Optura 60 quality of resolution and low light??

[Frank Gambone]

I also am just about to make the leap to the Op60.

I have downloaded the user manual and have read all the specs. I have read a lot about its manual controls, stabilization, control placement, size, feel etc. .but I have not yet read any Opinions on its Clarity, Resolution, Color and Low Light performance.

Does any one have opinions on how it does in these areas compared to Pana and Sony models in this price range.

[Michael Wisniewski]

Regarding color with lots of light, the Optura series stands out because of the RGB filter which can rival higher end 3 chippers. On the other hand, almost every camcorder out there looks good with lots of light, so it really comes down to personal preference and getting your hands on the camcorders.

Personally, I prefer the Canon look over the Panasonics and Sonys, and I really like the look the Optura gives me. It's a slighter warmer look that's nice on skin tones which is important for me. You can tone it down a bit by white balancing.

Low light performance for the Opturas is acceptable but not stellar. Same for the Panasonics and Sonys in the same range. And whether one has a slight edge over the other really depends on who you talk to. The only real low light advantage goes to Sony with their Night Shot mode, but, the trade off is everything is monochrome green.

Color in low light is basically the same in all the cams except for the particular look of each brand. From my own experience, the Panasonic's have a "barely detectable" low light edge, but, the trade off is slightly more noise in the video image.

In the end though, these differences are so close and so negligable, that you should look to the other features to help you make up your mind.

[Robert Mann Z.]

Originally Posted by Frank Gambone

Opinions on its Clarity, Resolution, Color and Low Light performance..

i agree with Michael that the warmer colors from the optura are a canon trademark...in the light optura shoots very nicely...in the low light you get what you get darker grainer less rich colors...

all cams of this class will shoot like this, they have very small optics, small chips with tons of pixels stuffed in them fighting for light...

i can't say more on the panny 250 vs optura 60 discussion because my use of the panny was only in a store, where i thought the colors where more vivid, less real then the optura...you need to bring a tape with you, as the lcds are not a good way to compare both

i did not try any sonys because non have ois in this class

[Frank Gambone]

Thanks Michael, Thanks Robert,
You both are very informative and a great help to me and probably a lot of others who read these boards.

Sounds like color is a preference thing and you guys and a lot of other people like the colors Canon produces.
How about the clarity/resolution of the Op60? In Roberts nicely done review it seems to look pretty good compared to the DVX at 2.8f 60i but hard to tell from 1 frame.

You guys think its clarity/resolution is better then previous Optura models, better then Sony, Pana models your familiar with?

[Robert Mann Z.]

well i can compare it to a gl1 i had, and say that color wise and resolution wise it doesn't make for even cuts, meaning that you can tell you spent more money on the gl1 then the optura...

i really don't think there is a major clarity/resolution difference between the 250 panny and the optura, both look just about the same...

if you buy either camera your getting a great product, and the major difference is of course 16:9, where the canon kicks the pannys ass in the clarity/resolution department...

again as i said before with optics this small your going to need optimal lighting conditions to get the most out of these cams...

[Frank Gambone]

I don't know what you mean by "even cuts". Is that an editing term?

[Kevin A. Sturges]

Hey Frank, this is Kevin just putting my 2 cents in here. By “even cuts” he means shots placed next to each other in a video that came from two different cams. I have the Optura Xi. Compared to my older Sony D8 cam, the difference in resolution is really very noticeable. The native 16/9 looks very good on my HDTV. On a DVD, it looks cleaner than any over-the-air SD programming, no matter what it was shot on. I also had a Pany 953 for about a week. I took it back because of CCD streaks in the video in bright lighting, and got a replacement. The replacement was exactly the same.

What I have found with the cams is that each brand has it’s own “look” to the color curve. It’s really just a matter of which one you like the best. I thought the Panasonics had the worst look: a very industrial grayish-green. My old Sony is still my favorite. I love the way the blues, reds and purples pop out. The Optura XI is very nice but it does have a tendency to go very warm, as in orange and green. I have learned to white balance everything before I shoot (using the back of your hand sometimes cools things off very nicely), and I seem to color correct everything from it very heavily in post. I started some discussion in here a while back about a free plugin for Vegas Video that “auto-levels” the black levels and color curve very nicely. The difference is amazing and it can make the optura’s video look completely different - - like it was shot with a Sony…

[Frank Gambone]

Thanks Robert and Kevin.
Kevin, you mentioned streaks in the video of the PANY 953.
This is coincidental but at http://www.dvspot.com/reviews/canon/...ndex_pfv.shtml they mention an annoying vertical bar effect with the OP Xi.
A person, at another site http://www.pana3ccduser.com/showthread.php?t=1726
says with the OP 60 he experienced a banding problem. I don’t know what banding is but his description is the image looks more pixilated then fluid due to the videos horizontal lines being so visible. Sounds similar to “streaks’ or “bar effect”.

Has anybody noticed banding , streaks or bar effect with their Op60.

I compared a lot of consumer cams in this $700 to $800 price range and none of the Sony models came to the top as did the Canon and Pany. The Op60 and Pany gs250 just have more going for them. I have been leaning towards the Op 60 because its got more then the gs250... True 16:9, audio gain and meter, 14x, mini light. Thanks to you guys I think I have all my questions answered except the clarity/resolution comparison. Sometimes I get way to analytical and this is one of those times.

Reviews and other discussion forums seem to be very consistent about how great or at least how very good the crispness and clarity is with the gs250. No mention of “banding” just very good clarity. Maybe they are just Pany fanatics but Robert is the only one yet who says the canon beats the panny in clarity/resolution and that’s in 6:9.… and in the light optura shoots very nicely. There doesn’t seem to be a general consensus about very good clarity which makes me hesitate.

[Kevin A. Sturges]

I really don’t want to step into this, because it could turn the discussion into “one of those other forums” where the gist of is something besides “informational only”, but you are now getting into an area that really, is more of a matter of personal taste than anything else. Most camcorders in the under $1’000 range will give you similar results. It’s more about really learning the camera/tool, and getting the best you can out of it. You will never find a whole group of people in one forum that will totally agree on which brand of camera is best.

You are doing the right thing by asking questions about what is important to you. In the end though, if you keep waiting for the forum to give you an answer by consensus - -you’ll never really get the answer you want. All the different brands have some very good consumer offerings now. I still am surprised by the over-all quality of my Optura Xi. I will never regret the surprising amount of detail and resolution I have been able to get from such an affordable camera.

Having said that, there are always those little “somethings” that keep bugging you to always look for something better. My 5 year old Sony D8 never had the hunting and getting lost problems that the Xi’s auto-focus has. I’ve lost quite a few shots because of that. Actually, I never even noticed my old “cheaper” cameras auto-focusing because they did such a solid job of it.

What are the main things that are important to you? Good 16/9? Good color reproduction? Overall resolution? Halfway decent indoor light sensitivity? The Opturas have them all…BUT so do most of the other cameras. Just find some stores and try as many of them as you can. That’s my best advice. No camera is going to be perfect. The bottom line here is that the small differences between them will be overshadowed by how well you learn to use the camera.

Overall though, I think you will be very happy if you choose the Optura. Keep stopping by these forums. There is a lot of good information in here to get the most out of any camera you choose.

OK, I’ll stop rambling now….. ;)

[Frank Gambone]

Thanks again. You all gave some really good views. I’ll let you know how I like what I end up with.