On 3 May 2002 08:47:44 -0700, schoi@mistwireless.com (Stephen) wrote:
>Paul Rubin
_@ruckus.brouhaha.com>...
>> Any thoughts on this? The PC-101 press release claims it's the smallest
>> Sony mini-DV camera, which surprised me. I thought it was just another of
>> the PC100 series.
>Here are the main different to me (spec. from www.sonystyle.com) :
>
> PC101 PC9
>Imaging Device 1/4.7" 1,070K 1/4", 680k
>Video Actual 690K Pixels 340K Pixels
>Still Actual 1,000K Pixels 340K Pixels
>Minimum Illumination 7 Lux 5 Lux
>Power Consumption
> (VF/LCD/VF+LCD) 3.3W/4.0W/4.3W 2.7W/3.5W/3.8W
>Dimensions (WHD) 2 1/4x4 1/4x4" 2 3/8 x 4 1/8 " x 3 7/8 "
> (55x105x99mm)
>Weight 1 lb 4 oz 1lb 1 oz
> 565g) w/Battery
>
>The PC101 spec. suggests better video and higher resolution still
>(this is what I have been waiting for the last 6 months, Megapixels).
>Too bad the PC101 is worse in terms of Illumination, Power
>Consumption, Size, and Weight!
>
>Well, I am still going to buy the PC101 as soon as it is out (6 months
>was a long wait for me, but like I said I really wanted the Megapixels
>still).
The megapixel stills from 1-CCD video cameras tend to be
somewhat noisy in resolutions above 640x480, so they are
of questionable value... As for motion-video, megapixel
CCDs do appear to improve sharpness, but at the price of
increased picture "spurious activity" with motion, making
megapixel video images not necessarily superior. In
addition, there is the loss in low light range. I like my
megapixel TRV30 camcorder for some things, but I prefer
using my PC9 for many others - and I consider it more
"universal" than my TRV30, though less so than my 3-CCD
cameras (which produce higher-quality images under an
even wider range of shooting conditions...). Within the
category of 1-CCD camcorders, there are trade-offs, and
"megapixel" is not necessarily "better"...