Sony HDR-SR11 10.2-MP 60GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder Review
September 15th, 2009
Sony HDR-SR11 10.2-MP 60GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder Review from Ivan Avramov. Sony HDR-SR11 v.s. Canon Vixia HF-11, I have purchased both camcorders (I admit via BestBuy since returns are a breeze) to compare quality for about a week, and I must say Sony wins hands down. I was actually hoping the Canon will be the winner since I own the Canon 40D dSLR and wanted to stay within brand, but I’ve made my choice and purchased the SR11 from Amazon. For the record, I was using iMac 3.06GHz intel proc with iMovie/QuickTimePro – none of the cameras offer any software for the Mac, but that did not seem a problem:
Sony won me over in the following areas:
1. Autofocus: Sony seemed more responsive. I have a 2yr old, which can’t seem to stay put for more than a second and the Sony seemed to obtain better focus on him. Canon sometimes took over 2seconds to obtain focus outdoors at about 5x zoom.
2. white balance: For some reason the Canon did not look natural to me. The colours were off, with my son’s pale skin looking greenish indoors at low light.
3. LCD + viewfinder. The Canon does not have a viewfinder, which I suppose contributes to its light weight. I found the LCD to be more than enough in overcast weather, but Sony’s 3.2″ screen is a pleasure to work with. It’s larger(2.7″ v.s 3.2″) and much smoother LCD. The display is simply gorgeous. Videos show amazing on it and shooting is very pleasant. I found the touch screen to sometimes need a second push, but fingerprints were never a problem – I got the same amount on the Canon too. The Canon has the joystick/func button which I found was a bit clumsy to use.
4. compression & low light performance. Since I was shooting mostly indoors, I found Sony to work slightly better in low light, focusing a bit faster and producing less noise. I was comparing Sony’s 60i v.s. Canon’s 30p mode. Canon in 60i indoors at low light looked too alien green for my liking. Sony produced a bit less artifacts too.
5. Storage: 60G v.s. 32G of space. Both are extendible via memory card, sony requires the card if you want to shoot still photos while filming.
6. Build quality. This was a big one. I’d like my camera for which I paid a good chunk of cash to look good and feel good. It is very sad to see Canon produce those cheap feeling and looking cameras, when their SLRs are built like tanks. Sony was impecable with every detail very well thought through.
7 Sound quality. This was also quite noticeable. Sony’s sound was much clearer indoors. It also offers a zoom function on the mic, so that when you use the optical zoom, the mic will also “zoom-in” on the conversation.
8. Price. As it stands, HF11 is 150 bucks more and I can’t justify it.
9. Both camcorders can be hooked with cables directly, but only the Sony includes a cradle, and it is much easier to work with – just drop it in and pick it up when done. On the other hand, with the Canon I had to plug 2 cables each time I wanted to connect it to my Mac – one for power and one USB (you can’t connect to PC without the camcorder being powered by the adaptor).
10. Button operation. Canon has a bad design flaw in their quick start function. You see, if you stop filming, and just close the LCD, the cam goes into standby mode. However, by pressing the start button, you can begin filming again without opening the LCD. On the Sony, the start button is embeded in the middle of the on/off/mode ring. The Canon’s button is a big blob sticking out the back. It is very easy to accidentally start filming. It was quite anoying to find that my battery has runout in the car because I’ve depressed the button. On the bright side I now have 30min of footage of my jacket’s pocket.
11. better stills. Canon’s 3.2Mpixel shots can’t compare to Sony’s 10.2MP. Also, Sony’s flash is well centered over the lens. Canon’s is offset and the light looks off in pictures.
12. Better OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). I found that Sony performs better while walking.
Now some people keep whining about 30p/24p etc. I am no pro, and to me 24p looked a bit blocky, and 30p providing very similar quality to Sony’s 60i mode. I found the 60i mode to look very movie-like too (It kept reminding me of an episode of “The Office” for some reason.)
To keep things fair, the Canon’s Pros were:
1. Lighter weight and more centered zoom lever position. Sony’s HDD,3.2″ screen and viewfinder seem to add a bit of weight and the lever seems to go too far back.
2. flash-based recording medium should keep things more durable, though I’m not sure flash can sustain as many writes as a regular HDD.
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Tags: Amazon, Autofocus, Avramov, Bestbuy, Camcorder Sony, Camcorders, Canon 40d, Colours, Dslr, Fingerprints, Func, Hard Drive, Hf, Ivan, Light Performance, Overcast Weather, Pale Skin, Sony Hdr, Touch Screen, White Balance
