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Introduction
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01.Product Tour
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02.Colour & Noise Performance
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03.Motion & Sharpness Performance
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04.Low Light Performance
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05.Compression & Media
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06.Manual Controls
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07.Still Features
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08.Handling & Use
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09.Playback & Connectivity
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10.Audio & Other Features
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11.Panasonic HDC-TM700 Comparison
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12.JVC GZ-HM1 Comparison
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13.Canon HF S100 Comparison
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14.Conclusion
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15.Photo Gallery
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16.Specs and Ratings
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17.Comments
Canon Legria HF S21
Previous: Part 2
Colour & Noise PerformanceNext: Part 4
Low Light Performance
Motion & Sharpness Performance Summary
• Motion performance was excellent
• The HF S21 also has its PF25 mode, but it doesn't record natively (the video is still recorded at 50i).
• Video was very sharp—one of the best camcorders in this category.
Motion (11.8)
The Canon HF S21 has the same frame rates as the HF S100. The native 25p mode you can find in the NTSC versions of the camcorder is not included in the PAL camcorders, but it really only makes a difference in the editing stage, as it allows you to edit your video in a native 24 frames-per-second timeline. However, the motion rendering on the HF S21 looks very similar to what we saw with last year's camcorders. (More on how we test motion.)
| Canon HF S21 | Panasonic HDC-TM700 | JVC GZ-HM1 | Canon HF S100 | |
| Frame Rate(s) | 50i, PF25 |
50p, 50i, 25p (Digital Cinema) | 50i | 50i, PF25 |
| Artefacting | Minimal artefacting; one of the best consumer camcorders in this category | Almost no artefacting noticeable in 1080/50p mode, but 50i settings show some artefacting | Very little artefacting—on par with the Panasonic HDC-TM700's 50p mode. | Some artefacting present |
| Smoothness | Motion video is very smooth, although there are some camcorders that did better. | Extremely smooth video, particularly when using 50p mode. | Video looked incredibly smooth, just like what we saw from the HDC-TM700. | Video was as smooth as what we saw on the Canon HF S21. |
| Trailing | Some trailing was present, but it wasn't a big problem. | We noticed some interference in the black and white pin-wheel in our test | There was some trailing in our test video, but not much. | Noticeable trailing, but not a problem |
| Frequency Interference |
Some minor interference with tight vertical and horizontal lines. | Same performance as Canon HF S21. | The camcorder's motion test showed no major problems with interference. | A bit more noticeable interference than Canon HF S21. |
| Slow Motion Mode(s) |
None | Time Lapse Record | 120fps, 300fps, 600fps low-quality modes | None |
The Panasonic HDC-TM700 has a number of alternate frame rates for recording video, including a Full-HD 50p mode. Canon's PF25 mode records video at 50i, but uses a pull-down conversion system to create 25p footage. A similar process is done with Panasonic's 25p mode, which is called Digital Cinema recording. The samples from our motion test shown below were all shot in auto mode using each camcorder's default frame rate, which is 50i for these four models. Click on the HD links or visit our YouTube homepage for larger, higher-quality videos.
| Canon HF S21 click here for large HD version |
Panasonic HDC-TM700 click here for large HD version |
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| JVC GZ-HM1 click here for large HD version |
Canon HF S100 click here for large HD version |
Video Sharpness (11.97)
The HF S21 measured a sharper image than its predecessors in our test. The camcorder managed a horizontal sharpness of 900 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of 650 lw/ph. The disparity between horizontal and vertical sharpness on the HF S21 is a common occurrence on high-end camcorders. Almos all comparison models shown below had vertical sharpness scores around 600 – 650 lw/ph, and each of them produced much better results with our horizontal sharpness test. Only the Panasonic HDC-TM700 managed a vertical sharpness of 900 lw/ph. (More on how we test video sharpness.)
| Video Sharpness Score Comparison |  |
Compare the Canon HF S21 to the Panasonic HDC-TM700 |
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Compare the Canon HF S21 to the JVC GZ-HM1 |
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Compare the Canon HF S21 to the Canon HF S100 |
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