Picture quality issue with sony HDR-CX450
Hello, I'm experiencing problems with the picture quality when shooting videos. There is pixalation and a lack of sharp detail specially when it's at full zoom. I've tried filming in highest quality FX and with steady shot and conversion lens but still it's the same. I'm always filming out doors with good sunlight.I'm comparing the quality to my older model Sony HDR-CX115E which did not have this problem and the image was crystal clear with great detail even at full zoom. Maybe it's just the limitations of the newer cheaper model and it's supposed to be like that. Does anyone know the answer? I'm I doing something wrong? Thank you in advance. I have the Sony HDR CX405, which is about as cheap as you can go for a camcorder, I thought. We recently returned from a holiday in Holland & I used the Sony & my action camera all the time. I thought the results were fine considering the price I paid. The only downside is the lack of viewfinder, as trying to see the screen in bright sunlight was a toil. Maybe if you let us have the history of your Sony, someone will come up with something? Just had a quick look on Amazon & it appears you aren't the only one, see Amazon.co.uk:Customer reviews: Sony HDR-CX450 Camcorder - Black I suspect that the CX450 is offering higher digital zoom. What are the started max zoom ratios for both models?
The Panasonics go up to 1500x. I've never used this as it would be too pixellated and soft. Digital zoom is like resizing a small part of an JPEG imaqe up to full-size. Imagine resizing something occupying 198x108 of the sensor area -> 1980x1080. That's a 10x zoom. OK if done optically. But most camcorders reach an optical zoom max of 10x or 20x.So to go to 1500x, after 20x of optical zooming in, would require a further 75x of digital zooming/upsizing.There's no way this will look sharp. And it will probably look highly pixellated too.
Since modern camcorder sensors have more MP than is necessary for the Full HD framesize (2MP), there is usually some leeway. For example. If the sensor capture area of the original image is 8MP (3960x2160), 1x requires a 1/2x downsize to fit the captured sensor pixels within the final Full HD frame, so 2x zoom-in is actually back to the original 1:1 pixel correspondence between sensor and final image. For example, my Panasonic HCV750 & V770 camcorders have:
up to 20x "Optical" zoomup to 50x "Intelligent" zoomup to 60x "Digital" zoomup to 1500x "Digital" zoom
My understanding of this is that it's possible to zoom up to 50x before the weaknesses of digital zooming come into play.
BTW, There's no free lunch. 20x of high-quality optical zoom is extremely difficult to achieve in a professional video lens costing 10s of thousands of dollars, let alone the small cheapie lenses used in a consumer camcorder. At high optical camcorder zoom ratios, the image will tend to be softer and have more geometric and chromatic aberrations than is desirable. But consumer expectations aren't that high anyway and the moving images tends to focus your attention on other things. The loss of quality will be obvious though if you capture a still from a frame holding an image taken with this level of zooming.
Dan. Thanks stearman65
Thanks Dan, this is probably the problem as you explained. I'm not as knowledeged as yourself but it makes sense. How do I find out the started max zoom ratios? Should be in the user manuals, or search the web. My camera's menu option, "Zoom Mode", shows them.
Dan. I cannot find the max zoom ratios, or maybe it's my lack of knowledge here. Here are the specs for both:
HDR-CX115E Specifications | Sony UK
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/handycam-camcorders/hdr-cx455-cx450/specifications
Sony CX450 Handycam® with Exmor R™ CMOS sensor hdr-cx115e:
ZOOM RATIO (OPTICAL) 25
ZOOM RATIO (DIGITAL) 300
PRECISION DIGITAL ZOOM YES
HDR-CX450
OPTICAL ZOOM 30x
CLEAR IMAGE ZOOM 60 (When "SteadyShot" is set to "Active" or "Intelligent Active".)
DIGITAL ZOOM 350 (The factory setting is "Off". Digital zoom ratio includes optical zoom ratio)
Dan. So the 115 uses a pure optical zoom, and the 450 uses some digital zoom even when it is turned off? Check the menu. It's likely there will be an option to change the zoom modes in both cameras.
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