On 16 Jun 2002 12:38:40 -0700, martin.collins@cwcom.net (Martin Collins) wrote:

>I have just bought a sony dcr pc101 digital camcorder.
>It seems fine in natural daylight, however when I use it indoors in
>artificial light there is a very blotchy yellow look about the
>picture.
>
>Its not yellow all over, but very patchy, It is particularly
>noticeable on white walls and also on peoples skin. As I have only
>just got the camera I haven't had a chance yet to do lots of
>experimenting. However after a brief play, using different manual
>white balance settings makes no difference.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>Is there something wrong with my camera, or is this something that is
>typical of digital camcorders or perhaps just Sony's. I have used a
>VHC-C camcorder in the past and this had no such problems.
>
>For a fairly expensive camcorder this is quite dissappointing.

It is a problem with 1-CCD camcorders with small,
high-pixel-count CCDs in low light... See:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder--comparison.htm
for a comparison of various Sony *imaging types*,
especially the low-light image comparisons...
As the market demands ever smaller and lighter
camcorders with ever sharper images, something
gives in the compromise mix of image characteristics,
and you have found one of those things... For more
on video image characteristics and faults, see:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/vid_pict_characts.htm.