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REVIEW
HEAD
THREE'S A CROWD
INTRO
The
much-heralded three-CCD camcorder has finally arrived in the shape of the Sony
VX1 PRO. Is this spectacular-looking machine an expensive gimmick, or a glimpse
into the future? We have been trying one, to find out
COPY
Sony have notched up some notable firsts over
the years but the CCD-VX1 PRO breaks all previous records by being the first
Hi8 camcorder with three CCD image sensors, the first with a built-in neutral
density filter, the first to have a zebra-pattern exposure indicator, the first
to cost more than £2,000, and the first to have a holographic badge which
changes colour as you move it about... In fact the holographic badge and the
price are the only wholly new features, just about everything else will be
familiar to users of professional video equipment.
Attention has rightly focused on the VX1's
triple CCDs, a feature borrowed from broadcast video cameras, but is this level
of sophistication really necessary? There is no simple answer; for some it will be like fitting a racing
engine into an upmarket family saloon, which will only be driven on busy
suburban roads. The performance is there, you can sense it, but much of the
time it will never be fully realised.
The limiting factor and perhaps the biggest
question mark hanging over the use of a 3-CCD image sensor on a machine such as
this, is the Hi8 recording system. It cannot record all of the information and
detail produced by one high-resolution CCD image sensor, let alone three.
However, the differences are clear and pranced when viewing a direct off-camera
picture on a monitor, colours are sharp and lifelike, with very little noise,
the VX1's camera section is easily up
to professional standards. We'll come back to the question of recorded image
quality later on.
So what about those other special features,
and what is the 'zebra pattern' we've been hearing so much about? This is
another feature previously only found on professional equipment, it's an
electronic circuit that automatically highlights areas of the picture which are
over-exposed, by superimposing a pattern of diagonal lines. It's designed to
take the guesswork out of setting the exposure manually and it's something we
would like to see on every camcorder with a manual exposure system. The neutral
density filter is another valuable exposure aid, it comes into its own when
shooting a very bright or reflective scene; snow, sea or sand, for example,
where the auto or manual iris is banging up against its end stops. The ND
filter reduces the amount of light passing through the lens, thus increasing
the amount of adjustment available to the manual exposure systems.
EXPOSURE SYSTEMS
The VX1 has been endowed with a impressive
array of exposure facilities, ranging from full auto, to full or partial manual
control over the iris, shutter, video gain and white balance systems. In
between there are four programmed AE modes, called portrait, sport, aperture
priority and shutter priority. Portrait mode gives a narrow depth of field by
using a wide aperture and a fast shutter speed (up to 1/1750th sec). The sport
mode is also dependent on automatic shutter and iris control, but this time the
aim is to produce a wider depth of field but with a moderately high shutter
speed, to reduce the blur of fast-moving subjects during replay. Aperture
priority and shutter priority will be familiar to photographers; aperture
priority allows the user to determine the depth of field, by manually adjusting
the iris whilst the machine sets the shutter speed to ensure correct exposure;
shutter priority works the other way around, with manual control over the
shutter, the machine selects the appropriate aperture value.
For the record the aperture is manually
adjustable from f1.6 to f11 in 12 steps, the shutter has 16 presettable speeds,
from 1/50th to 1/10,000th sec, and the video gain (i.e. picture brightness),
has 8 settings, from -3dB to +18dB, all of the values are shown in the
viewfinder, and on the LCD panel on the side of the machine
EDITING OPTIONS
Editing facilities are in abundance on the
VX1. It has Sony's RC time-code system which uniquely and invisibly labels each
frame of a recording. The code is read by an automated edit controller, to
achieve frame-accurate cuts, on suitable equipment. There's now a good
selection of RC compatible controllers available, ranging in price from around
£280. Perhaps the most useful feature
of the RCTC ('Arctic' to its friends) system, is the facility to add codes to
existing recordings, The data is recorded on a separate part of the tape,
unlike the rival VITC (vertical interval time-code) where the code is mixed in
with the video signal.
Naturally the VX1 has a Control L or LANC
socket, so it can be used as a source machine by an automated edit controller,
the Control L link carries the RCTC, code, or alternatively, the normal linear
time counter readout. The VX1 has a number of other editing facilities, these
include edit search -- picture search whilst the machine is in the record-pause
mode; insert edit, which enables a new scene to be dropped seamlessley into an
existing recording, this uses the tape counter as a reference, to define the
edit in and out points. Index marking is another edit-orientated feature, which
can be used to invisibly tag parts of a recording, during recording, or later
on playback. When the tape is replayed the machine can be instructed to fast
wind to specified index marks on the tape, or replay the first ten seconds of
each one in sequence. This could be
useful during a shoot, for instance, to compile a rough edit list of required scenes.
