Size of CCD chips
 

Hello everybody. I have another basic, terribly newbie question, but I have to know. What difference does the size of CCD chips have on a camera? For example, a Canon Xl1s has 1/3 size chips, while GL2 has 1/4 size chips (I think). This difference causes some people to buy the XL1s over the GL2. Thanks for any help, Clint Grant

A larger chip (usually) means higher capture resolution-- there is more "real estate" to fit pixels into (don't confuse caprture res with image resolution: all SD video from miniDV to DVCPro50 to DigiBeta is 720x480). Larger chips also have a shorter depth of field which is associated with a "filmic" look if utilized.
Professional camcorders usually have 1/2" or 2/3" chips, as well as a better and wider selection of lenses. The XL cameras are also attractive to many for their ability to use a wide variety of lenses via an adaptor, among other reasons.
Hope this helps.

Bigger chip generally means better low-light performance (of course that is assuming the same number of pixels, but a larger chip).

Thanks A Lot
 

Thanks to you both for confirming that for me. I was just unclear on the logic of the chip size. Thanks agin, Clint Grant

Woah, hold on there... image sensors have no "depth of field" at all. Depth of field (DoF) is an optical property of a lens. There is no direct relationship between CCD size and DoF... only an indirect relationship. See this link for more info about DoF:

http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/optics/dofskinny.php

I know. I worded that poorly, probably in an attempt to be concise. oops. heh.
Thanks for keeping me in check, Chris.

I always thought larger CCDs meant shorter depth of field too, and I know I've seen it in print many times. None the less i realize you are right. It's just that camcorders with bigger CCDs tend to allow shorter depth of field f-stop settings because they need less light. In actual practice this means you can usually get shorter depth of field with a larger CCD camera.

The technical jargon doesnt really matter... a 2/3" CCD camera has a better DOF than smaller chip cameras. As mentioned above, just the fact that it allows more light in, allows for a better DOF, even if similar lenses were used...


ash =o)

For the same f-number and the same subject size, the larger the sensor (CCD) is, the lower the Dof

Oops... Ash... be careful how you describe that. "Better" is a relative term. For some folks, "better" will mean a deep focal plane (like Citizen Kane), and for others it will mean a shallow focal plane. Around here it's much more helpful to describe things in absolutes rather than superlatives -- thanks,

Yes, bigger means shallower. 1/3" about the same as 8mm film; 2/3" like 16mm. You'd need about 1 1/3" to equal the shallow depth of field of 35mm film.