On 3 Oct 2001 13:40:38 -0700, bluntmon@operamail.com (Major Blunts) wrote:

>So, is my experience with the JVC typical of all DV cameras?

Unknown - though a Panasonic 1-chipper I tried out recently
wasn't up to the Sony TRV11 in low light (Sony makes claims
for its "HAD" chips being more sensitive...). *In general*,
smaller chips are less sensitive, but "jiggling" the CCD
type and number of pixels (and probably other trade-offs)
can affect sensitivity, and processing can also affect the
appearance of the results...

>I know
>that the smaller the camera the smaller the lens, hence, the low
>amount of light that can get into the camera.

This is not true; it is a common misconception that
a smaller lens "lets in less light" - it is quite common
for even lenses of equal FL and speed to be quite
different in size (what counts is the maximum relative
aperture, not the lens size, for "speed" [f2 is just about f2,
regardless of lens size {though variables exist that make
f2 lenses not always quite f2...;-}]).

>Do DV cameras have any relationship to film cameras were you can
>measure the minimum f/stop to get an idea of its light requirements?

Yes, but in a way that makes exact comparison not easy - the
video camera has f-stops and "shutter speeds", but its CCD
sensitivity ("film speed") can also vary...

>d_ruether@hotmail.com (Neuman - Ruether) wrote in message
>news:<3bbd200e.2619627@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>...
>> I'm not familiar with the JVC or Canon
>> 1-chip camcorders, but Sony 1-chip Mini-DV
>> camcorders have slow shutter speeds
>> available under "digital effects", or
>> some-such. Often the 1/30th or 1/15th
>> are useable, with the resultant lowering
>> of gain improving picture color and
>> "grain" characteristics, or allowing
>> the taking of video in much lower light
>> levels than at 1/60th... Turning off
>> the stabilizer when shooting in low light
>> also helps with Sony one-chippers (the
>> shutter speed goes from 1/100th to 1/60th).
>> If a monochrome picture is acceptable,
>> the "night shot" feature can be used to
>> produce good-quality B&W footage in much
>> lower light levels than color (and a
>> light can be added that emits
>> nearly-invisible IR light). Most 1-chip
>> Mini-DV camcorders are so small that a
>> light would add significantly to size
>> (and heat) - and it is easy to add an
>> external light (with the source properly
>> above the lens, to avoid "ghoulish"
>> effects...).