Enjoy! ;-)
http://www.sonyshop.c-tec.co.jp/contents/mobile/image/DSC00003c.JPG
http://www.sonyshop.c-tec.co.jp/contents/mobile/image/DSC00005c.JPG
http://www.sonyshop.c-tec.co.jp/contents/mobile/image/DSC00006c.JPG
http://www.sonyshop.c-tec.co.jp/contents/mobile/image/DSC00008c.JPG

Thanks for the pics...

To me, it looks very "video" and very consumer.
Just a thought!
EDWIN

Well, I've never been a big fan of screen-grabs, because there are so many reasons why they can look bad, and that might have nothing to do with the actual camera itself. So I wouldn't be too quick to make any jusdgements based on screen grabs off of the internet... in fact I think that's probably the single *worst* way to evaluate an image.

It's an HDV camera right? How about an m2t file to look at?

I do not think these are video grabs but still image mode grabs. The resolution of the images is 1440x810 which is one of the modes for still images. I think they made this mode because 1440x810 is 16x9 which means the cmos chip might have at least a native horizontal resolution of 1440. The 810 is then scaled down from 1080 to 810 to give stills that are 16x9 instead of anamorphic. Also the images do not seem to be 4:2:0 but a have their chroma blurred.

I looked at first image. I think it less than 1440, maybe 1280 wide.

The CMOS is interlaced so still resolution could be 540 pixels vertically at most. If it is scaled down from 1080 to 810 then 405 most. Who knows how much is compressed. They record to Memory Stick so they have to compress lot to fit in lot of pictures.

The image would have been 1440x405 if it was not scaled to 1280x360 or something.

I wonder, is camera already available in Japan? Does any Japanese eBay deler sell already?

Radek

These image were shown at Sony dealer meeting in Tokyo.
Sony rep says, the camera was 85/100 prototype.
Screen grabs are shot in HDV mode on tape, then transfered to memorystick duo.
Maybe, that's why the image was cropped.
The image below was shot in still mode. It has full HD (1920x1080) resolution.
http://www.sonyshop.c-tec.co.jp/contents/mobile/image/DSC00066c.JPG
Radek, It will be available July 7 in Japan.

It's too bad that latest image is from the still image mode. It actually looks pretty good compared to those other images. Of course there is a lot less detail to compress so that helps a little.

This image also has the massive chroma blurring that the other images have. Do you know if this is done in the camera when transfered to media stick or if the images were adjusted after capture by software?

Thanks for the image.

I looked at first image. I think it less than 1440, maybe 1280 wide.

No....that image is definately 1440x810. Open it in an image editor and look at the pixel dimentions. Clearly, it's 1440x810.

So did you mean to say that the image "looks" like the camera only captures 1280 and then interpolates up to 1440?

Or something completely different?

Masahiro cleared it. These stills from HDV footage. I asume 1440x540 pixel 1 field images, probably highly compressed before going to Memory Stick. Need some clips to judge camera.

Radek

It will be available July 7 in Japan.

I think it will release July 7th worldwide! But I agree, this camera might be good for progressive scan EDTV, but not for full-rez HD.

Need some clips to judge camera.

Radek, no one can get real footage without the camera! I think you won't expect any real footage until 2 days after the official release of the camera worldwide.

...no one can get real footage without the camera! I think you won't expect any real footage until 2 days after the official release of the camera worldwide.

So it is being released worldwide on the same day? The Japanese market doesn't get it any earlier than the rest of the world?

Thanks to everyone for the advance info.

Kaku Ito was incredible last summer giving us the scoop on the Panasonic GS400 waaay before it got to these shores and he did the same with the Sony FX1...

Advance reports are greatly appreciated!

reminds me of the still grabs we saw from FX1 last year of the temple, etc. - the colors look good - Chris Hurd's point I think about the RGB filter thingy is well noted and I don't think the single-chip CMOS will be a big hindrance - not at this price point, at least...

I like what I see so far.

I very much want to see more.

That still of the can looks pretty good. I can't see much if any chromatic aberration, and it looks very sharp - none of the 1.33 PA softening. You can see some chroma-bleed around the reds in the can due to the colour space, and there looks to be a little sharpening around the black characters... but I think it looks sharper than the FX1 images.

I can't say the first set of images look as good - but there's likely some field-blending and other interpolation going on, as they're 1440x810.

