Just some thoughts on digital vs 8mm from Ron Azzarello.
This is his response to a listserve question regarding digital versus 8mm
recording. As of now, I don't think most clients would feel the rate increase
would justify the difference between formats. It's a good article, FYI.
Sorry, but I do not have any stock articles, only a few notes
about DV.. Just got back from surveillance with my Canon ES2500 and I really,
really like it in the field. It is palm sized, can acquire the subject quickly,
has a small profile that blends in, and a large viewfinder. I am familiar with
the Cannon manual override controls and format, so there is no real learning
curve. If you can operate their EOS 35mm camera bodies, you already know the
control system. If you have the time, go to Barnes & Nobel and review the
magazines. Scope out those ads.
Cannon's ES2500, Hi-8mm camcorder has 22:1 optical zoom with
auto focus and exposure features. It has "525" lines of resolution, 1/4" CCD
with 380 effective pixels. It is a 3 lux, but I have been surprised at the image
quality in low light and you can manually reduce the exposure level for more
stable pictures. A thumb operated joystick allows adjusting the center of focus,
so I can now utilize the autofocus feature in many more applications than in the
past. It can quickly acquire the subject and it zooms fast. Optical
stabilization makes for great film reviews with clients. It has the usual
character generator to label your tape leaders with agency name or case number
(you must allow a minute of tape at both ends for editing or risk losing
valuable footage when a judge wants it edited,) it easily fades to black,
adjusts gain for backlit subjects, remote control, and LANC auto-editing.
Mine came with a wireless controller, a one-hour battery with
a charger, 110 VAC converter, caps, straps, and patch cords. I also got two
two-hour batteries, car battery adapter, 1.4 tele-converter (makes the 22X a 31X
"optical" daylight lens,) battery video light (crashed vehicle
interiors/undercarriages,) auxiliary microphone adapter bracket, 46mm lens hood,
and a wrist strap. I am looking into buying a Sure SM89 shotgun condenser mic --
the aluminum one the sport news guys use. B&H occasionally sells them used in
good condition.
I buy from B&H, Photo-Video-Audio, and good deals can be
found if you are patient. Check those ads. If you want to learn more, contact
them for a catalog. Buy from them and they will send you catalogs. Photo, 1-800
947-7785, Video, 1-800 947-1186, and Audio, 1-800 859-5252. Go peek at
<http://www.bhphotovideo.com>.
I know a few video buffs that love the Sony Handycam
pro-sumer models, but I find them bulky. Nor do clients have the equipment to
view Sony's cassettes. The operating system is burdensome, and they are
expensive. Integrating with VHS or Hi-8mm is expensive. The last Sony I looked
at seriously was a few years ago. The CCD-VX3 Hi-8mm, intended for the
movie-making, amateur/home-pro, and XXX market. Sony makes excellent quality,
<g> as I recall it had a 1/3" CCD, charged coupled device, 380,000 effective
pixels, times three (one for each prime, red-green-blue,) and 530 lines of
resolution. I balked at 4 lux. It had a fast shutter and a B&W viewfinder. B&W
clearly provides more contrast than color, and a B&W viewfinder is the better
value for surveillance. The negatives seem many.
I looked at a Sony DCR-VX1000 recently. It had DV technology,
500 lines of resolution, and it recorded digital audio, too. You do not lose any
quality when you copy or edit multiple generations, but you do not lose any
quality with a Hi-8mm master copied to VHS, either. The salesman, a slicky-boy,
tried to amuse, he spoke of pixals and the 3 CCD imaging power (more on pixels
later.) The optical zoom was 10X and it has "digital zoom," which has absolutely
no value on any of my probative projects. Sony and Cannon caved to market forces
and installed color viewfinders. I have not heard anything good about Sony's
SteadyShot stabilization, but I have not checked. With the same unwieldy body,
it would get beat up and be difficult to conceal. Still seems like too many
negatives for a PI's general need.
The Sony DXC-D30, DSP camera is strictly for studio work,
quality performance and it is priced accordingly. I have not seriously
considered the Panasonic PV-DV710, Sharp VL-DX10U, JVC GR-DVXU, Hitachi MPEGCam,
nor Sony's PD1 or Cannon ZR DVCAMs. Thus, I have no comment, perhaps others have
some experience.