CREATIVE FACILITIES
There's plenty of creative facilities for
those who wish to add a few individual touches to their recordings. In addition
to old favourites like fade and digital title there's something called Custom Pre-set. This allows the colour
saturation and hue to be pre-set before recording. The actual amount of
adjustment is quite small; the hue setting, which goes from a light purple
tint, to light green is probably a throwback to the NTSC version of the VX1,
where such things are sometimes necessary, due to the vagaries of that colour
system. The VX1 has an interval timer, for making time-lapse recordings, this
is unusually versatile with variable wait (the gap between recordings) and
recording times. The frame recording facility is quite simply excellent and the
VX1 can be used to make high quality stop-motion animation recordings. The
machine records four frames at a time, the last two are overwritten in the next
shot, so the resultant action is remarkably
smooth, maybe not quite up to professional standards but with care and
patience the results can be very good.
The VX1 has a time and date recording
facility but it's not the usual sort, where a string of characters are
superimposed onto the recording, instead details of time and date are
automatically recorded as a data code, away from the vision signal on the part
of the tape used by the RC timecode. This means that time and date information
can be displayed at any time, though, it has to be said, only on this machine
and others with the same capability. If needed the time and date can be output
or recorded as part of the video signal.
IN USE
Sony have managed to pack an extraordinary
amount of technology into a very small box, even so it weighs a healthy 2.0kg,
which can quickly become tiring when the machine is held in the normal shooting
position. Serious users will not need reminding but anyone else considering
this machine should realise that a tripod is not an optional extra, it's
essential. The convoluted carry handle on the top of the machine is more than a
cosmetic frippery, it's perfect for taking low-level shots, the viewfinder
pivots through 90 degrees, and there's a secondary stop/start button below the
mic module. An accessory shoe is built into the top of the handle, this is
ideally placed for a video light, or specialist microphone.
The huge 12x zoom lens is a delight to use.
It's a hybrid design, with an inner-focus system controlled by a servo ring on
the lens barrel, but it also has a manual zoom, which is set by a second ring
behind the manual focus control. There's two zoom speeds, varied by pressure on
the rocker switch.
Controls are neatly laid out, with the most
frequently used ones grouped around the LCD panel. The transport keys and
buttons for the menu-driven display system are situated under a small flap on
the top panel.
Manual exposure adjustments (aperture,
shutter and video gain) are made using a single thumbwheel on the side of the
machine, which is fine if you only want to set one thing at a time, not so good
if you want to quickly change the settings. Unfortunately the thumbwheel has
rather pronounced indents, which are harsh enough to rock the camera when it's
being hand-held, so it's not a good idea to mess about with the exposure
settings when recording.
PERFORMANCE
In addition to our usual resolution colour
accuracy and noise evaluation checks we've subjected the VX1 to rather more
stringent tests, to try and assess the benefits of the triple CCD image sensor.
Our regular test routines showed that the VX1 had a resolution in excess of 400
lines, just below 410-lines in fact, which is at the very limits of the Hi8
recording system. The image produced by our sample had a slightly grainy
texture, caused we suspect by digital processing circuitry which combines the
images from the three sensor chips, it seems to be more noticeable on some TV
sets than others. Picture noise levels, both off-camera and off-tape are well
below average, it shows up most clearly
on bright colours which appear vivid and detailed.
One surprise was a small amount of colour
bleed, it was most apparent on bright blues which tended to smear when the
picture was slightly over-exposed. Another aberration, possibly caused by the
3-CCD set-up and its processing circuitry, was a strange shadow effect which
occurred at higher shutter speeds. Vertical elements -- trees, telephone poles
etc. -- shot against a bright background (the sky etc.), in the top portion of
the screen produced a corresponding dark shadow in the bottom half of the
screen, the condition's are fairly specific and it is not a major problems but
unless they're unique to our sample it may be that there are still a few small
wrinkles still to be ironed out on this machine.
The automatic and programmed exposure systems
worked very well indeed, though the zebra display seems to be set to err on the
side of caution, suggesting the picture
was over-exposed much of the time the camera section was under automatic or
semi-automatic control.
Replay facilities are most impressive with
jitter-free still and slomo; deck stability is not so good and the VX1 needs to
be handled with care; even a slight
rocking motion will upset the transport mechanism, causing wow and flutter on the soundtrack, and wildly varying colours in the picture. A
slight tap will also produce a jump in the picture, this machine is happiest
mounted on a sturdy tripod.
The VX1 has a conventional stereo FM
recording system, unlike the two most recent PRO machines (V5000 and V6000)
which also had digital PCM soundtracks. The VX1's audio facilities are
perfectly adequate, and the stereo mike strikes a good balance between
directionality and sensitivity, background noise levels on replay are very low.
