On Tue, 18 Mar 2003 23:34:27 -0500, "Sanman" <me@you.com> wrote:

>So, I guess what you're saying is that two different cameras made by two

>different manufacturers having two different lenses but that have identicle

>CCDs will register the exact same in low light. OR that a camera with a

>larger CCD wil allways have better low light capabilities than one with a

>smaller CCD, reguardless of anything else, including the lens. Sorry, that

>doesn't fly with me.

Assuming that the maximum aperture is nearly the same,

yes - and most lenses do have nearly the same "speed".

The exceptions to this will result in different low-light

ranges, of course.

>I will admit that most of my optics knowledge is based on telescopes and

>monoculars, and cameras are a little more complex than those items, but if

>I'm buying a camera, chip size is NOT the be-all and end-all when it comes

>to light sensitivity.

>Sanman

No, it depends not only on lens maximum relative

aperture (NOT front diameter size...), but on CCD size,

CCD design type, pixel-count, and related electronics.

But if you specify all of those as equal but CCD size,

the larger CCD will provide greater sensitivity. If you

check out the rated maximum apertures of a bunch of

camcorders, though, I think you will find them all

nearly the same (at least at the wide end of the zoom

range...) - and it is this specification alone that

determines exposure due to the lens.