I've recently shot some footage on my NTSC XL-1 camera and I noticed some possible image errors that I think my camera might be giving me.

The footage I shot is of a friend of mine facing the camera wearing a black shirt. On closer expection, I noticed around the edge of my friend's t-shirt, where the black pixels would end, I woulse see a faint, blue-ish glow effect directly to the right of the black pixel. Then I started to notice it all over the place on the image. So, it seems everytime I have a black pixel, the pixels directly to the right of them would be blue-ish in color.

Here is an example of what I am talking about:
http://users.ev1.net/~slconway/deadlast/Image.jpg

I recorded the footage via a standard firewire cable straight from the XL-1 (interlaced mode) in Adobe Premiere on a WinXP machine.

I'm curious if this is normal for anyone else (it doesn't seem like it would be a normal thing for a digital camcorder...) or if my camera needs to be sent off for cleaning/repair.

Thanks,
Art Conway


once I got it into the computer, that anytime my images had any black pixels a faint, slightly blue auroa would appear t

I have seen this effect on old Hi-8 camera, where orange tint from unnatural light and then slight "glow" on edges, perhaps from natural light hitting edge of garments, etc. But cannot think I have seen this on DV cameras.

Was the shots with problems taken using auto white balance or manual??? I can see from your example that the shot contains lots of yellow/creme colour over all. Have u tried shots in a different environment / location? and it still the same? Or is it just more "amplified" in certain locations?

Judging from what your freeze frame shows, there are some serious problems with your camera -- there are these rectangles and arrows showing up all over the place!! :-)

What you're seeing is the camera's built-in sharpening effect. All video cameras have it. Note that it's especially prevalent in areas of high contrast.

Some allow you to set it. The XL1s even lets you turn it off. I tend to turn mine off. The image looks softer but it eliminates the harsh edges which I find annoying.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

Analog video (HI-8mm, S-VHS etc.) can show a similar effect, but is caused by a Y/C delay. I agree with Dean that it looks like the sharpening is set too high for the conditions.

"...camera's built-in sharpening effect...Some allow you to set it. The XL1s even lets you turn it off. I tend to turn mine off."

Waht do you mean by built in-sharpness? I know you can adjust sharpness in presets but I cannot see where u can switch off built in one. Its it that if you dont use a preset the camera runs in "auto" regarding sharpness, rather than just stay fixed in centre sharpness???

Don't leave it in the center, reduce the sharpness until the halo, or edges disappear. Center isn't off, it's just not maximum sharpness or minimum sharpness.

get a quote from a dealer to have it checked. Better to be safe than sorry. Then read your manual, know your camera, and always use Manual setting so you have complete control over your picture.
And on a side note, when filming in DV stay away from colors WHITE, BLACK, and if possilbe DARK BLUE

Trevor