Canon LEGRIA HV40

Low Light Sensitivity (9.04)

The Canon HV40 has a similarly-sized CMOS sensor to the Canon HF S100 (and the rest of the Canon HF S series), but it has a far smaller pixel count. We guessed that this should result in better low light sensitivity for the HV40, and our tests confirmed this hypothesis. The HV40 required only 7 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor—less than any of the other camcorders. This is likely a result of the pixels being less dense on the Canon HV40's sensor. That allows the sensor to absorb more light, hence improving the low light sensitivity of the camcorder. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

Based on what most HD camcorders are scoring in our low light sensitivity test, the HV40's result of 7 lux is very good. Only Panasonic (the HDC-HS300 and HDC-TM300) and Sanyo (the VPC-HD2000) came near the HV40 on this test. When using the HV40's alternate frame rate, the camcorder was capable of even better low light sensitivity. In 25p mode the HV40 required just 4 lux to reach 50 IRE.

Low Light Sensitivity
Frame Rate	Canon HV40	Canon HF S100	Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sony HDR-XR520
50i	7 Lux	12 Lux	8 Lux	15 Lux
25p	4 Lux	6 Lux	8 Lux	n/a

Low Light Colour (7.73)

The Canon HV40 didn't have great colour accuracy in low light, but its results were about average for a camcorder of its class. What the HV40 did have was deep, vivid colours in low light—a testament to the 76.65% saturation we measured in our low light test. The Canon HV40 registered a colour error of 4.67. (More on how we test low light colour.)

Auto Low Light Colour Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Canon HV40 produced a colour error of 4.67 and a saturation level of 76.65% 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.)

At 60 lux, which is the light level for our low light testing, the Canon HV40 produced a dark image. Most camcorders produce a dark image at 60 lux, but the HV40's was a bit darker than the Canon HF S100, and significantly darker than both the Panasonic HDC-HS300 and the Sony HDR-XR520. The exposure levels on the HV40 can be manually altered, however, by simply adjusting the overall exposure setting or changing the aperture and shutter speed. In the comparisons below, check out how much more colour the HV40 retained than its competitors—including the Canon HF S100, which had a much lower saturation level (59.66%).

Low Light Comparison
Canon HV40	Canon HF S100
Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sony HDR-XR520

The difference in the colour accuracy in low light when using 25p was very subtle: the Canon HV40 had a colour error of 4.66 when using its native-progressive 25p mode. Usually we see better colour accuracy with alternate frame rates because they help the camcorder produce a brighter image in low light, but accuracy was not the result with the HV40.

Low Light Colour Score Comparison		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Canon HF S100
		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Panasonic HDC-HS300
		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Sony HDR-XR520

Low Light Noise (9.23)

The HV40's low light noise measurements were slightly higher than the Canon HF S100, although the two camcorders had very similar numbers (1.2825% on the HV40 vs. 0.9625% on the HF S100). These are both good noise scores for low light, but the Panasonic HDC-HS300 and Sony HDR-XR520 were a bit better. The crops below give you a better idea of how much of this noise is actually noticeable in the footage. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Canon HV40 100% Crop	Canon HF S100 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-HS300 100% Crop	Sony HDR-XR520 100% Crop

In the images above, you can definitely see more noise on the two Canon models than you can on the Panasonic and Sony. Artefacting is also present on all the camcorders in low light, although the Sony and Panasonic look a bit cleaner than the two Canon models. As far as sharpness goes, you can see that each image has lost some of its detail that it had in bright light, but they all retain a good level of sharpness. All of these camcorders are better-than-average low light performers, but the Panasonic HDC-HS300 is the best of the bunch.

Just like with low light colour accuracy, the noise results of the Canon HV40 did not improve when shooting with its 25p frame rate. In fact, when using the native-progressive 25p mode the HV40 averaged 1.535% noise, which is worse than before. This is not a huge difference from the HV40's noise levels when recording at 50i, but there should have been an improvement.

Low Light Noise Score Comparison		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Canon HF S100
		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Panasonic HDC-HS300
		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Sony HDR-XR520