On the Road with the HVR-V1U, Part 2by Steve MullenPublished on Dec 13, 2006 6:00 AM |
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A video pro journeys to the far ends of the globe with Sony’s new HVR-V1U. Steve Mullen provides first-hand accounts of the camcorder’s features and performance exclusively for CamcorderInfo.com.
<- Read Part 1 | Read Part 3 ->
Part 2I’m on the road in Asia with an HVR-V1 HDV camcorder on loan from Sony. I’m gathering data for my Sony HVR-V1 and HDR-FX7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $2599) Handbook to be released in January 2007. I have been in Malaysia and am now in Chennai, India.
Latitude is defined as the range of F-stops that can be accurately recorded on film or by an electronic image sensor. To understand latitude, look at the image below from a 1/3-inch, single CCD camcorder.
The white dog’s fur, the woman’s skin, and even the grass have lost both color and detail. For a decade, 1/3-inch camcorders have suffered from the inability to handle highlights as shown above.
Look closely at the image below from a Sony Z1. The bright blue sky is perfect. Likewise the faces of people in the foreground. The Z1 was the first 1/3-inch camcorder that correctly handled highlights. Now look at the doorways on the left side of the street that are not in direct sunlight. In the image we see them plunged into deep shadow so most detail is lost. To my eyes, of course, the West side of 9th Avenue did not look this way. Although the buildings and people were not in direct sunlight, in the early afternoon of a very sunny day, they were fully visible.
In both of these images, the camera has been unable to accurately capture the full latitude of the scene. The scene below was shot with a prototype HVR-V1 on loan from Sony. (Remember, web images do not represent displayed video images. More about this later.)
The image’s signal ranges from about 2IRE to 106IRE. It is within the 0 to 110IRE that can be recorded.
The range from 0 to 100IRE is carried as digital values from “16” to “235.” Any signal above 100IRE is carried in the range “236” to “254.” While the entire range from “16” to “254” is sent from a V1 to your HDTV and NLE—many NLE’s truncate the range at “235.” With these NLEs, when you edit your video will lose valuable highlight information—and effective latitude is reduced. Of course, truncation is acceptable for broadcast video because 100IRE is the legal limit. (Final Cut Pro can be set to allow “Super White” so clipping does not occur.)
Below are two high-contrast V1 images.
Note the still visible blue sky in the shot below.
In my next report, we will examine the V1/FX7’s Histogram display function. Below you’ll find some Treo 650 photos taken in Kuala Lumpur.
Petronas Towers
Sony Showroom in the Towers
HDR-FX7 connected to a 1920x1080 “Full HD” Bravia
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Steve Mullen owns Digital Video Consulting that offers eBooks on HD production. Currently, DVC (www.mindspring.com/~d-v-c) offers two eBooks: the Sony HDV Handbook and the JVC ProHD Handbook. In January 2007, DVC will offer a new title: the Sony HVR-V1 and HDR-FX7 Handbook.
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