Recently it came to my attention there is a standard EIA-639 that specifically defines the procedure of measuring consumer camcorder or video camera low light performance.
Does anybody have an access to this standard? It was published in 2002, so it's pretty old by now.

Vladimir.

EIA-639 only applies to NTSC cameras, this includes a black level of 7.5 IRE. Mini DV does not have a black level of 7.5 IRE. Most of the major manufactures have agreed to use it. However, because of the NTSC limitations, the standard is pretty much obsolete. It took too long to get out of committee and get it published.