Best Low Light- Canon XHA-1S OR Sony HVR-Z5U at DVinfo.net

Denny Gulvas · February 20th, 2010, 09:02 PM

Can someone please give me a possible comparison of low light capability between the XHA-1S and the Sony HVR-Z5U? Is there a difference between the two in shooting under low light conditions outdoors?

Noa Put · February 21st, 2010, 05:09 PM

I made comparisons between a sony fx1000 and a canon xh-a1, the fx1000 and the z5 should have the same low light capability. I can't imagine that the new xh-a1s version would be that much better in low light then the old a1 but maybe someone can correct me here.

What I can say about the fx1000 vs the old xh-a1, the fx1000 handles gain (grain) much better then the xh-a1 which explains for the most part it's much better low light capability.
At 12db gain the xh-a1 image looks awefull, at least to my eyes and when viewed in HD on a lcd hd screen. The fx1000 also produces grain when gain is used but it's much cleaner (the grain is much finer/smaller) allowing higher gain values to be used.

The difference was considerable, I never go above 6db gain with the xh-a1 and the grain is acceptable to me, with the sony I could go up to 15db gain before I thought it looked too bad. That's almost like turning on an extra light.

February 20th, 2010, 09:02 PM	#1
Denny Gulvas New Boot Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: DuBois, Pa. Posts: 22	Best Low Light- Canon XHA-1S OR Sony HVR-Z5U Can someone please give me a possible comparison of low light capability between the XHA-1S and the Sony HVR-Z5U? Is there a difference between the two in shooting under low light conditions outdoors? Last edited by Denny Gulvas; February 21st, 2010 at 05:30 AM.

February 21st, 2010, 05:09 PM	#2
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	I made comparisons between a sony fx1000 and a canon xh-a1, the fx1000 and the z5 should have the same low light capability. I can't imagine that the new xh-a1s version would be that much better in low light then the old a1 but maybe someone can correct me here. What I can say about the fx1000 vs the old xh-a1, the fx1000 handles gain (grain) much better then the xh-a1 which explains for the most part it's much better low light capability. At 12db gain the xh-a1 image looks awefull, at least to my eyes and when viewed in HD on a lcd hd screen. The fx1000 also produces grain when gain is used but it's much cleaner (the grain is much finer/smaller) allowing higher gain values to be used. The difference was considerable, I never go above 6db gain with the xh-a1 and the grain is acceptable to me, with the sony I could go up to 15db gain before I thought it looked too bad. That's almost like turning on an extra light.