On Thu, 15 Aug 2002 04:55:42 GMT, Jes Jes wrote:

>I am back from SF, and I really had a good time there... thank you for
>people who gave me advice on what cam corder to purchase.
>
>I bought PC101 from Sony because it was much lighter & smaller compare to
>regular camera. I took the cam to a show in a dark bar and recorded it,
>but when I play back, it almost looked as if I was watching a black and
>white movie. I wasn't using night shot feature so I don't think that is
>it. The room had very poor lighting (several yellow blub lights on
>celling, hey, it's a bar...).
>http://home.attbi.com/~jirc/Image2.bmp
>http://home.attbi.com/~jirc/Image3.bmp
>(I cranked up color. So these would be the best I can get from my
>recording).

As the 1-CCD camera goes from +15db to +18db gain, most of
the color goes away. One trick I use: at the low light limit
of Sony 1-chippers, I lock the exposure into manual, and
move the exposure one "notch" toward under-exposure, which
gives a slightly darker picture, but one with much better
color. You can raise brightness later (but "grain" will
also go up - but the color will stay).

>I am not sure what I should do with my PC101. Do you think I would do
>better if I buy TRV900 instead. I read that TRV950 which I can buy from
>the store I bought PC101 from might not do well in dark (not as well as
>TRV900). It has been almost 2 weeks now, so if I want to return PC101, I
>better decide quickly....

The TRV900 was the only fairly "inexpensive" camcorder
with good low-light range - but it has unfortunately
been discontinued...

>Other thing is that when I saw ebay auction of TRV900, lots of people
>were selling the camera at almost retail price listed on Sony website
>($1,700 to $1,800) That's madness. I would rather purchase new than 3
>years old, used zillion time TRV900 for that much of money....

So would we all, and I recommended often that people do
just that while the TRV900 was available new for around
$1700 - but most preferred tiny 1-chippers that cost
almost as much (until maybe when they discovered the
limitations...). Now, good used TRV900s are worth what
they cost new, since they remain a bargain when you need
good low-light performance...