fully loaded
Dimensions	226 x 220 x 496mm (8.9 x 8.7 x 19.5 in.)	226 x 220 x 496mm (8.9 x 8.7 x 19.5 in.)
Uncompressed Video ouput	No	Yes (via HD-SDI/SD-SDI Out)
Optical Zoom	20x (with provided lens)	20x
Frame Rates	1080/60i, 30F, 24F	1080/60i, 30F, 24F

Canon XL H1A versus Sony HVR-Z5U

• The HVR-Z5U is the pro version of the HDR-FX1000 • It features progressive CMOS sensors, which enable it to capture 24p and 30p footage natively

The Sony HVR-Z5U is a hand held, rather than shoulder-mount, design, making for a very different handling experience. Another HDV camcorder, it features three 1/3-inch CMOS chips and a fixed 20x lens. The Z5U is lighter and smaller than the Canon XL H1A, and offers an excellent 3.2-inch, 921,600-pixel LCD and a 1.2MP EVF. The Z5U utilizes progressive CMOS sensors, which means it features native 24p/30p record modes that can output progressive video via the camcorder's FireWire connector. While, the 30F and 24F modes on the XL H1A are similar, they are created using an interlaced chip, thus the video isn't truly progressive. Sony has been pushing the low light capabilities of the new sensor and processing technologies, which we've only begun to test now on the sister model, the Sony HDR-FX1000.

	Comparison Specs
	Canon XL H1A	Sony HVR-Z5U
Price	$5999 (with lens)	$4950
Primary Recording Media	MiniDV tape	MiniDV tape
Still Image Media	SD/SDHC, MMC cards	Memory Stick Pro Duo
Image Sensor	Three 1/3-inch CCD	Three 1/3-inch progressive CMOS
Effective Pixel Count	1.56 Megapixels	1.04 Megapixels
Lens Mount	XL interchangeable lens system	No interchangeable lens
Audio Input	2 XLR, 3.5mm mini-jack (2-channel capable)	2 XLR, 3.5mm mini-jack (2-channel capable)
LCD/Viewfinder	2.4-inch color LCD; Approx. 215,000 pixels LCD also serves as viewfinder	LCD: 3.2-inch; Approx. 921,600 pixels Viewfinder: 0.45-inch; Approx. 1,226,880 pixels
Weight	3935g (8.7 lbs.) fully loaded	2.6kg (5.7 lbs) with provided
Dimensions	226 x 220 x 496mm (8.9 x 8.7 x 19.5 in.)	169 x 188 x 451mm (6.75 x 7.5 x 17.9 in.)
Uncompressed Video ouput	No	No
Optical Zoom	20x (with provided lens)	20x
Frame Rates	1080/60i, 30F, 24F	60i, 30p, 24p (native progressive)