Is HC-1 CMOS progressive?

[Radek Svoboda]

Stills need progressive scan. Are 16:9 stills 1920x1080, or were deinterlaced and converted to 1440x810?

Radek

[Chris Hurd]

Incorrect. Stills do not need progressive scan. For example, the Canon GL2 generates 1.7mp still images from three 410kp chips yet it does not have progressive scan. It does have Frame Movie mode, however, as well as Pixel Shift.

Regarding still images from the HC1, the camcorder menu gives you four choices of image size: 1920x1440, 1920x1080, 1440x1080, and 640x480. For stills in the 16:9 aspect ratio, you'd select the 1920x1080 option. Hope this helps,

[Radek Svoboda]

Of course stills need progressive scan, otherwise look poor. Pixel shift in 3-CCD/CMOS allows increased resolution. That is true, but Sony camera not use 3 CMOS.

Radek

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Radek Svoboda

Of course stills need progressive scan, otherwise look poor.

Absolutely false. Look over the photos on this page:

http://cweb.canon.jp/dv/photo_gallery.html#fvm30

These are 2mp stills from a single-CCD camcorder *without* progressive scan.

I don't think you can honestly say that they "look poor." Thank you,

[Radek Svoboda]

Let me rephrase this. Stills are progressive. They should be taken progressively. No digital still camera of reputable manufacturer I am aware of uses interlaced scan. Interlaced scan would be fine if camera is on tripod and one shoots picture of dead body. Once you use interlaced scan on normal living subject, you introduce blur.

In normal situation, where camera shaking and subject not dead, 1920x1080 interlaced scan provides significantly worse stills than 1920x1080 progressive scan. Once deinterlace image and lower resolution to say 1440x810 pixels, may get close to progressive scan quality of that resolution.

Canon is using interlaced scan because is all the CCD provides, not because interlaced CCDs are made for stills. Stills do need progressive scan, or conversion to progressive, which is normally inferior to progressive scan.

Radek

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Radek Svoboda

Let me rephrase this. Stills are progressive. They should be taken progressively. No digital still camera of reputable manufacturer I am aware of uses interlaced scan.

Once again, your statements are misleading and incorrect. You do not seem to have a very clear understanding of digital imaging technology. This is perhaps my own fauilt for not recognizing this problem earlier, when you expressed confusion about a very elementary topic regarding square vs. non-square pixels. I was confused why you would ask such an entry-level question, but now I realize what the problem is.

The simple fact is that interlaced image sensors *are indeed* used in digital still photography, and have been for a long time. Digital still cameras which use an interlace (non-progressive) image sensor also employ a mechanical shutter. The timing of the shutter provides a crisp, clear image of a moving subject even though the image sensor is interlaced. In other words, a mechanical shutter eliminates the time lag normally associated with an interlaced CCD. That's why the Canon samples I referred to look as good as they do even though progressive scan is not involved. There are other considerations as well, such as the camera's DSP, however the mechanical shutter is the key. But this is all academic... if you propose to "lecture" about these topics then you should have known this already.

Speaking of lecturing, Radek, I'm going to ask you one more time to do less lecturing around here until you gain a better understanding of digital imaging technology. I don't mind the occasional misunderstanding, because it allows us the opportunity to correct certain misconceptions. With you, however, it's recently becoming more of a chore. You list your occupation as a student, and this is an excellent place to learn, so I'd like to invite you to use this site as a way to increase your knowledge about digital video. The best way to do that is to read and research, and *ask questions* when you feel the need to do so. This approach will provide you with a much better experience for learning. I appreciate your understanding on this matter; if you need further clarification on this then please contact me by email. Thanks in advance,