Sony HDR-FX1000

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.

The HDR-FX1000 has an adequate low light sensitivity, but compared to what many pro and prosumer camcorders are capable of doing, the Sony didn't put on a very good performance. The camcorder required 57 lux of light to produce 50 IRE on our waveform monitor when using no gain boost. With auto gain control engaged, the camcorder only needed 8 lux of light to reach the same peak on the waveform monitor. (More on how we test low light sensitivity). 

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

Just looking at the graph it is easy to see how much better the Canon XL H1A did with low light sensitivity. The 8 lux difference at 0dB gain and the 3 lux difference using auto gain are very significant, as the range of scores for this test isn't very wide. It appears Sony's overall darker image sets it back a bit when it comes to picking up an image in low light situations. If you're not planning to shoot many scenes in the dark, however, the HDR-FX1000's setback with low light sensitivity may not be much of a concern.

Low Light Color (6.53)

Without any gain boost the Sony HDR-FX1000 produced a very dark image in our low light testing. The colors still looked very nice, but the overall image was too dark for the colors to register as accurate according to Imatest. With 0dB gain, the HDR-FX1000 measured an approximate color error of 6.49 and a saturation level of 56.65%. These are average scores for a camcorder shooting in low light without any gain boost. (More on how we test low light color.)

0dB Gain Low Light Color Accuracy
Color Chart with Error Chart to the right
Without any gain increase, the HDR-FX1000 measured a color error of 6.49 and a saturation level of 56.65%. To the right, each color patch from the chart above is mapped. The longer the line between the circles and squares represents less color accuracy.

Going by the numbers, the Sony HDR-FX1000 and Canon XL H1A scored equally in this test when both camcorders were set at 0dB gain. In the images below, however, the Sony appears to have far deeper colors. This makes sense, as the HDR-FX1000 measured a roughly 10% higher saturation level than the Canon when shooting with these settings.

0dB Gain Comparison
Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A

Next, we cranked up the gain on the HDR-FX1000 to +6dB. This improved the colors and brightness of the image tremendously, which was expected.

6dB Gain Low Light Color Accuracy
Color Chart with Error Chart to the right
Using 6dB gain, the HDR-FX1000 recorded a color error of 4.91 and a saturation level of 80.24%. The color error map is again displayed on the right. Notice how much shorter the lines are between  the squares and circles here.

The FX1000 measured a respectable 4.91 color error when we ran our tests with these settings. The saturation level made a huge leap and registered an impressive 80.24%. This is a decent color error score when using a 6dB gain setting, but we saw more accurate colors from the Canon XL H1A.

6dB Gain Comparison
Sony HDR-FX1000	Canon XL H1A

In the two comparisons above, the Sony HDR-FX1000 has stronger colors, as evidenced by its high saturation score. The Canon, however, scored better in color accuracy and has a cleaner image overall. Some people may very well like the look created by the HDR-FX1000 at this level as colors appear vivid and deep.

The saturation level on the HDR-FX1000 remained consistent when we tested color using 12dB gain and auto gain settings. Strangely, however, the color error increased when we raised the gain to 12dB. This is an odd performance quirk, but it matches the results we obtained from our low light noise testing (see next section). It appears the Sony HDR-FX1000 works best with gain settings somewhere between 0 and 9dB. When set to auto gain, the camcorder recorded the most accurate colors.

Low Light Color Score Comparison

The Canon XL H1A slightly edged out the Sony in this battle, mainly because it measured better color accuracy at every gain level we tested. The numbers were close, but the HDR-FX1000 was always a step behind.

The Sony HDR-FX1000 fared better with low light noise than it did with low light sensitivity. Testing across multiple gain settings, the camcorder consistently produced noise values well below 2%. Even when using 12dB gain, which is quite a bit, the camcorder recorded a noised percentage of 1.8525%. These are comparable numbers to the Canon XL H1A, but the Canon does offer manual noise reduction features which makes it a far more versatile device when it comes to limiting the noisiness of an image. Even so, the Sony performed very well in this test.  (More on how we test low light noise.)

0dB gain at 60 lux
Sony HDR-FX1000 100% Crop	Canon XL H1A 100% Crop

Using 0dB gain setting and shooting at 60 lux, the HDR-FX1000 produced 1.5125% noise. Without any gain boost the image appeared very dark, which is normal when shooting under 60 lux of light.

6dB gain at 60 lux
Sony HDR-FX1000 100% Crop	Canon XL H1A 100% Crop

Bumping things up to 6dB gain the camcorder actually recorded less noise, with Imatest measuring only 1.3425% noise. This is likely due to some automatic noise reduction on the camcorder kicking in at this level. Here, the Sony did much better than the Canon XL H1A, which produced 2.18% noise using a 6dB gain setting.

12dB gain at 60 lux
Sony HDR-FX1000 100% Crop	Canon XL H1A 100% Crop

Things didn't get too much brighter at 12dB gain, but the noise levels went way up. This tells us that the Sony HDR-FX1000 has a sweet spot when it comes to noise and low light shooting—keeping things around 6dB gain gets you your best overall results. We noticed the same thing in our low light color test in the section above.

The HDR-FX1000 and Canon XL H1A had very similar numbers in this test, with the Sony actually scoring just a bit better than the Canon. Keep in mind, the XL H1A has lots of manual noise reduction features so it's probably a better device at controlling noise overall. Noise reduction settings can degrade the quality of the image, however, and the Sony showed us impressive low light noise numbers in our tests across the gain range.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons