On 31 Jul 2001 21:53:22 -0700, dazzlah@aol.com (Michael) wrote:

>Sorry if this is long but I want to provide some background here...
>
>After doing research for over 2 weeks (reading user group messages
>from deja and Yahoo, user ratings from CNET, talking to dealers from
>Fry's Electronics to San Jose Camera as well as a friend who is a
>video production professional), I decided to buy the Canon OpturaPi
>from San Jose Camera on Saturday because the consensus was the Optura
>provided superior image quality, superior low-light performance, and
>has optical stabilization.
>
>I took the unit home, charged it up, put the new tape in and started
>taking indoor video of my active 3yr old daughter. I also borrowed my
>brother's TRV20 as a comparison so I took almost identical video with
>both camera and compared the results on the LCD as well as the footage
>loaded on my G4 via firewire and iMovie2. I was quite surprised with
>the results I perceived:
>
>* the OpturaPi did not perform as well as the TRV20 indoors with
>ambient light... not even close!
>* the Canon makes all sort of noise when you load/eject the tape as
>well as during tape engage mode for playback and capture -- this
>concerned me since part of my research indicated that the Canon may
>have issues the the tape transport, (aka the 'Eject tape' message that
>I have seen people talking about this month)
>
>
>On Sunday I took the Optura to my wife's soccer game to tape outdoor
>footage. During playback at home on the camera as well as captured
>footage on the Mac I noticed some 'jumpiness' (technical term I
>know...) in some of the scenes. I should have taken the TRV20 too but
>I had my daughter in tow so my hands were full.. anyway.. I was
>disappointed with the outdoor footage as well.
>
>Later that day I took the camera back to SJC and showed them my
>findings and even took the Sony in for them to compare to. The dealer
>brought out a few other Canons and we tested the tape mechanism in
>each (another OpturaPi, an Elura2, one of the ZR cams). All the Canons
>had that same annoying loud tape mechanism. He agreed that the Sonyis
>significantly quieter but he said that was the way Canons sound but he
>never really noticed.We set the 2 cameras up side-by-side and did a
>low light test. The dealer said 'the Sony picture is better...'. I
>asked him more than once if I was using the camera incorrectly. He
>said no. He had no problems giving me a refund even though their
>policy is 'no refunds'.
>
>Questions (finally):
> 1. Is it possible that I got a bad unit (with respect to low-light
>performance) or was I using the camera incorrectly? The TRV20
>provided a much brighter image than the Optura in the exact same
>situation.
> 2. Has anyone else performed the same comparison? If so, what were
>your results?
> 3. Does anyone else care about the sound of the tape transport
>mechanism? Should I care?
> 4. Any recommendations on a camera I would be happy with based on
>the criteria below? [...]
>
>My parameters for the purchase were/are:
>
>VERY important
> image quality
> low/indoor ambientlight performance
> good image stabilization
>
>Moderately important
> user interface
> battery life
> vendor quality
> warranty
>
>Low importance
> still image capture (already have a nice digital cam)
> price

Well, it would appear you would be happy with the TRV20,
so why not buy it? ;-) If your last "low importance"
entry is true, you might also consider the lower-priced
TRV11/17 or PC5/9, or the higher-priced PC110/TRV30 or even
the 3-chip TRV900 Sony models. All have good picture
quality, and the TRV900 has the best picture and low-light
ability of all the above (though it is bigger and heavier
than the others...). All the above have good stabilizers,
low-light ability at least as good as the TRV20, and long
battery run times with the standard battery, except the PC5
(and maybe the TRV900 - but larger batteries with VERY
long run times are available). For more on the TRV900, see:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm, and:
www.bealecorner.com