A comparison between a new 2009 JVC Everio GZ-MS100 flash memory camcorder and a 1999 Sony DCR-TRV103 Digital8 tape camcorder. Watch and decide for yourself which one is better. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages — some immediately apparent, others more subtle.
The JVC uses a 1/6″ 680k pixel (340k effective pixels) CCD image sensor; the Sony uses a 1/4″ 480k pixel (290k effective pixels) CCD. Both are standard definition NTSC camcorders which record at 720×480 resolution at 29.97 fps Interlaced, in either 4:3 regular or 16:9 widescreen mode. The Sony was set to 16-bit 48 kHz audio mode to match the specs of the JVC’s audio.
Yes, I know I spelled “comparison” wrong at the end, but I didn’t feel like waiting 20 minutes to re-encode the video just to fix one letter.
Duration : 0:6:50
I like the digital8 …
I like the digital8 one better because with the flash memory one there are lines when there is movement, but it does lighting better–to an extent
@freqazoidiac Yes, …
@freqazoidiac Yes, you can use it as a webcam through FireWire.
Great comparison. …
Great comparison. Used to use that Sony model in 1999.
I find it saturates very easily. I don’t enjoy the default
sharpness it applies to the picture. Other than that, it’s very versatile and
since I got paid to do some projects with that camera alone, and no one was bothered by what I was bothered by, I can’t really complain. Do you know if the firewire function works as a webcam with these? The video I shared, I shot with the SOny and Retrofitted Steadicam arm.
damn the Sony is so …
the Sony is so much better
. The Jvc has less …
. The Jvc has less noise. But the Sony is better
i bought my sony …
i bought my sony camcorder at the mile high flea market for $30
Well your captions …
Well your captions at the end say it all don’t they; A $1000 camcorder from 10 years ago or an introductory model from today? You can see why that Sony was an expensive purchase back then, and why it’s resale value still remains high.
The autofocus, colors, light performance and dare I say audio from the Sony blew away the JVC, though the JVC did produce less noise in its picture. Cool video.
It does have a much …
It does have a much tighter focus than most modern consumer camcorders, even HD ones.
The Sony also seems …
The Sony also seems to have a far greater DOF.
1999 Sony is a lot …
1999 Sony is a lot better
The Sony has better …
The Sony has better color and focus and the light adjustment, not favoring it because I have the Sony, but go back and look at each.
I have the same …
I have the same phone :_)
The Sony actually …
The Sony actually uses Digital8, not MiniDV, but it uses the same exact video format as MiniDV; only the type of tape it’s recorded onto is different. Tape based camcorders are very reliable if you take care of them and use good-quality tapes.
Id have to say the …
Id have to say the miniDV camera has better quality but like someone said if something jams and the tape wont move then ur screwed. ill stick to solid state cameras that shoot onto memory cards. I just use my camera for youtube videos anyway. I do gotta say the 1999 Sony camera take far less time to focus on close up stuff than the JVC camera. you do get video noise but its pretty good quality. nice comparison.
Yes, both can focus …
Yes, both can focus on objects very close to the lens.
Good quality from …
Good quality from both cameras. Does the JVC have an auto macro as well, or something?
…and MicroMV used …
…and MicroMV used MPEG rather than M-JPEG, didn’t it?
I was calling …
Actually, I first tried calling it from my cell phone, but the cell phone transmitter made all kinds of interference that the camcorders picked up! It’s the “dit dit buzz buzz dit dit” sound that even comes through things like stereo systems and PC speakers.
I was calling myself from another landline.
Did you ever answer …
Did you ever answer that phone?
Seriously, though, nice video.
Sony also invented …
Sony also invented the MicroMV format with really really tiny tapes, perhaps as overcompensation for 8mm tapes being “too big”… but that format was even more of a dud than Digital8, with only a handful of camcorders made for it.
I just turned on …
I just turned on the camera’s “16:9 Wide” setting, nothing else. This cuts off the top and bottom of the frame a little bit but also expands the viewing angle towards the sides. So it’s not quite a true widescreen image sensor, but still better than camcorders that just crop down a 4:3 frame to make a 16:9 aspect ratio.
p.s. DV video is equivalent to 345.6k pixels, so any camcorder whose image sensor is less than that (like 290k effective on this one) will have some visible pixellation.
I always thought …
I always thought Digital8 had to be more physically robust than MiniDV… Those tapes are just too small and sometimes you can’t even interchange them with other machines.
Unfortunately they never made any really professional cameras in Digital8 and it got there too late to make much of a difference. I’m constantly terrified that the mechanism in my DV camera (that I paid a hundred bucks for!) is going to jam and I won’t be able to do anything about it. Video8 is fiddly enough.
How are you getting …
How are you getting widescreen off the old camera? I prefer to shoot 4:3 and matte it in Virtualdub (I put marker lines on my viewfinder) because the camera’s (DCR-TRV17)’s scaling algorithm in widescreen mode is kind of poor. (It only has 720×480 real pixels) Also got a VCL-0630X wide-angle converter for it. They are only like 30 bucks. I wanted an anamorphic attachment, but you can’t seem to get one of those for under several hundred…
This was done under …
This was done under incandescent lighting, with Philips “Natural Light” bulbs that are blue tinted to give off a more neutral, less yellowey glow (similar to GE Reveal bulbs).
Many thanks for the …
Many thanks for the info, I will check all that out. I am still curious about the sound, since we are on the outside looking in and only you know what your tape player really sounds like, which camera actually played back the sound of the tape player most accuartely. Also was your basement lighting fluorescent or incandescent. Interesting video, I will be watching for your next camera comparison.