Sony HX1 720p Video Looks Better Than 1080p
 

I've discovered that the 720p HD video mode of my HX1 looks sharper and more like real HD, than the 1080p mode. This is especially the case, when it's shown in a 1280 X 720 screen window, but even when expanded to fullscreen, the 720p looks better. I've got a fuzzy theory about this, but do any experts in this field have an explanation for it?

The 720p video of the HX1, uses an encoding rate that is 18% lower, on a bit-per-pixel basis, than the 1080p video.

I've also found that the Photo-mode settings of the HX1, such as Sharpness, Contrast and Color-Saturation, seem to have a significant effect on the video, as well. I tested it today, with those settings in the high position and also turned on the low level of DRO for the first time. The video looked richer and sharper after I'd made those changes.

Attached are photos of my new steady-mount rig for the HX1. It has a 57mm to 74mm fiberglass lens adaptor tube I made and a fiberglass butterfly hood. Sony doesn't supply an adaptor tube with the HX1, that provides for the mounting of filters, hoods and add-on lenses, which I can do with this set-up. On my Flickr album, there's several more photos of other accessories I mount on the HX1 with my adaptors. I also have an adaptor that's 57mm to 58mm.

I've made a couple of similar adaptors for the Canon SX1/SX10, that are mounted by slipping the base of the adaptor over the outside of the lens housing, with some stretched wraps of self-fusing rubber sealing tape underneath, to compress and hold it firmly. I've already mounted one as a test on my Canon S5 camera and it works fine. There's a picture of this several pages back into my Flickr album. The SX1/SX10 have no threads nor a bayonet mount on their lenses, that are suitable for mounting heavy add-on lenses. The Lensmate company does sell an adaptor for them, that allows filters to be mounted.

It's said by a lens-accessory dealer, that soon, some after-market HX1 adaptor tubes will be available and I'll report it here, if I find where they are sold.

Bit-rates impact motion not so much sharpness. It's possible the anti-aliasing filter was set for 720p and so it reduces detail too much for 1080i.

Have you been able to check for strobing in bright light on fast moving objects?

PS: I can't find any HX1 samples with motion.