-Steve

Definitely much better than the HD1. I like the color lattitudes.

Just had a look at the pictures. I can testify that the colour of the can is pretty close to real life, we have them around here. But the table looks like muffled reds and blues, probably because of the 4:2:0 but it could be the single chip filter.

I like the latitude, I think they actually have done a good job with this low end sensor. But one thing I notice, is that if you look at the bright foreheads of people in the village shots you will see they are pretty white and latitude compressed (in matter of fact everything seems to have a mild washout). Probably a latitude compromise, but a reasonably good one.

I agree with Chris that screen grabs are less than ideal.
The high-rez can shot looks very suspicious. It has no depth of field with a close-up of the can. Not a good way to evaluate what a HD cam can do at all. It also screams touched-up to me, and looks as if it came from a completely different cam the the one that made the first set of shots.

It also screams touched-up to me, and looks as if it cam from a completely different cam the the one that made the first set of shots.

I doubt that. The still comes from the cameras "picture" function... which means that it doesn't go through 15 GOP MPEG-2, but JPEG - potentially at very high quality, and it doesn't go through 1.33 resample to 1440x1080, but maintains the native luma resolution of the CMOS.

Furthermore, without knowing the settings and focus of the video stills, it's impossible to tell if it was properly focused or not.

-Steve

Exactly. Stills are no way to evaluate video.

I agree with Chris that screen grabs are less than ideal.
The high-rez can shot looks very suspicious. It has no depth of field with a close-up of the can. Not a good way to evaluate what a HD cam can do at all. It also screams touched-up to me, and looks as if it came from a completely different cam the the one that made the first set of shots.

I agree, the picture mode might have more saturation gain inbuilt, or higher bit depth (those white foreheads in the video shots) but the answer could be much simpler. In single chip filtering, there is the possibility of the filter allowing some of the wrong colours to bleed through. In bright situations this can lead to some washout in the image, but in darker situations saturation is much better. It could also be the lens etc.

I trust, untouched, digitally copied stills only for certain things, like picture latitude, saturation and chroma aberrations, under estimable lighting conditions. Everything else is really definable by the operator, motion and compression, needing moving footage.

Speaking about touch up issues, you will notice the pictures in the brochures, are clearly better than those here, except for the can shot. I wonder if it is post production color saturation from the print process, or if they are using UV/ND/IR?CIRPOL filters to bring down the light level (like the can shoot) to take the brochure shoots?

When I tested HC1000 before which has the CMOS inside, I was very dissapointed with the image, so I was suspecting that HDR-HC1 is not going to be that impressive. I will test the prosumer version later on my magazine article, so let you folks know how it is. Sony made it too cheap. It is typical of them to play around with the format (almost abusing people's sense of reference and standard) that I mentioned in my article on VideoAlfa magazine. They could not help to do this to fight against Panny's HVX200.

One thing from my experience with HDV camera, the resolution of the camera is pretty high, so scenaries like these file provided should look better if it was shot with FX1 or Z1. I assume HC1's CMOS is resulting these quality.

Kaku, thanks. What is the name of the magazine I would like to read it? A number of people are excited about the possibility of the HC1 having uncompressed video output via component output (or D connector) like FX1. Could you possibly please verify this, the pixel format, and Signal to Noise ratio, in your review?

Wayne.

Wayne, unfortunately, the magazine is in Japanese.
If I get my hands on one, I will let you know. Now we finally received Decklink Multibridge in our hands (after I revealed the bug with my turtle footage), I can shoot something with FX1 side by side, then capture at 8bit uncompressed or 10bit uncompressed. The question is, will Sony let me test HC1? They must hate my honest reports.

;)

The question is, will Sony let me test HC1? They must hate my honest reports.

They can't stop your magazine buying one.

If it gets published on their website, let us know, we can google a translation. What magazine are you from? I remember, during the early days of the JVC HD1, I could not find a review/pictures, and I found a Asian site that had an most excellent side by side comparison, maybe it could have been yours.

Thanks

Wayne.

Kaku, your reports last year on the GS400 and then the FX1 were amazing - thanks for your contributions.

Kaku, any indication about the "cinematic" mode on HC1? Is it cineframe24 or something else?

When do you think you might get a chance to see the HC1 in person?

You're always first!

Mark