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MillimeterHDV to D-VHS
May 1, 2005 12:00 PM
Back in late February, I read a Video Systems article that said, in part, “Unfortunately, … Sony's 1080i HDV cannot be cloned to D-VHS.”
I'm happy to report that I recently purchased a Sony HVR-Z1U camera and, by connecting it via 4-to-4 pin FireWire directly to my JVC HM-DH40000U D-VHS deck, I was able to play straight from the camera into the deck. It looks perfect! It may not qualify as a “clone,” but as far as I can tell, I'm getting 1080i digitally from my HDV camcorder onto D-VHS tape. Close enough for me.
I am disappointed that the deck doesn't have component inputs, but the FireWire seems to be working just fine (to my great relief). Thanks for writing about HDV. I just wanted you to know that your article got me thinking, and this was one of the first things I tried once I had some good HDV footage. It works just fine.
Mike Hoffman
Destruction Productions
In-depth coverage of CES appreciated
Great coverage! (“Prototype Invasion,” February) I have seen a lot of verbage concerning CES 2005, but none so in-depth as your coverage, especially the aspects of LED backlighting the LCD panels.
Noteworthy also was the coverage of two camps, Sony and Panasonic going their own ways in LCD and Plasma advancement. That's odd! Thanks for a great article.
Major Ron Kondler
K6PAM
Panasonic DVX100A, Canon XL2 comparison needed
I recently read Barry Braverman's article on the XL2 [Review, December]. How is the chipset “arguably” a “native” 16:9 chipset? It is in no way a native 16:9 chipset, nor is it 640K active pixels.
The active number of pixels is approximately 410K, bringing the resolution to that of most other DV cameras in its price range. To have a native chipset, which would have to be a 2/3in. chipset in a DV camcorder, would make the camera cost more than $14,000. This is not feasible.
I would think you would not contradict yourselves right below a graphic (a nicely done one at that) of why it is NOT a 16:9 native chipset. The rest of the article is written well, although I have my own feelings about the picture quality.
I have a Panasonic AG-DVX100A, which I and many others feel produces a far superior picture. I do feel it is almost impossible to describe in words the “quality” of one picture over another, but I believe images from the 100A, when viewed on a high-quality monitor, are far superior to the images of the XL2.
You may have compared the XL2 to the 100A, as there are so many 100A users out there who want to know how it stacks up. Just my humble opinion!
Kevin Vaughn
Video Technical Services
Sony DSR-PDX10 does have ND filters, optical stabilization
I've just read the Sony DSR-PDX10 review by Steve Mullen in the Video Systems May 2003 issue. (Available here.)
Just thought I'd say I liked the review, but think it worth updating one of the paragraphs. Steve says:
“Unlike the PD150, the PDX10 does not have a built-in Neutral Density (ND) filter. Nevertheless, even in bright sunlight the exposure ranged from f4 to f5.6. I did note that vertical smear could be provoked when bright light sources were encountered. The PDX10 also does not use optical stabilization. Motion sensors control the movement of a 690,000-pixel window within the 1,070,000-pixel CCD.”
I tested the same camera, and the PDX10 does indeed have ND filters built in — three of them in fact. Shooting in bright sunlight means that f5.6 is the smallest aperture it will use (because of the very damaging effects of diffraction) and all three ND filters are automatically placed in the optical axis.
For most applications, the two diaphragm blades stay fixed around f4 and the three NDs do all the exposure correction. Higher shutter speeds are employed when it gets brighter still, though this does lead to severe CCD smear.
Also, the PDX10 does indeed have optical stabilization. A vibrating group within the zoom lens physically bends the light to compensate for camera shake, and this is easily demonstrated by the use of wide-angle converters that vignette the image in the static mode. When the camera is moved, the vignetting shows the OIS working.
Tom Hardwick
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