On Mon, 21 May 2001 18:27:09 +1000, "Angry Of Mayfair" wrote:

[much removed for brevity - read above...]
>The footage I took with it compares very well with footage taken
>immediately afterwards with my TRV900 in the same (city street,
>overcast) location - (both cams were in full auto) - the MX300's white
>balance was noticeably warmer - the colour balance was to me far 'nicer'
>than the greeny-blue of the TRV900's and the contrast and whites seemed
>brighter. In all it was a very pleasing image, perhaps not quite as
>sharp on distant shots as the '900, but a very vibrant image with more
>natural colour. When the TRV900 footage is instantly compared like this
>it seems a little disappointing - less vibrant and a strong green cast,
>with a good deal more flare from the lens, even on a cloudy day.
>Although it's possible that technically, the '900's image may actually
>be more accurate it certainly seems to be less pleasing, although if
>there is no other image to compare with you soon get used to it's greeny
>tinge.
>As for actual resolution - hard to say, it seemed just slightly softer
>than the '900 but that may just be my imagination or perhaps slightly
>more edge-enhancement on the '900.
>Resolution-wise, there was very little in it, viewed on a Sony
>professional 29" monitor via s-video input.
>When time permits I will capture some stills via fire-wire and have a
>closer look...

I liked the EZ30U, but in the end sold it in favor of
another TRV-900 due to the many limitations of the 30U.
In your interesting comments, though, I was surprised
by your comments on the white balance of the TRV-900.
I have never seen, among the 5-6 NTSC samples I have
tried, any TRV-900 look greenish - instead, they ran
from slightly blue-magenta to decidedly magenta in bias,
and could generally have used more green. Perhaps yours
is unusual, or the greenishness is a PAL TRV-900
characteristic? As for the Panasonic MX300 white balance,
all comparative frame grabs I've seen show it to be *very*
red - so red that I was unable to fully correct (to my
satisfaction) the color of the images in a still-photo
editor. These frame grabs also showed the image to be
less sharp looking than some other camcorders. As for
the TRV-900 lens flare, I have not observed this - and
I often shoot backlit subjects, and shoot directly into
the sun. One sees the usual ghosts and diffraction effects,
but this is not flare (a diffuse illumination, resulting
in loss of image brilliance). I do usually shoot with the
AE-bias set one or two notches down, since in stock
form it (and other Sony camcorders) shoot an image that
is a bit too light for me. This results in slightly
richer color, and a bit nicer tonal result. The
MX300 is interesting, but I have not yet heard anything
about it that would lead me to think that it may be
better than several other camcorders already available.
(With a trial, though, this opinion may change...;-)