The AGC system works well enough under normal conditions but the kind of
serious and semi-professional users this machine is aimed at would undoubtedly prefer some kind of manual
recording level control. Whilst we're on the subject of what might have been,
we're disappointed that the VX1 doesn't have an external video recording
facility, like the V5000, V6000 Pro machines. The relatively small numbers of
these machines that will be sold can't have much impact on the EC import
restrictions which traditionally limit their numbers by classifying them as
VCRs.
VERDICT
The first thing we have to say is that for
the majority of video movie-makers a camcorder costing £2,500 is not five
times, three times, or even twice as good as one costing £500. Sony will not
thank us for lightly comparing the VX1 with domestic camcorders but that's the
marketplace it will be sold in, and it must be our main frame of reference. .
We suspect that in side by side tests most
people would not be able to tell whether or not recordings of everyday scenes
had been made on a VX1, or a couple of other high-band machines we could name,
including one made by Sony, and another costing £1,000 less, but that is not
necessarily the point. The differences are subtle and mostly only apparent on
test patterns, or when they're pointed out, but in serious applications, where
performance, flexibility and editing facilities are paramount the VX1 has few
rivals this side of £20,000.
Having put the VX1 into context, how does it
fare as a serious or semi-professional recording system? The simple answer is
very well indeed, and we suspect Sony will be selling every one they can get
their hands on. It's not capable of broadcast quality recording, but there's
really not a lot in it, moreover second and even third generation copies still
look better than standard VHS originals, so there's plenty of scope for this
machine in industrial and commercial applications.
Are 3-CCDs really necessary, are they worth
the extra, and is this the way forward? It does make a difference to picture
quality but at this stage we'd have to say the improvements are small, barely
noticeable on an original, and all but
lost on subsequent generations, so it's probably not worth the relatively high
price premium for the majority of users. We also a little concerned by some of
the picture faults we've already outlined, and suspect that 3-CCD technology,
at this level, still needs further development. Where the VX1 is used as a
camera the 3-CCDs really show their mettle, so where the machine will be used
in a mixture of studio and portable situations it could prove a valuable asset.
As far as the future is concerned triple CCD image sensors will remain a
far-off luxury for the majority of camcorder users, there's little or nothing
to be gained in terms of picture quality, and the complex technology and optics
is expensive.
It's difficult to bottom-line a machine like
the VX1. It is not an alternative to a
palmcorder or compact machine, practically or economically but if you're in the
business, and make your money making videos you will probably already have your
name down for one!
SPECIFICATIONS
Make/model SONY CCD-VX1E
Recording format Hi8/8mm
Guide price £2,500
OPTICS
Lens f1.6-1.8, 40-480mm
Zoom 12x, two-speed
Filter diameter 52mm
Pick-up device 3 x 0.3in
CCD (410k pixels each)
Min. illum. (lux) 4
VIDEO DECK
Tape speed (mm/sec) 20.051(SP), 10.026(LP)
Max. rec. time 240 ins (LP mode)
Remote control full-function infra-red and Control L (LANC)
Main facilities auto/manual focus, auto/manual/programmed exposure,
auto/manual white balance, fader,
high-speed shutter, time/date recording, gain-up, record search, RC-time code
read and write, 2-page/8-colour title superimposer, index marker/intro scan,
jitter-free still frame and variable slomo, zebra marking, manual/auto neutral
density filter, wind noise filter, data code recording, interval recording,
colour noise reduction, high-speed shutter (16 speeds up to 1/10,000th
sec), frame recording (animation),
custom presets, insert edit
VIEWFINDER
Viewfinder 0.6in monochrome
Viewfinder info. deck mode and status, low battery, tape count,
shutter speed, fader, focus mode, tape end, time/date, title, exposure value,
RC time code, data code, index mark, program AE mode
AUDIO
System FM stereo hi-fi
Microphone single-point stereo
GENERAL
Sockets S-Video out (mini DIN), video out,
stereo audio out (phono), headphones, external mic, mic DC out, Control L
(minijacks)
Size (mm) 116 x 148 x 352
Weight 2.0 kg (inc tape and battery)
STANDARD ACCESSORIES
Batteries, (nicad, lithium and alkaline),
straps, AC charger/power supply, AV leads and SCART converter, remote control
handset
PERFORMANCE
Resolution >400-lines
Colour fidelity very good
Picture stability good
Colour bleed slight
White balance very good
Exposure very good
Autofocus good
Audio performance very good
Insert edit clean
Playback thru adaptor N/A
VC RATINGS
Value for money 8
Ease of use 7
Performance 7
Features 9
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(c) R Maybury 1993 2604
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