what's the difference between the 101e and the 111e at DVinfo.net

David Carter · April 27th, 2008, 02:09 PM

I was considering the 111e but a 101e has come up in the classifieds. I cant seem to find a comparison online. Can someone help me differentiate? thanks

David Carter · April 27th, 2008, 05:00 PM

Well I've continued my research and the only difference I can see is that the dynamic range on the 101e is 250% or more and on the 111e it is 300% or more.

Just in case someone else finds this thread here's my cut and paste from a google search regarding dynamic range... as I dont have a real point of reference its hard to say what in real terms the difference will be to my films but here's what dynamic range actually is anyway.

What Dynamic Range Means for Your Video

Broadly speaking, the term "dynamic range" refers to the ratio between the smallest and largest possible meaningful values in a range. More narrowly, in the world of audio and video, it is often used to define the frequency range of a device or system. For example, even middle-of-the-road stereo systems have a broad dynamic range because they are designed to reproduce sounds ranging from a piccolo to a bassoon, whereas the best telephone has relatively narrow dynamic range, which is optimized to the human voice.

When the term is used in the context of a video camera, it typically refers to the extremes of brightness, or "luminance," in the video signal. DV works on a digital scale of values from 16 to 239 for brightness. That's the total allowable or viewable range of values that can represent how dark or bright a pixel is.

Why is dynamic range important? Well, the more of your dynamic range you use, the more full and realistic your audio and video will feel. The Lord of the Rings DVD has some excellent examples in its Bonus Materials. The interviews of cast members on the set look great. They are very well defined and "crisp." When comparing such great looking shots to much of the footage shot on DV cameras, it's easy to say things like "Well, that was shot on a better camera." There's certainly a degree of truth to that, but the quality of a shot does not begin and end with sophistication of the camera. The interviews were lit to take full advantage of the video palette. The shadows are more defined. The whites of the eyes are bright white, but not too white, etc.

The biggest difference between a high-end DV camcorder and a prosumer DV camcorder is not dynamic range—both record to the same tape format. Rather, it's how well the high-end camera fills the available dynamic range with useful information. In many cases, a prosumer camera can achieve results comparable to a high-end camera if you set up your shot well using objective monitoring tools. This is one of the big advantages of DV Rack. Tools like the Waveform Monitor, Spectra 60, and SureShot let you maximize your signal to fill the available dynamic range. This can only be done at the time you are shooting because the expanded dynamic range must be captured on location by adjusting your camera, lighting, and scene composition. Attempting to do this with editing software after the fact would be like trying to expand a one megapixel digital still to four megapixels in a paint program. You just can't put back information that wasn't captured in the first place. In both cases, trying to do too much will invariably produce unsightly artifacts.

Another benefit to using as much dynamic range as possible is that greater dynamic range means more latitude in applying image processing in post-production. If, for example, you intend for a shot to be dark and moody, you'll generally be much better off to shoot it brightly lit and darken it in post than to try to achieve the desired results with your lighting on the set.

April 27th, 2008, 02:09 PM	#1
David Carter Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK Posts: 170	what's the difference between the 101e and the 111e I was considering the 111e but a 101e has come up in the classifieds. I cant seem to find a comparison online. Can someone help me differentiate? thanks

April 27th, 2008, 05:00 PM	#2
David Carter Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK Posts: 170	Well I've continued my research and the only difference I can see is that the dynamic range on the 101e is 250% or more and on the 111e it is 300% or more. Just in case someone else finds this thread here's my cut and paste from a google search regarding dynamic range... as I dont have a real point of reference its hard to say what in real terms the difference will be to my films but here's what dynamic range actually is anyway. What Dynamic Range Means for Your Video Broadly speaking, the term "dynamic range" refers to the ratio between the smallest and largest possible meaningful values in a range. More narrowly, in the world of audio and video, it is often used to define the frequency range of a device or system. For example, even middle-of-the-road stereo systems have a broad dynamic range because they are designed to reproduce sounds ranging from a piccolo to a bassoon, whereas the best telephone has relatively narrow dynamic range, which is optimized to the human voice. When the term is used in the context of a video camera, it typically refers to the extremes of brightness, or "luminance," in the video signal. DV works on a digital scale of values from 16 to 239 for brightness. That's the total allowable or viewable range of values that can represent how dark or bright a pixel is. Why is dynamic range important? Well, the more of your dynamic range you use, the more full and realistic your audio and video will feel. The Lord of the Rings DVD has some excellent examples in its Bonus Materials. The interviews of cast members on the set look great. They are very well defined and "crisp." When comparing such great looking shots to much of the footage shot on DV cameras, it's easy to say things like "Well, that was shot on a better camera." There's certainly a degree of truth to that, but the quality of a shot does not begin and end with sophistication of the camera. The interviews were lit to take full advantage of the video palette. The shadows are more defined. The whites of the eyes are bright white, but not too white, etc. The biggest difference between a high-end DV camcorder and a prosumer DV camcorder is not dynamic range—both record to the same tape format. Rather, it's how well the high-end camera fills the available dynamic range with useful information. In many cases, a prosumer camera can achieve results comparable to a high-end camera if you set up your shot well using objective monitoring tools. This is one of the big advantages of DV Rack. Tools like the Waveform Monitor, Spectra 60, and SureShot let you maximize your signal to fill the available dynamic range. This can only be done at the time you are shooting because the expanded dynamic range must be captured on location by adjusting your camera, lighting, and scene composition. Attempting to do this with editing software after the fact would be like trying to expand a one megapixel digital still to four megapixels in a paint program. You just can't put back information that wasn't captured in the first place. In both cases, trying to do too much will invariably produce unsightly artifacts. Another benefit to using as much dynamic range as possible is that greater dynamic range means more latitude in applying image processing in post-production. If, for example, you intend for a shot to be dark and moody, you'll generally be much better off to shoot it brightly lit and darken it in post than to try to achieve the desired results with your lighting on the set.