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June 30, 2004
Review :: Sony DSC-T1
Digital cameras are now outselling traditional film-based models and with the likes of the Sony DSC-T1 appearing on the market, it's easy to see why. The DSC-T1 is an excellent example of digital camera engineering - smaller than a packet of cigarettes, yet able to take pictures of up to five megapixels.
Such a high resolution means better photo quality and snaps can be enlarged up to A3 or even A2 paper sizes without losing too much definition. However, the higher the megapixel count, the more memory is used. The DSC-T1 comes with a 32Mb Memory Stick Duo card, which can store around 12 photos at its highest quality setting and 196 at its lowest. Of course, you can buy further cards if need be.
As with most Sony products, the DSC-T1 looks and feels fantastic. There's the obligatory price premium, of course but that aside, this is the most aesthetically pleasing digital camera around.
On the front of the camera a big lens cover slides down to reveal a Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar lens with 3x optical zoom, which guarantees good-quality images. The DSC-T1 doesn't have a viewfinder but a large 2.5in colour screen instead. Thankfully, Sony has used a screen that is clear, quick to update (the moving image looks smooth) and works just as well outdoors as in.
If you're a point-and-shoot photographer, the automatic settings will suffice. For enthusiasts, though, there are tons of features to tinker with, such as environment modes, which adjust the camera's settings to cope with its surroundings. You can also adjust the speed at which pictures are taken, which is great for capturing fast-moving scenes such as sports. Delving deeper into the easily navigable menus reveals options for special effects, white balance, contrast, saturation and red-eye reduction. You can even take 'widescreen' photos which are perfect for viewing on widescreen notebooks and TVs.
We took photos in a variety of environments and at different resolutions and were extremely impressed with the results. Although it won't compete with a traditional SLR camera in quality, our results were excellent. Colours were vivid and details were sharp, even at the one-megapixel setting. It comes with its own cradle, which connects to a PC via USB 2 and also charges the camera when it's docked. Transferring images can be done by this method or directly from the Memory Stick Duo (if you've got a card reader).
The only dampener is the £500 price tag. However, we shopped around on the web and found it selling for £100 less at some online electrical stores.
Contact: Sony 0870 511 1999
www.sony.co.uk
Posted by robeva at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)
June 29, 2004
Sony Announces DCR-PC350
Sony today announced the DCR-PC350 matchbox-style camcorder, which includes a 24-frames progressive scan effect that functions similarly, but not identically, to the popular Panasonic AG-DVX100A. The Sony DCR-PC350 replaces last year's Sony DCR-PC330 matchbox-style camcorder, with a smaller body and some added features.
Sony did not significantly change the imaging components of the DCR-PC350 from those of last year’s DCR-PC330, and instead concentrated on the camcorder’s video and low light performance. Sony also reduced the price by US£200. If the Cinematic Effect of the Sony DCR-PC350 duplicates the look of the 24-frames progressive scan of the much more expensive AG-DVX100A, the camcorder could be a huge success for Sony.
In a phone interview with Adam Wilt, Contributing Editor for DV Magazine, Wilt stated, "It's hard to say without seeing the diagram or pictures from the camera. However, it appears that one way to interpret it is that they are doing 2:3:3:2 pull down, which would give you the same pattern on tape as Panasonic's 24p Advanced recording, which many nonlinear editing programs can extract natively to edit as a true 24 frames per second signal.”
After speaking with Wilt, we developed a better understanding of the method employed by the new Sony camcorder, and began answering some of the questions he raised. First, the camcorder does not record in native 24p, so you aren't editing a true 24p signal when you bring this footage into an editor. When in the Cinematic Effect mode, the Sony camcorder brings video in at 30 progressive frames per second. To get the film-like effects, the Sony DCR-PC350 drops every fifth frame. The camcorder then uses what’s called a 2:3:3:2 pull down to convert the now-24p video into a signal that can be recorded onto a normal Mini DV tape. The Panasonic AG-DVX100 uses the same 2:3:3:2 pull down; however, the Panasonic is working with true 24p video, whereas the Sony is using 30 frames-per-second video with every fifth frame thrown out.
