On Mon, 23 Sep 2002 20:17:07 +0800, "David Winter"
>I'd tend to agree here, too.
As would I - the low-light range of the 900 over the
740 is enough greater, as is the tonal range recordable
(the 740 will blow out highlights *much* sooner than
the TRV900 will). Also, on contrasty edges, the TRV900
picture is a LOT "quieter", with less artifacting and
picture "busy-ness"...
>I find the D8s have very average optics - though the 730/830/740/840 models
>could be better than the D8s I own (120 and 310). Single chippers can match
>mono resolution - but not colour!
The megapixel camcorders (shot outdoors, with a polarizer
added...) can produce excellent color - I just shot some
lily pads with a TRV730 that really look wonderful, and
fully as colorful as what my VX2000 can produce. As for
sharpness of the lenses, the one on the TRV730 is quite
good, being as sharp as most but showing some green-purple
color-fringing at the tele end... The limitations of the
Sony megapixel one-chippers are in tonality, noise, a
bit in color, and especially in sensitivity and excessive
motion-artifacting compared with good 3-chippers... Shoot
a good megapixel camcorder in the appropriate light for
it (in tonality and brightness - both are limitations),
with limited camera motion (a limitation), and with a
polarizer (a limitation), and you may not be able to see
the difference in the image quality between it and a good
3-chipper - but the 3-chipper is more free of these
limitations, making a wider range of lighting, subject
type, and movement practical to shoot well...
>The 740 will do one thing better than a 900 - record better still detail -
>however, you have to get the image through the lens - and while it's a
>megapixel CCD, it doesn't mean that the image will be altogether that
>exciting without a lot of care in setting up the shot. If you MUST have
>stills from your camcorder, you'll probably have problems at your budget
>point.
The stills I've seen from video cameras shot above
640x480 (NTSC) have shown too much color noise to
be useful; the TRV900 640x480 stills can be quite good
(and with the tonal advantages offered by the 3 CCDs).
>Apart from the pawnshop, check your regional classified advertising media
>(whether the ads pages of your city newspaper or the specialist buy&sell).
>Round here, I'd check the Quokka rather than go anywhere near Ca$h
>Converters - they're a rip-off! Also check e-bay - but get advice on how to
>protect any transaction that is not in person.
Also, a "WTB" post in rec.video.marketplace may be useful...