The Cannon Optura is a hybrid DV camcorder that looks and
feels like a 35mm camera, but I fear first generation bugs. A valuable feature
unique to the Optura is the ability to manually select aperture or shutter
priority, much like a 35mm. Its got 14X optical zoom, but they are not conducive
to extended taping. Look at one and ask how to adjust the viewfinder's
brightness -- it requires a jeweler's screwdriver. Just what a PI needs to use
in the dark. This system has a future.
Clients do not pay premium rates for excuses. Ask Cannon's L1
and L2 owners. They bought those pioneering cameras with good features and
intentions. Everybody I know that had one told me they had to buy another one,
as a spare. Seems they broke down alot in the field. We will never know if they
are worth the trouble. The Cannon "L" design appears to have regenerated to the
XL-1, with 600 lines of resolution, a 3 CDD DV design with well over 270,000
pixels -- Low-light pixels, however, that measure a hefty 72 microns, 150%
larger that those other DV models.
Before coveting active infrared (AIR,) get to know passive
infrared (PIR.) PI's are not supposed to be seen on surveillance, reveal
yourself and you risk being arrested for stalking if you continue the
surveillance. Before you purchase an AIR illuminator, try it out in the dark.
Ponder upon AIR. Its like a dark red flashlight. Red light does not travel as
far as the other colors of the spectrum, one reason it is used in combat.
However, AIR light can be seen by the naked eye, albeit dim, as it illuminates
the dark. PIR uses available infrared energy to see the subject, covertly, in
near darkness. AIR boosts the illumination level like an intense dark red
spotlight. Don't buy it till you try it in the dark. In the meantime examine the
benefits of PIR. If you think it is something you need, talk to special military
units or LEOS with tactical imaging experience. You can use PIR to find
everybody using AIR, and you can do it at much greater distance.
Before you buy DV reflect back on all the new models of
digital still cameras introduced, each bringing evolutionary improvements. There
are four types of consumer analog video. VHS and 8mm tapes record video signals
using a single channel of information, while HI-8mm tapes and S-VHS record two
separate channels, color and grayscale. Because VHS tapes record only a single
channel, it is difficult to electronically control VHS sharpness and color.
DV tapes record video signals using a very different method.
DV tapes are encoded in a component format comprised of three signal channels.
Since analog video records electrical impulses onto a magnetic cassette, there
is a problem with generational loss when the tapes are edited or copied. Color
and sharpness are altered, and it is difficult to reproduce the shape and
intensity of the original electrical impulses without distortion. Because the
information recorded on DV tapes is composed of ones and zeros, there can be no
deformation of the signal. Digitizing analog video footage with a capture card
is essentially the same process used by DV camera technology.
With DV you will learn about FireWire, an umbilical cord
between the DV camera and a computer that can transfer the video's data streams
in a manageable way. Each video clip contains several small pictures commonly
referred to as frames. The number of frames per second determines how fluid the
motion appears. A typical one second clip contains 30 small pictures. When you
ask a video capture card to digitize one second of video, you are saying, make
me 30 small pictures for this one second clip. Poof! FireWire.
Keep that image and ponder DV with three CCD signals and a
mild 2:1 or 3:1 compression ratio. This results in a file size of about 300K per
frame, 9MB -- that is 9MB per second! Want to capture a minute of video, poof!
540 MB!! DV cameras record data at a fixed rate of 3.55 MB per second. This data
rate is comparable to the compression used for S-VHS and Hi-8mm formats. The
image clarity with DV cameras is superior, but not in those areas that seem to
make any difference to the investigator's client who wants a VHS tape.
I generally avoid standard VHS and 8mm tape systems. They
have poor horizontal resolution, 240 scan lines, while S-VHS and Hi-8mm have
resolutions of 400 to 450 lines. Cannon's ES2500, Hi-8mm camcorder has "525"
lines of resolution; and yes, I am biased against S-VHS. DV cameras, generally,
also record with 525 lines, about 25% more than S-VHS. Image resolution is
important, especially if you need a good quality copy, so let that be an
important factor when shopping for a new system.
The DV format is far superior to analog video and ideally
suited for multi-media production. However, DV does not ensure the cleanest
edited tape nor the best quality obtainable, unless the camera has a FireWire
port used as a direct digital link between the camera and computer. If the
FireWire connection is not employed, serious degradation results. FireWire
acquisition is far cleaner and easier than with any other. Analog camcorders,
players, and recorders are much less expensive. Unless business justifies
investing in upgraded computer hardware to achieve digital results from analog
imaging -- Why go digital?