Information is lost with the Sony where it would not be with the Panasonic. For example, any fast-moving action that might happen to fall on that fifth frame which Sony drops would disappear from the image in the Cinematic Effect mode. The same scene shot with the Panasonic would capture it. The differences are subtle and, when converting to normal NTSC video, most home users might not notice any disparity. However, it should be made clear that the Sony does not do the same progressive scan video that the Panasonic does.
The Panasonic AG-DVX100 was introduced in 2002, and has since been replaced with an upgraded version, the AG-DV100A. The AG-DVX100 and AG-DVX100A have been huge successes due to widespread adoption by the independent film community. The Panasonic AG-DVX100A, with its £3,500 price tag, was the first prosumer camcorder capable of recording in 24-frame progressive-scan video. Independent filmmakers have purchased the camcorder in large numbers over the last two years, and the camcorder now has a "cult" following, with many web sites dedicated to it.
The 24-frame progressive scan (24p) effectively simulates the recording method of film, which records 24 pictures every second as full frames. In the US, video, called NTSC, uses a frame rate close to 30 frames per second (29.97, actually) and builds its frames from the combination of two separate fields: one containing all the even lines and one with all the odd lines. The result is that motion is recorded quite differently to film than on video, and when film is converted to video, most of these motion "effects" are maintained. The true native 24p capability of these camcorders provides one part of the formula for achieving a "film look," which many independent filmmakers on a low budget look to produce with video.
According to Sony, their new Cinematic Effect mode changes the color representation and saturation of the image to give the colors a "film look." The camcorder also includes an enhanced 16:9 mode, which utilizes all of the effective pixels of the CCD to produce a 16:9 aspect ratio image. Until we have a test unit, we can't know how similar Sony¹s Cinematic Effect is to Panasonic’s 24p Advanced and Standard modes. Additionally, what effect the throwing out of every fifth frame might have when compared to the true 24p of the Panasonic has yet to be determined.
The fact that Sony has included in their newest consumer camcorder a “mode” or “effect” to emulate Panasonic's 24 frames progressive scan mode is a major recognition of the recording format's success. Although many speculated and hoped that Sony or Canon would deliver the technology in their priced camcorders, no one had guessed that this feature would debut in camcorder at this price point. It remains to be seen whether or not Sony's modified 24p method will be endorsed by independent filmmakers as “close enough” to true 24p.
At the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual convention in Las Vegas this April, Sony was heavily promoting 24-frames progressive-scan recording in their highest-end products. However, before the DCR-PC350, they did not have a camcorder priced below £25,000 that could record in 24p mode. Sony's competing camcorder to the Panasonic AG-DVX100A is the broadcast division's DSR-PD170, which replaced the DSR-PD150. Sales of the DSR-PD150 were severely hurt by the AG-DVX100A, as many consumers were attracted to it because of its 24 frames progressive scan recording. Current reports say that the AG-DVX100A and the Sony DSR-PD170 are neck-and-neck for camcorder sales.
It should be clear that the Sony DCR-PC350 is not competing with the Panasonic AG-DVX100. The DCR-PC350 is clearly a consumer camcorder while the AG-DVX100 is a prosumer, or pro, camcorder. Unlike the DCR-PC350, the AG-DV100 offers three CCDs, a much larger and more durable body, and a much greater level of control, along with many more manual video and audio controls.
The Sony DCR-PC350 could attract large numbers of consumers and independent filmmakers who want that "film look" but cannot afford the £3,500 AG-DVX100. Although the Sony DCR-PC350 may not steal the AG-DVX100's trademark feature away from it, it may become next year¹s camera of choice for the burgeoning filmmakers on a shoe-string budget.
The other major upgrade Sony is making to the DCR-PC350 is in the video performance department. The camcorder includes a 1/3-inch 3.31 Megapixel CCD with 2,048K effective pixels for video. Sony has also increased the video and low-light performance of the camcorder, reducing the noise created in low light environments.
