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General discussion

JVC MG555 OR Sony SR200

by blackautoload Nov 11, 2007 8:32AM PST

First off, I have never owned a camcorder before and looking to get a good one for my money. Looking to film christmas parties, newborn growing up, vacations, etc. I would like to spend 800ish for everything including an extra battery, case and tripod.
After a couple days of research I have narrowed my choices to two. I can get both of these for the exact same price, so it comes down to features. A CMOS sensor seems to be the better choice, but the overall megapixel of the jvc might make up for the CCD sensor.
JVC:
5.37MP
30G
1/2.5" CCD

Sony:
2MP
40G
1/3" CMOS

What does everyone think?? Help!!

Discussion is locked

1 Posts

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Main question....

by whizkid454 Nov 11, 2007 8:53AM PST

Will you be dealing with the video on the computer? If so, stay away from the JVC. There's too many problems in that arena. The Sony is great for the price (Mfg. price that is). I am assuming you'll get it for less than that.

Megapixel count isn't everything. Usually, the larger the sensor, the better the video. However, an increased pixel count means smaller pixels hence less light. For a better representation, I'll try a formula.

JVC- .5 inch sensor divided by 5.37 megapixels = .09 (a constant)
Sony- .33 inch sensor divided by 2 megapixels = .15 (a constant)

With those results in mind: The larger that number (.09 for JVC and .15 for Sony), the better the video quality with respect to the sensor itself. This excludes processing the image. FYI, that test is not formal, it was just a visual aid.

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