Sony Handycam HDR-FX1000 Camcorder Review

Color & Noise Performance Summary
• Decent color accuracy, but nothing to write home about • Noise scores were generally good, although lack of manual noise reduction hurts the performance in the long run.
	Product Tour	(Page 3 of 17)	Motion & Resolution Performance

Color (9.05)

The Sony HDR-FX1000 produced a good image in our bright light color testing, but it appeared a bit darker when compared to other camcorders. This darker-than-average image didn't look bad, but it may be a concern for people looking for very saturated colors and images that really pop. According to Imatest, the HDR-FX1000 produced a color error of 4.42 and a saturation level of 78.77%. This is a decent color error, but we expected a bit better coming from a prosumer camcorder. Since the image produced by the FX1000 in auto mode is so dark, you can definitely get more accurate colors if you manually boost the exposure just a bit. (More on how we test color).

Note: CCI is using a new color error formula this year for our new 2009-2010 rubric, so the numbers won't match up with the results from camcorders we reviewed over the past two years. The new system uses the CIEDE2000 formula, which is the most accurate equation for determining color error, and will be in place on all our reviews as of 2009.

Color Accuracy Performance
Color Chart with Error Chart to the right
The HDR-FX1000 produced a color error of 4.42 and a saturation level of 78.77 in our bright light color testing. The map on the right is a diagram of the determined color error and the direction the camcorder skewed each color.

We didn't really mind the darker image produced by the Sony HDR-FX1000, and often it looked quite good. The extra darkness provided more contrast, especially in our bright light testing, and it made the deeper reds and blues more defined. We really only noticed the darkness of the FX1000's image when we started comparing it to other camcorders. The HDR-FX1000 has a number of color and image controls, although not as many as on the Canon XL H1A, and it comes preset with three Picture Profiles: Cinema, Sunset, and Portrait. The Cinema profile produces a more contrast, while Sunset warms the colors significantly. The Portrait setting appeared to soften the look of the video and desaturated some color. We also shot video using the two Cinematone settings, which are also both found in the Picture Profile menu. Cinematone 1 and 2 didn't appear to do much to the image, although they did seem to brighten things up just a bit.

Sony HDR-FX1000 Color Modes
Auto	100% Crop
Color Cinematone 1	100% Crop
Color Cinematone 2	100% Crop
Cinema Picture Profile	100% Crop
Sunset Picture Profile	100% Crop
Portrait Picture Profile	100% Crop

Looking at our train footage, the colors looked strong on the HDR-FX1000. Because the image had some darkness to it, some noise was noticeable in the darker colors (like blue and deep red). Overall, however, everything looked very good and the Sony was able to hold its own in a comparison with the Canon XL H1A. Looking at the close-up of the pipe cleaners, it appears the HDR-FX1000 was able to capture the reds and oranges with less blur and blending than the Canon. The Canon did have a better color accuracy score and an overall brighter image, however, which is why it scored better in this test.

Sony HDR-FX1000 Color Comparisons
Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A

In this side-by-side comparison, you can easily see the difference in brightness between the two camcorders. The close-ups of the individual color patches below gives you an even better idea of what we're talking about.

Note: Since we just started rolling out our new pro camcorder reviews, we currently only have one comparison for the HDR-FX1000. In future reviews we will be showcasing three comparison models throughout the review. We'll also be updating our current reviews with more comparisons once we finish testing other camcorders.

	Close-Up Color Comparisons
	Ideal	Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A
Red
	Ideal	Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A
Green
	Ideal	Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A
Blue
	Ideal	Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A
Skin Tone 2

Looking at the patches above you can clearly see some splotches and artifacting in the darker color squares produced by the Sony HDR-FX1000. The Canon rendered a much smoother image, although some artifacting is still present. On the whole, this is an impressive color performance for the FX1000, as it is a lower-end prosumer model. Just the fact that it can hang with some of the best (and more expensive) pro camcorders is praiseworthy.

Color Performance Scores

Noise (7.22)

The Sony HDR-FX1000 had relatively low noise levels at most settings, although the numbers between 0dB gain and 6dB gain weren't all that promising. The camcorder has no manual noise reduction modes, although it has two negative gain settings, which can be engaged to bring down noise levels when you have enough light. The lowest noise percentage we measured with the HDR-FX1000 was 0.515%, which was obtained when using the -6dB gain setting. This is a rather low noise level, although it is slightly higher than what we recorded with the Canon XL H1A (0.3875% noise). (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparison

Above, we are comparing the noise levels over gain settings between the Sony HDR-FX1000 and Canon XL H1A. The charted measurements taken by the Canon are using its NR 2 noise reduction feature, which we found to work the best of the Camcorders multiple noise reduction settings. Since the HDR-FX1000 doesn't have a noise reduction feature, we simply mapped the numbers we measured when recording in auto mode over the various gain settings. The Canon showed better noise levels overall, especially in the low gain settings, and it's numerous noise reduction features make it the clear winner in this test. The strange dip shown by the Sony HDR-FX1000 at +12dB gain is likely due to some automatic noise reduction kicking in at that gain level.

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

In the closeup shots above you can clearly see more noise on the image from the HDR-FX1000, with the XL H1A appearing smoother and softer overall. The numbers are crisper on the HDR-FX1000 and the image appears sharper as well. Both of these closeups are 100% crops from our 3000 lux testing with the Chroma DuMonde chart.

Noise Score Comparisons