On 7 Oct 2001 21:50:13 -0700, tilimil@hotmail.com (Tim Wilhoit) wrote:

>I am looking at both the Sony DCR-TRV30 and the DCR-TRV730. I have a
>couple questions.
>
>With the TRV730, zoom is 18x/500x. And with the TRV30, zoom is
>10x/120x. Is this likely to ever become a problem if I buy the TRV30?
> Am I likely to need more zoom for personal use? Why do the zoom
>ratios tend to get lower numbers as you move into the higer-end
>models?

Less-range = higher-quality, all else being equal - and you
can add a high-quality tele converter to extend the range
(it is already very long, equivalent to about 500mm in
35mm-camera terms...).

>Also, the 730 is abot 1 megapixel and the 30 is about 1.5 megapixel.
>I am a novice here but my logical thinking says that my TV cant even
>reproduce the 1 megapixel so it shouldnt matter. So, I am asking,
>will I notice a difference in video quality between the 1 megapixel
>and 1.5 megapixel if I play these formats on a plain jane 25" TV?

Probably. All Mini-DV sends (for NTSC) the equivalent of
640x480 to analogue TV, but there is a range of quality
possible within that resolution, and it is likely you will
see the difference if you are sensitive to such things
(many people don't care about, or notice, image sharpness).
Think of the similarity to 35mm with a given film - a great
lens will produce a sharper image than a bad lens,
regardless of how low the film quality chosen is (the
parts are interactive, not "weakest-link" limited - though
the image sharpness will always be lower than that of the
weakest part, there will still be variation determined
by the quality of the other parts...). As for the megapixel
CCDs, it is my understanding that the higher resolution
is interpolated down, improving some image characteristics
(and my 680k-CCD PC9 image is noticeably less sharp than
my megapixel PC100 image...). Also, frame-grabs I've seen
from the TRV30 indicate its picture is VERY sharp. But,
sharpness isn't the only picture characteristic of
importance - color balance/saturation, freedom from
excessive negative artifacting, ability to handle wide tone
ranges, good brilliance, etc. are also part of making a
good picture...