On Mon, 24 Aug 1998 10:28:47 -0500, Rolf Kevin Zigler wrote:

>If I use a professional 3-chip camera (2/3" chips, Canon 15x lens,
>excellent resolution and S/N specs) as the head for a Sony TRV9 (using
>the s-video analog inputs of the TRV9), how will the results compare to
>a "real" 3-chip digital camcorder (i.e. Sony VX1000, Pana AG-EZ1)?
>
>Is the s-video connection capable of preserving the original camera's
>image quality?
>
>When I display the camera output directly to a 750 line monitor, it sure
>looks like the results could be quite good.

It is worth a try - my guess is that you would be pleased (though the
mini-DV compression artifacts will be added [most of the time these
are of minor importance]). Copying Hi-8 and DV tapes with the "S"
input of my TRV-9, I notice only very slight loss of sharpness
compared with the original - worth it if I want to apply an
overall change to the original image using a video equalizer
(sure faster than doing it on the computer! ;-). Starting with
a better original live image, I would think the mini-DV recording
would be excellent, perhaps even better than VX-1000/EZ1 original.
BTW, you may wish to wait for the three-chip TRV-900 - maybe the
color will be improved over the TRV-9 (which is rather bland
and blue), and it could serve as a good "micro" back-up
shooting camcorder... (though old-stock TRV-9's
can shoot wonderful daylight B&W IR).