On 30 Oct 2002 18:21:15 -0800, erictetz@yahoo.com (Eric Tetz) wrote:

>I've combed the web, and combed these groups - some questions for
>anyone kind enough to answer them (thanks in advance):
>
>1) What exactly constitutes "low light"? I wanna film my kids,
>whenever. This could be in the in the living room at night with one or
>two indirect lights. Is this low light?

Yes, for most 1-CCD cameras and some 3-CCD cameras.

>2) I've found exhaustive comparative analysis of 3 ccd cameras
>(bealecorner, etc) - is there anything like this for 1 ccd cameras?
>Just how crappy looking are they?

How did you miss:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder--comparison.htm,
where various Sony imaging types are compared in
various light levels? And:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm,
where various 1 and 3-CCD cameras are compared
in the same set of differing lighting conditions?

>3) From everything I've read, it looks like the trv900 is the sweet
>spot for video quality, low light performance, and form factor. But
>the vx2000 seems better in every way (and it's tantalizingly close in
>price), yet it just seems too damn big to take to the zoo, boardwalk,
>etc. Anyone have experience using the vx2000 as a "family camera"?
>I'll have no pro uses, but the reported ability of this camera to
>faithfully reproduce what it sees in just about any circumstance has
>me *really* wanting it.

The 2000 does this well, with the 900 (discontinued),
showing grain, brilliance, and color problems near the
low end of its range. The 950 is more compact, with what
appears to be a better picture in good light than the 900,
but its low-light range appears to be no greater than
many 1-CCD models... The 2000 is bulky as "handycam"
models go, but it is a "streamlined" design, without
awkward appendages, so it is not hard to pack in a
good camera bag selected to fit it. BTW, another poster
here, "PT", went through this in selecting a travel camera,
and finally went with the superior image quality of the
2000, even with its bulk, and he appears to be happy with
the choice... Alternatively, add an annoying light to the
small 950, or raise the room light levels for video...;-)

>4) Is there nothing currently on the market that compares to the
>trv900 in terms of the aforementioned qualities vs price?

The 900 is discontinued, alas (it did have a unique
good combination of features-for-the-price).