On Wed, 16 Jan 2002 21:08:09 +0100, "Temuri Imnaishvili"
>I am about to purchase one of three SONY camcorders mentioned in the
>subject, but I am not really sure what choice should I make.
These (and others) are compared with frame-grabs at:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder--comparison.htm
>My main goal is to be able to produce MPG/MOV/AVI movies with higher
>resolution (X and Y) so I can film my children and send CDs to my relatives.
>So - the bigger - the better (I do not care about VCR/TV, I need camera to
>make computer movies).
This is not going to happen, for high-quality, with the built-in MPEG compressor...
>I saw that PC9 produces quite small movies in terms of resolution, so I was
>not really impressed.
These are 320x240 and ***HIGHLY*** compressed to make
it possible to put a few seconds of video and sound on
a web page or in an email. For higher quality, you will
need to use a compression program like TMPEGNC (free)
on a computer applied to the Mini-DV.
>Now, Sony claims that TRV30 and PC110 are MEGAPIXEL camcorders. The question
>is - does that affect the resolution of output movies?
It does affect the quality of the Mini-DV output, but not
the camera-compressed MPEG output...
>Some questions that torment me:
>1. What is the resolution of the movie that is being produced by TRV30 and
>PC110?
720x480 (NTSC) on a computer... Remember that format
resolution is NOT the same as TV resolution...
These cameras, under ideal conditions, can approximate
500 TV-line resolution, close to the format resolution
limit of 540 lines...
>2. Why, while having very similar parameters, TRV30 and PC110 have such
>different model names? Does PC prefix have anything to do with "personal
>computer" abbreviation?
No - body format: the "PC" models are upright, the
"TRV" models are horizontal - and they are held
differently...
>3. What parameter is affected by Lens Size? Why bigger lens size is better
>than small one?
It isn't, necessarily - the lens size (for equal
characteristics) is determined by the image area
and little else - and the size indicates little
else but image size...
>4. What parameter is affected by Filter Diameter? Why bigger filter diameter
>is better than small one?
It isn't, necessarily. Don't make assumptions...
>5. Are other camcorders by JVC or Canon any better than Sony?
No....;-)
>6. Why PC110 is about $700 more expensive than PC9? Is it THAT better?
See the frame-grabs on the site above - the (PC100) PC110
motion-video image is noticeably sharper... BTW, the price
difference should be about 1/2 what you say (look for
***good*** discount sellers [www.bhphotovideo.com,
www./cameraworld.com, www.adorama.com]).
>Looking at details sheet I could not see any huge difference (other than
>lens size & Megapixel thing)
Specs on photo/video gear tell you little...
>7. Wouldn't TRV30 or PC110 a bit of overkill for the purposes of documenting
>family life?
No. Depends on your standards. The PC9 (and cheaper
TRV17) has a pleasant image; the TRV20/PC100/PC110
has a sharper image; the TRV30/PC115/PC120 has a sharper
image yet - but this comes with a price in terms of
image "busy" look on contrasty edges - the TRV17/PC9
may be what you are looking for...
>8. If "resolution" of PC110 is higher than of PC9 - how does it reflect
>while recording to VHS cassette?
A bit "cleaner" image - but copying to this low-quality
medium will tend to equalize quality differences, and you
may not see a difference in the VHS tape copy (same as with
the MPEGs...).