Bryan Worsley
June 14th, 2017, 09:40 PM
Well I've taken the opportunity to check out AWB on the HF-G40 myself, alongside my HF-G30. I had both camcorders set in (Manual) Program AE exposure mode, +12db AGC , iAF, Image Effects at default and with BLC and Face Tracking turned OFF. Recording format/rate 1080/29.97p, 24Mbps mp4. My usual set-up on the HF-G30 for general purpose run-and-gun.
Examining the matched clips on the PC a couple of things struck me. Firstly, dynamic range is definitely further improved on the HF-G40 - that's plain to see. I didn't test low light sensitivity as such, but you can clearly see evidence of it in the enhanced shadow detail....and clean too, at least in the Standard (default) 'look' mode - Wide DR mode is another matter. Secondly, I wouldn't say the colour tone is 'warmer' per se, but there's a tad more magenta in the mix on the HF-G40. The audio quality from internal mics (in default 'standard' auto mode) also seemed to be slightly improved.
As for AWB on the HF-G40 - well I must admit I was crestfallen to find that the behaviour is pretty much the same as on the HF-G30 - really the only difference was that in some shots where there were blue casts, on the HF-G40 there was a slight magenta tinge to them. So that settles it. Yes, the expanded dynamic range is enticing, but there's no way I'd pay double what I paid for the HF-G30 to get the same flaky AWB performance. Were it not for the x20 zoom, 60p, mp4 format option and cold accessory shoe, I'd be tempted to go back to an HF-G10 or HF-G20. In fact for the price difference I could probably pick-up a pre-owned HF-G10 as a fallback. What a ridiculous state of affairs that a Canon model from 6 years back has better AWB performance than their current 'flagship' prosumer model. I can't imagine it's any different on the XA30/35. Surely they could have and could still remedy this with firmware update.
I did have a brief look at a Sony CX900 in one of the camera stores, given it's reputation for having a good AWB. What put me off from the outset though was the optical stabilization (the sales assistant assured me that Steady Shot was on by default) and zoom behaviour, neither of which were as smooth as the HF-G30 and G40. I'm not a big 'zoomer' and when I do it's usually on a tripod, but a lot of my run-and-gun stuff is handheld.
Examining the matched clips on the PC a couple of things struck me. Firstly, dynamic range is definitely further improved on the HF-G40 - that's plain to see. I didn't test low light sensitivity as such, but you can clearly see evidence of it in the enhanced shadow detail....and clean too, at least in the Standard (default) 'look' mode - Wide DR mode is another matter. Secondly, I wouldn't say the colour tone is 'warmer' per se, but there's a tad more magenta in the mix on the HF-G40. The audio quality from internal mics (in default 'standard' auto mode) also seemed to be slightly improved.
As for AWB on the HF-G40 - well I must admit I was crestfallen to find that the behaviour is pretty much the same as on the HF-G30 - really the only difference was that in some shots where there were blue casts, on the HF-G40 there was a slight magenta tinge to them. So that settles it. Yes, the expanded dynamic range is enticing, but there's no way I'd pay double what I paid for the HF-G30 to get the same flaky AWB performance. Were it not for the x20 zoom, 60p, mp4 format option and cold accessory shoe, I'd be tempted to go back to an HF-G10 or HF-G20. In fact for the price difference I could probably pick-up a pre-owned HF-G10 as a fallback. What a ridiculous state of affairs that a Canon model from 6 years back has better AWB performance than their current 'flagship' prosumer model. I can't imagine it's any different on the XA30/35. Surely they could have and could still remedy this with firmware update.
I did have a brief look at a Sony CX900 in one of the camera stores, given it's reputation for having a good AWB. What put me off from the outset though was the optical stabilization (the sales assistant assured me that Steady Shot was on by default) and zoom behaviour, neither of which were as smooth as the HF-G30 and G40. I'm not a big 'zoomer' and when I do it's usually on a tripod, but a lot of my run-and-gun stuff is handheld.