Posted by robeva at 09:37 PM | Comments (0)
Reveiw :: JVC GR-PD1
JVC has been developing progressive scan technology for several years and the GR-PD1 is the latest development. These devices work in a different way to most video-related products, which interlace video so that odd and even horizontal lines of the picture are recorded in separate passes.
Progressive scan captures every line from top to bottom each time the frame is scanned. A progressive scan camera such as the GR-PD1 offers no benefit when viewing footage on a conventional TV (which also uses interlacing), but gives a sharper picture on computer monitors as well as LCD and plasma TVs with progressive inputs.
At the heart of the GR-PD1 is a 1.18-megapixel CCD sensor. Although many video cameras have high-resolution CCDs such as this for still images, the GR-PD1 can use all the pixels when recording video. Three shooting modes are available. While DV25 mode records in the same way as other MiniDV cameras, PS50 mode records 50 progressive scan frames each second (fps) at 720x576 pixels and PS25 mode records 25fps at 1,280x659 pixels. This can be down-sampled to the standard PAL specification - 720x576 pixels at 25fps - for the sake of compatibility when transferring to a PC via FireWire, or transferred and edited at full quality using the bundled JVC software. The GR-PD1 can also record stills at a maximum resolution of 1,280x960 pixels to SD card.
The construction of the GR-PD1 is unusual. The tape mechanism portion rotates on the side of the camera's body, making it more comfortable to hold than if it were fixed. This is important as the camera is fairly heavy. The die-cast aluminium body is robust and the handle on top makes low shots easier to film.
You might expect more than a 10x optical zoom from an £1,800 camcorder; still, the high-quality lens offers the aperture control and shutter speed that we expect at this price. It's a shame that the benefits of progressive scan are lost unless you use the limited editing software supplied, as no other current software supports the MPEG2-TS recording format the GR-PD1 uses. It will work normally with currently available software in DV25 mode, though. This camera presents stiff competition for Canon's XM2 and if wider support for JVC's new format arrives, it will be a respectable alternative with plenty going for it.
Posted by robeva at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2004
DVD format guide
When DVD technology first appeared in households, users were simply popping DVD discs into their DVD players to watch movies - an option to the then-conventional VCR. But just as compact disc technology evolved so that users could record and erase and re-record data onto compact discs, the same is now true of DVDs. But with so many different formats -- DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-ROM -- how do users know which DVD format is compatible with their existing systems, and why are there so many different formats for DVDs? The following information sheds some light on DVD's different flavors, the differences between them and the incompatibility issues that the differing technologies have sprouted.
The crucial difference among the standards is based on which manufacturers adhere to which standards. Similar to the old VHS/Beta tape wars when VCRs first hit the markets, different manufacturers support different standards.
DVD+R and DVD+RW
DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.
DVD+R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R. A DVD+R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time.
DVD+RW is a re-recordable format similar to CD-RW. The data on a DVD+RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium.
DVDs created by a +R/+RW device can be read by most commercial DVD-ROM players.
DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM
These formats are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp. These formats are also supported by the DVD Forum.
DVD-R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R and DVD+R. A DVD-R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time. There also are two additional standards for DVD-R disks: DVD-RG for general use, and DVD-RA for authoring, which is used for mastering DVD video or data and is not typically available to the general public.
DVD-RW is a re-recordable format similar to CD-RW or DVD+RW. The data on a DVD-RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium.
DVDs created by a -R/-RW device can be read by most commercial DVD-ROM players.
DVD-RAM discs can be recorded and erased repeatedly but are only compatible with devices manufactured by the companies that support the DVD-RAM format. DVD-RAM discs are typically housed in cartridges.
DVD-ROM
DVD-ROM was the first DVD standard to hit the market and is a read-only format. The video or game content is burned onto the DVD once and the DVD will run on any DVD-ROM-equipped device.
Posted by robeva at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)