HC1 viewfinder is cropped? at DVinfo.net

Gian Pablo Villamil · April 11th, 2006, 09:22 PM

I think the HC1 viewfinder (and LCD) crop the sides of what is actually being shot. I mention this because I have a Century Optics Fisheye, for which I made a short petal hood. (I lost the one it came with.) When shooting, the hood did not appear on the LCD or viewfinder, however, after capturing the footage and viewing on PC, the lateral lobes of the hood were visible. It would appear to be about a 5% crop on the sides.

Boyd Ostroff · April 11th, 2006, 09:26 PM

I'm sure that's the case, as it is with virtually every consumer and prosumer camcorder. The only exception that I know of is the Z1 which has the "allscan" option to show the full frame.

Alex Thames · April 11th, 2006, 09:44 PM

What is the purpose of this cropping? It seems like it would hinder good framing when you record.

Boyd Ostroff · April 11th, 2006, 09:46 PM

Well I guess that question should be addressed to Canon, Sony, JVC and Panasonic because most (if not all) their cameras do this (which is known as "overscan"). I suppose their argument would be that all consumer TV's also exhibit a similar amount of overscan, so they're trying to be "WYSIWYG"....

Chris Joy · April 11th, 2006, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

I'm sure that's the case, as it is with virtually every consumer and prosumer camcorder. The only exception that I know of is the Z1 which has the "allscan" option to show the full frame.

FYI, the A1 has the allscan option as well.

Boyd Ostroff · April 11th, 2006, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Joy

FYI, the A1 has the allscan option as well.

Cool, I didn't realize that. I find it very useful on my Z1.

Alex Thames · April 11th, 2006, 10:33 PM

Just wondering why this cropping is called overscan? If it's cropping, doesn't that mean things are cut out, and hence "under"(scan)? Or is the scan referring to something else?

Boyd Ostroff · April 12th, 2006, 07:35 AM

It goes back to the CRT days Alex. The electron beam scans across the phosphor on the face of the tube. With overscan the beam is sweeping across an area wider than the face of the tube, so some of the image doesn't show (it's scanning over the edges). In the case of underscan the electron beam doesn't scan as wide as the face of the tube, so you see the full image with a black border around the edges.

Chris Joy · April 12th, 2006, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

Cool, I didn't realize that. I find it very useful on my Z1.

Hey Boyd, when you go into allscan mode on the Z1, does it shrink the image on the LCD and in the viewfinder??? On the A1, when I hit allscan the image shrinks a bit with a tiny black border, but you can clearly see the field of view has widened.

chris

Boyd Ostroff · April 12th, 2006, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Joy

On the A1, when I hit allscan the image shrinks a bit with a tiny black border, but you can clearly see the field of view has widened.

That's exactly what happens on the Z1. You get the full image with a black border around it.

Alex Thames · April 12th, 2006, 05:04 PM

But this black border, even if you can see it on the LCD/viewfinder, isn't actually recorded right? You won't see the border in the NLE?

Boyd Ostroff · April 12th, 2006, 05:22 PM

No, the point of the black border is to let you know that you're seeing the entire image inside of it. Going into allscan mode has no effect whatsoever on what you're recording. It's just another way to view the image on the LCD and viewfinder.

April 11th, 2006, 09:22 PM	#1
Gian Pablo Villamil Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 138	HC1 viewfinder is cropped? I think the HC1 viewfinder (and LCD) crop the sides of what is actually being shot. I mention this because I have a Century Optics Fisheye, for which I made a short petal hood. (I lost the one it came with.) When shooting, the hood did not appear on the LCD or viewfinder, however, after capturing the footage and viewing on PC, the lateral lobes of the hood were visible. It would appear to be about a 5% crop on the sides.

April 11th, 2006, 09:26 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	I'm sure that's the case, as it is with virtually every consumer and prosumer camcorder. The only exception that I know of is the Z1 which has the "allscan" option to show the full frame.

April 11th, 2006, 09:44 PM	#3
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	What is the purpose of this cropping? It seems like it would hinder good framing when you record.

April 11th, 2006, 09:46 PM	#4
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Well I guess that question should be addressed to Canon, Sony, JVC and Panasonic because most (if not all) their cameras do this (which is known as "overscan"). I suppose their argument would be that all consumer TV's also exhibit a similar amount of overscan, so they're trying to be "WYSIWYG"....

April 11th, 2006, 10:33 PM	#7
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	Just wondering why this cropping is called overscan? If it's cropping, doesn't that mean things are cut out, and hence "under"(scan)? Or is the scan referring to something else?

April 12th, 2006, 07:35 AM	#8
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	It goes back to the CRT days Alex. The electron beam scans across the phosphor on the face of the tube. With overscan the beam is sweeping across an area wider than the face of the tube, so some of the image doesn't show (it's scanning over the edges). In the case of underscan the electron beam doesn't scan as wide as the face of the tube, so you see the full image with a black border around the edges.

April 12th, 2006, 05:04 PM	#11
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	But this black border, even if you can see it on the LCD/viewfinder, isn't actually recorded right? You won't see the border in the NLE?

April 12th, 2006, 05:22 PM	#12
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	No, the point of the black border is to let you know that you're seeing the entire image inside of it. Going into allscan mode has no effect whatsoever on what you're recording. It's just another way to view the image on the LCD and viewfinder.