Canon Legria HF M31

Low Light Sensitivity (1.16)

The Canon HF M31 required 17 lux of light to register 50 IRE on our waveform monitor—just 1 lux less than the Canon HF20 required in this test last year. We're disappointed Canon didn't improve the low light sensitivity on its new batch of mid-range camcorders, as that was the biggest issue we had with the HF20 and HF200 last year. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

The other camcorders in this set did quite a bit better than the HF M31 when it came to sensitivity. The JVC GZ-HD620 was the most impressive, especially considering JVC doesn't have the strongest track record when it comes to the low light capability of its camcorders. In the HF M31's defence, however, it is one of the few mid-range camcorders to offer two frame rates for recording HD video. Using its PF25 mode in low light situations will drastically improve low light sensitivity (see table below). The Canon HF S21, as well as a few other high-end models from other manufacturers, also has two frame rate options.

Low Light Sensitivity
Mode	Canon HF M31	Panasonic HDC-HS60	JVC GZ-HD620	Canon HF S21
Auto Gain	17 Lux (50i) 8 Lux (PF25)	15 Lux	11 Lux	13 Lux (50i) 5 Lux (PF25)

Low Light Colour (7.91)

The Canon HF M31 measured a colour error of 4.52 with a saturation level of 70.86%. Neither of these numbers are particularly impressive, but they are average for a camcorder of its class. (More on how we test low light colour.)

Auto Low Light Colour Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Canon HF M31 produced a colour error of 4.52 and a saturation level of 70.86% in our low light colour testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the colour error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular colour.)

Surprisingly, the Canon HF M31 didn't show much of an improvement with colour accuracy when we recorded using its alternate frame rates. Yes, the saturation level went up quite a bit, but the colour error only went down slightly (to 4.05).

Low Light Colour Across Frame Rates

The Canon HF M31 produced a fairly dark image in our low light testing, although it wasn't that much darker than what the Panasonic HDC-HS60 and JVC GZ-HD620 managed. Just as we saw in our bright light colour test, the JVC GZ-HD620 was the leader of the pack when it came to low light colour accuracy. It's image not only had accurate colours, but it also had a very impressive 88% saturation level.

Low Light Comparison
Canon HF M31	Panasonic HDC-HS60
JVC GZ-HD620	Canon HF S21

Low Light Colour Score Comparison		Compare the Canon HF M31 to the Panasonic HDC-HS60
		Compare the Canon HF M31 to the JVC GZ-HD620
		Compare the Canon HF M31 to the Canon HF S21

Low Light Noise (8.68)

Noise was a big problem on the Canon HF20 last year, but Canon seemed to improve things a bit with the HF M31. The camcorder averaged 1.27% noise in our low light test, which is fairly good for a mid-range HD camcorder. It isn't the lowest amount of noise we've ever seen—the JVC GZ-HD620 continued its dominating low light performance with an excellent score in this test—but it is still worthy of praise. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Canon HF M31 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-HS60 100% Crop	JVC GZ-HD620 100% Crop	Canon HF S21 100% Crop

You can see fine specks of noise on all of the images shown above, but we must point out that the JVC GZ-HD620 has the most blurred image of the bunch. This lack of sharpness is probably why the HD620 measured such low noise levels in this test. So, it is up to you what kind of image you prefer—less detail with less noise, or a sharper image with more noise.

Low Light Noise Score Comparison		Compare the Canon HF M31 to the Panasonic HDC-HS60
		Compare the Canon HF M31 to the JVC GZ-HD620
		Compare the Canon HF M31 to the Canon HF S21