Content area
Full Text
I was pleased to see Sony use NAB '98 to introduce an upgrade to the DSR-200. With the new DSR-200A, Sony has increased low-light sensitivity by one lux to 3lux and enabled switchable 4:3 and 16:9 operation, a function Sony disabled in USA-bound VX-1000 and DSR-200 camcorders. It's important, however, to understand that the derived anamorphic video offered by the 200A is fundamentally different from that offered by the far more expensive DXC-30WS. (See "A High Quality Switchable Camera from Sony," opposite page, for more about anamorphic video.)
The DSR-200A derives a 16:9 image from its 4:3, three-chip CCD assembly in three steps. First, 704 samples are obtained within each of the 320 lines. These 320 lines are captured from the middle 480 lines that make up the 4:3 sensor area. The lines above and below these lines are discarded. (The number of lines not discarded was determined, based upon the 704 samples in every line, to yield an active image with a 16:9 aspect ratio.) Second, these lines are processed (i.e., scaled) so they fill all4801ines, there by generating an anamorphic image that is recorded to tape. Obviously, effective vertical image resolution is decreased in this process. This is the price to be paid to obtain 16:9 from 4:3 CCD sensors. It's a price that need not be paid if you can afford the cost of a DXC-30WS. Nevertheless, l found that material recorded by the 200A looked very good -far better than anamorphic images captured from any single-chip camcorder I've tested. If you were to directly view the anamorphic image, objects would appear to be vertically stretched. This brings up the reason why I consider the DSR-200A the only choice for low-cost, widescreen production. All other camcorders, including the Canon XL1, display this anamorphic image in the viewfinder,...