On 12 Jul 2001 15:29:09 -0700, Paul Rubin wrote:

>David,
>
>I keep seeing repeated user reports that the TRV20 works better in low
>light than the TRV11/17. Logically that's somewhat surprising, since
>the CCD pixels are smaller, but it's hard to argue with actual
>observed experience.
>
>Any idea what's going on? Any comment?

Assuming the imaging is the same on the PC100, PC110,
and TRV-20 (I'm fairly sure that is true), then the
above is not correct, though one could be misled...
I have shot the PC100, PC-1, and TRV-11 side-by-side
in the same few low-light situations (all with
stabilizers off), since I am looking for the best
small Sony one-chipper tiny camera for use on a mic
stand or pole for shooting close-in at wedding
ceremonies (which are often held in rather dim
locations...;-). (I may put frame-grabs from these
tests in a review article on my web page at some
point.) The PC100 color holds up well until +15db,
then suddenly dies as the camera goes toward +18,
where it is essentially monochrome; the color of
the TRV-11 gets a little weird around +15db, but
remains acceptable even at +18db ("grain" for
both is surprisingly minimal even at +18db); the
sensitivity of the TRV-11 is a bit higher than
that of the PC-100, and side-by-side, there is more
"detail-in-the-murk" with the TRV-11 when these
are shot in levels below their limits, and more
info can be recovered from the TRV-11 image with
filtering for both color and detail; when the
light level just rises to the +15db gain point for
the PC100, its image looks a bit better than the
TRV-11 image... Thus, the confusion...;-)
The PC-1 produces an acceptable (though "grainy")
image at a light level lower than the PC-100
(which I bought to replace it - and then found it
was not useable in a chapel I often shoot in, and
in which the PC-1 produces a decent picture - and
the TRV-11 maybe a little bit better picture
[smoother, but a little less sharp - it is all
trade-offs with camcorders, with little outright
"gravy", alas...]). Sony rates the TRV-11 for
5-lux minimum, the PC-100 for 7, as I recall, and
this is not too far from what I found, relatively
speaking... 'Course, the TRV-900 runs rings around
these in low light (every where else, too...), and
in turn, the VX-2000 runs rings around the TRV-900.
But, even so, the pictures from all these cameras
can be mixed after adjusting color/contrast/brightness
in post, assuming that none was used below its
decent-color point...