11. By Candlelight

Test 5 shows how the sensor performs with a single source of light, which here is a candle. The details of the racecar serve to check the focusing and the sensitivity of the sensor. We move the candle to check the sensor’s ability to handle changes in lighting. Should you take your camcorder with you on evenings out? See the results in video and HD photos with comments.

Canon

Once again the image shows superb contrast. The colors and details show up beautifully; the image quality is magnificent. The car shows up very well even when the flame moves. The autofocus remains in the center, and even with the candle moving, you have to look closely to see any faults (on the front wheel, for example). The sensor adapts gradually and perfectly to variations in light. Really excellent performance on this test. Hats off! Score 5.3/6

Sony

The image is good - the preciseness of the details is more than acceptable, but the colors are not always very true. We had a little trouble with the autofocus, which sometimes stayed stuck on the candle, but the sequence is fluid and supple overall, and so that wasn’t too much of a drawback. On the other hand, noise is visible, and the colors saturate with the variations of light. The racecar showed all possible variations of red (up to and including pink) when the light source was moved back. There is a NightShot mode, but it shoots only in infrared and so can’t really produce a precise image. Score: 4.1/6

Panasonic

The Panasonic was challenged by this test - we noted a lot of noise, and a tendency to produce a blurry image. The autofocus had difficulties, and when we moved the candle away, it went completely crazy. On the other hand, the sensor managed the variations in the light perfectly; much better than the Sony, for example. The Panasonic adapts to the changing light, but it does it abruptly, which makes for unpleasant viewing. Score 3.5/6

Hitachi

Ouch! More bad news. The picture is dark, blurry, and noisy. Artifacts appear next to the candle in the form of black lines. What’s more, an echo of the flame is discernible next to the image! On paper, this camcorder has the lowest sensitivity (24 LUX), and you can see it. As soon as the flame moves, the image becomes completely catastrophic, and when we move the candle, the image goes out of control and completely out of focus. Variations in light produce grainy images. The bottom line: a 0 for this test. Score: 0/6