"Michael" <please_do_not_reply@hotmail.com> wrote in

message news:bo7oks$3v3$1@news-reader3.wanadoo.fr...

> I've spent several days now reading reviews of all the digital camcorders

> and searching google archives. Everyone seems to want a camcorder that

> works well in low-light conditions. Yet ever review I read says the

> camcorders have poor performance in low light! The best compromise I've

> found is Sony's Night Vision, which gives good results if you don't mind

> green picture. Personally I prefer green than nothing. I've read reviews

> for Canon, Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, etc. and all seem to perform badly in

> low-light. I want to get this camcorder for mostly indoor shooting of our

> family, so low-light is very important. I'd also prefer small size, but

> between the two I think low-light is more important. So I started looking

> at some of the horizontal camcorders, cause they're bigger than the small

> compact vertical ones. I was suprised to read that they also have poor low

> light performance! So I'm curious does this exist? Or should I just get an

> inexpensive Sony and forget about low-light?

1-CCD digital camcorders do generally have poor low-light range,

and the situation is getting worse as the cameras (and CCDs) get

smaller and the pixel-count rises. Sony cameras use a more sensitive

"HAD" chip that gets you some advantage over most others when

the chip size is "large" and the pixel count is "low". This includes the

current TRV19 and 22 (which also have the IR "Nightshot" mode,

which can be made more palatable by also using the B&W mode

to get rid of the "toothpaste green" picture color) and the older

TRV11/17/19 and PC9 (these are compared with more sensitive

3-CCD Sony models [and one 1-CCD model that is less sensitive]

in various light levels at:

www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder--comparison.htm). BTW, the

two physical formats often offer the same "guts", so there is no

difference in basic picture quality with the horizontal or vertical

formats. With the older Sony versions, almost a stop more sensitivity

could be had by disabling the stabilizer, which is OK with the lens

zoomed "short" (where the lens is also "faster", anyway...). There are

other tricks you can use to retain color (by avoiding full +18db gain),

though these may require restoring brightness while editing (digital

video is very forgiving of underexposure, but not at all forgiving of

overexposure - and the picture can be lightened later, if needed).

If you can increase room light level a bit, the bottom-end Sony

camcorders (used with some tricks) can provide good footage,

though not as good as the better 3-CCD TRV900 (discontinued,

unfortunately) or the low-light "handycam" king, the VX2000

(and variants).

--

David Ruether

d_ruether@hotmail.com

http://www.David-Ruether-Photography.com