"The
Film Stud" <thefilmstud@netzero.net> wrote in message
news:396b1dd9.0311061213.6e5e1c33@posting.google.com...
> If
VHS is not good enough. How about a Digital 8 camcorder. My friend
>
has one and claims it shoots 500 lines.
>
> If
this is true, why can't I see much of a difference on my
>
television.
>
>
His camera does look better but not twice as good.
>
> Is
this true, that he shoots 500 lines?
[See
"PTRAVEL's" excellent response above, first - below is
a
response I offered in another NG to your same question...]
A
couple of the top end D8 cameras (well, there were only a few,
ever...)
can get close to this under ideal conditions, but there are
other
quality issues involved (tonality, relative freedom from
negative
picture artifacting, low-light range, color-quality, etc. - see
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/vid_pict_characts.htm
for some idea
of what
we are up against in our struggle for high image quality
in TV)
- and even if the camera did a true 500 lines (TV, horizontal
resolution),
this is only in one direction. Both do a maximum of
about
480 lines vertical resolution NTSC (though an inferior camera
may not
achieve this), narrowing the better camera's advantage.
As
another pointed out, the limiter for you may be the monitoring
quality
(most commercial SD TVs will not show 540 TV-res
horizontal
lines), further narrowing the differences - and you may
not yet
be aware of other subtle differences in the picture. Also,
it is
best to start with the highest-quality master if you will be
duplicating
by analogue means, since there will be quality loss
with
each generation (though immediately converting an analogue
medium
to digital will minimize this). As others pointed out, VHS
is the
lowest-quality standard video medium out there, and even a
single
generation from copying once reduces the quality level to
unacceptable
(and the original itself was unacceptable for commercial
use
unless the subject shot was unique - see the footage used on such
programs
as "Americas Funniest Videos" for an idea of what to
expect
[if most of this stuff does not look relatively terrible to you
compared
with what you are producing, you are either using a
$50,000
camera hooked up to a VHS deck {which still looks bad...},
or you
are a non-critical viewer using a poor 19" or smaller TV
without
"S" input capability for judging]). VHS is an unacceptable
acquisition
medium for production of a good commercial video,
though
for a very specialized production, with careful use, and
for
private distribution, it may be adequate...
--
David Ruether
d_ruether@hotmail.com
http://www.David-Ruether-Photography.com