HD1:
ISO speeds: 50-400 still image, 200-1600 in movie mode

C6:
ISO speeds: 50-400 still image, 450-3600 in movie mode

C5:
ISO speeds: 50-400 still image, 200-800 in movie mode

Thus, still image are same performance but the movie low light performance of C6 is little more than twice of HD1 or 4 times of C5.

( this is a quotation from Steve's Forums http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=86028&forum_id=27 )

Graham,

Try This URL for ISO comparison:

http://c-kom.homeip.net/review/blog/archives/2006/03/xacti_c1c6hd1_i.html

Or for a Google translation in English:


http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fc-kom.homeip.net%2Freview%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2006%2F03%2Fxacti_c1c6hd1_i.html&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

Thanks for that post Patrick, I had no idea the C6 was that much more effective in low light.

Does anyone know if the C6 firmware update made this difference, or if it was that much better in low light from the start?

The limitation in low light sensitivity is noise coming from the sensor. Want me to design a camcorder with 6400 ISO? I just crank up the gain in video amp! The real test would be to bring up video level (contrast & brightness) of the HD! (in post) to match the C6 - then evaluate for noise. The fact that the picture is a little darker can be corrected in post - fixing the noise is tougher. Sometimes I prefer a picture that is a little darker - making the noise a little less obvious

Post processing does not compensate for image blurr, and is somewhat ineffective when the scene contains lighting shifts. There are advantages to recording at both higher and lower ISO settings and, while post processing will solve some issues, it's not a total solution.

Thanks for link Patrick - full of interesting info about the HD1!

From Camcorderinfo's review:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sanyo-VPC-HD1-Camcorder-Review.htm

Excuse me have a question :-) how do I select 1600 iso for the HD1 I only see upto 400 ?

Chris Taylor
http://www.nerys.com/

HD1 add four pixels (RGBG) into one, so sensitivity in video mode is 4x selected ISO value.

For low light, try 640x480 30fps, seems less noise than HD