Abstract
Data for this section is taken
from a long examination of a production model of the
Sony HDV camcorder, HVR-A1E, and comparison with a HVR-HC1E.
This is a HDTV camcorder, physically very similar to
the standard-definition PDX10, with a single 1”/3
cmos sensor (5.9mm diagonal). It records in HDV (1080i/25,
50Hz interlaced) format onto miniDV tapes, and standard
definition (576i/25) as either miniDV or DVCAM.
The camera
is essentially a consumer model; the A1 has some pretensions
to professional capture, such as having
a removable sound pod which will accept sound via XLR
connectors at mic or line level, and slightly different
features from its companion, the HC1. Both have an
integral lens (Zeiss, 5.1~51mm) and viewfinder, with
side lcd
panel, and seem aimed at the high-end consumer market
rather than broadcast or professional, which would
normally demand interchangeable lenses. The HC1 is
the simpler
camera, and incorporates a flash for stills photography.
The
cameras have many internal menus for setting the
performance and very few external controls, although
enough to control most of the important features.
There
are analogue-only video outputs (components at HD
and SD, composite and S-video at SD, all via multi-pin
connectors) and digits via IEEE1394 Firewire (known
as “i.Link” by
Sony) and USB.
Measurements were made only
on an A1. The normal assessment procedure for cameras
could not be
used, largely because
the A1 does not have a selectable test signal. Therefore,
testing had to be done the hard way, via the lens.
Recommended settings allowing for a “video-look” and
a “film-look” have been derived, although
there are some serious compromises that have to be taken
into account. It is useful to think of the camera, when
used in with “film-look”, to be mimicking
a film camera and telecine, with “best light” transfer
to tape. Measurement results are given after the settings
tables, in order to explain the decisions. At best, the
camera can deliver about 10 stops of exposure range,
similar to other HD cameras, but it is easy to use other
settings that can reduce the range to 7 stops or less.
For the target market for this camera, a grading operation
may well not be used in post-production, so the settings
should be used with care.
While HDV performance is
acceptable, there are significant problems with its
performance as
an SD camera for professional
or broadcast purposes. Performance, with the recommended
settings, is probably adequate for consumer use. The
reasons for this statement are given in the measurements
section (2.2.4 and 2.2.5) of this document.
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Keywords
camera,
colorimetry, gamma, knee, aperture correction, detail enhancement,
film look, shuttering
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