4Mpix photo by GS400

Mikhail Transact · July 2nd, 2004, 06:16 AM

http://panasonic.jp/dvc/popup/gs400k...le_photo_1.jpg
http://panasonic.jp/dvc/popup/gs400k...le_photo_2.jpg

Frank Granovski · July 2nd, 2004, 06:37 AM

I looked at the 1st pic. It's terrible. Probably no fault of the cam, though.

Tommy Haupfear · July 2nd, 2004, 09:03 AM

Looks like they have slightly improved the quality of stills on the GS400 from the DV953 but as with all megapixel camcorders its nothing to write home about.

Click here for my 3MP pic from DV953 (MX500/MX5000)

The DV953 takes amazing stills if you leave it set to 640x480 which doesn't require any interpolation of its three CCDs. I noticed the GS400 offers more than just 2288x1728 and 640x480 for still resolutions. It also has a 1600x1200 and 1280x960 setting and the 1280x960 is very close to native resolution for the 1.07 megapixel CCDs.

So if anyone can find a 1280 resolutin still I'd love to see it!

Mikhail Transact · July 2nd, 2004, 10:31 AM

If you want estimate the quality perfectly - just print the image in good lab. I believe GS400 quality will be enough up to 15x22 cm printing.

If you look pic on PC - use appropriate viewer, as ACDSee, and set zoom no more 50%. it's a usual recommendation for viewing any high resolution images

Bill Greene · July 8th, 2004, 02:06 PM

I printed some stills from a GS200 on a dye sublimation (Canon CP200) printer and they were, frankly, terrible. Even a fairly inexpensive 2mp still cam like the Nikon Coolpix 2200 took vastly superior photos than the GS200. I can't see the GS400 being much better in the still department. And I cant see a pro lab doing a lot more with the images.

Sometimes I wonder why these otherwise reputable companies try to market their video cameras as viable options to a reasonably inexpensive dedicated still camera. They should instead focus on the superior colour definition and video quality their cams have compared to the competition.

I guess that's why I dont work for the Matsushita marketing department .

Dennis Vogel · July 8th, 2004, 02:22 PM

Agreed. I don't know who the market is for these combo units but I guess the manufacturers know who they are. Sigh. I often shake my head thinking what else they could do instead of putting all the hardware and firmware on the cam for still photos. Bigger CCDs? More CCDs? Lots of other things. Oh, well.

Dennis Vogel

Tommy Haupfear · July 8th, 2004, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Bigger CCDs? More CCDs?

Bigger CCDs (three of them) with just enough pixels for a native 16:9 mode (400k-500k). I see larger and larger CCDs in the single chipper division but they are burdened with 2 and 3 megapixels ruining any low light benefit of the large (usually 1/3.6") CCD.

July 2nd, 2004, 06:16 AM	#1
Mikhail Transact Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 60	4Mpix photo by GS400 - 2 examples http://panasonic.jp/dvc/popup/gs400k...le_photo_1.jpg http://panasonic.jp/dvc/popup/gs400k...le_photo_2.jpg __________________ Mikhail

July 2nd, 2004, 10:31 AM	#4
Mikhail Transact Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 60	If you want estimate the quality perfectly - just print the image in good lab. I believe GS400 quality will be enough up to 15x22 cm printing. If you look pic on PC - use appropriate viewer, as ACDSee, and set zoom no more 50%. it's a usual recommendation for viewing any high resolution images __________________ Mikhail

July 2nd, 2004, 06:37 AM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	I looked at the 1st pic. It's terrible. Probably no fault of the cam, though.

July 2nd, 2004, 09:03 AM	#3
Tommy Haupfear Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 1,415	Looks like they have slightly improved the quality of stills on the GS400 from the DV953 but as with all megapixel camcorders its nothing to write home about. Click here for my 3MP pic from DV953 (MX500/MX5000) The DV953 takes amazing stills if you leave it set to 640x480 which doesn't require any interpolation of its three CCDs. I noticed the GS400 offers more than just 2288x1728 and 640x480 for still resolutions. It also has a 1600x1200 and 1280x960 setting and the 1280x960 is very close to native resolution for the 1.07 megapixel CCDs. So if anyone can find a 1280 resolutin still I'd love to see it!

July 8th, 2004, 02:06 PM	#5
Bill Greene New Boot Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Kamloops, BC, Canada Posts: 8	I printed some stills from a GS200 on a dye sublimation (Canon CP200) printer and they were, frankly, terrible. Even a fairly inexpensive 2mp still cam like the Nikon Coolpix 2200 took vastly superior photos than the GS200. I can't see the GS400 being much better in the still department. And I cant see a pro lab doing a lot more with the images. Sometimes I wonder why these otherwise reputable companies try to market their video cameras as viable options to a reasonably inexpensive dedicated still camera. They should instead focus on the superior colour definition and video quality their cams have compared to the competition. I guess that's why I dont work for the Matsushita marketing department .

July 8th, 2004, 02:22 PM	#6
Dennis Vogel Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 409	Agreed. I don't know who the market is for these combo units but I guess the manufacturers know who they are. Sigh. I often shake my head thinking what else they could do instead of putting all the hardware and firmware on the cam for still photos. Bigger CCDs? More CCDs? Lots of other things. Oh, well. Dennis Vogel