On 26 Sep 2002 06:08:21 GMT, amirh(AT)netvigatorr-emov-e.com wrote:

>I think it's a difference of about $400, but there
>isn't a lot of information about the quality of the
>DV952. I was originally looking for something compact
>and feature-rich to mess around with, then eventually upgrade
>to a high-end 3CCD if I want to do something more serious
>with video and hand this down to a family member.
>
>Since the Panasonic is somewhat affordable, i'm thinking
>of paying a bit more and going straight to 3CCD. However,
>if it isn't comparable to what you can do with cameras
>like the TRV950/GL/XL, i'd rather just stick with the
>original plan. Another consideration is that i'll probably
>using it more at night & indoor situations.

The megapixel camcorders (shot outdoors, with a polarizer
added...) can produce excellent color. As for sharpness of
the lenses, the one on the TRV30 is quite good. The
limitations of the Sony megapixel one-chippers are in
tonality, noise (more in bright light, though less in
low light...), a bit in color, and especially in lower
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 like the VX2000
and TRV900 (and maybe the TRV950 and GL2 - I have not
yet checked these two out for their motion-video
characteristics, but otherwise they appear also to have
fine images) - but the best 3-chippers are more free
of these limitations, making a wider range of lighting,
subject type, and movement practical to shoot well...
BTW, the Panasonics appear to have vertical line
discontinuities along with more limited low light range
that sometimes make their pictures not as good as the
best one-chippers (I sold my EZ30U/DV950 for this
reason - broken-up window edges, etc. looked worse than
they did with my worst one-chipper, and the low-light
range was as poor...). A used low-use TRV900 is the best
buy, but for casual use, I generally recommend lower
pixel-count 1-chippers for their more generally pleasant
picture and slightly greater low light range, though
their color and resolution is also a bit lower...
Used with a polarizer in daylight (adjusted for greatest
color saturation at the angle you are shooting at) and
with the daylight WB preset, even the TRV18 can produce
nice-looking video with good color.
See: www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/vid_pict_characts.htm,
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder--comparison.htm,
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm,
and www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/sony_dcr-vx2000.htm.