DV Camera Tribunal

Quality sound is a vital factor in creating a powerful video presentation. In our tests, the Sony VX2000 showed a distinct advantage, while the two Canons tied in our rankings.The fundamental measurements of sound quality are: audio bandwidth, signal-to-noise ratio and distortion. Audio measurements were made using an external signal into each camera’s microphone input. The uncompressed 16-bit sound was recorded at 48KHz and uncompressed, un-encoded DV file data was used for measurement.

Bandwidth refers to the frequency range. Humans can hear from 20Hz to 20KHz — the three cameras tested fall within that range to varying degrees (see Figure 2). However, dogs can hear quite a bit more, so if you’re creating content for the B2D (business to dog) market, you’ll need to give extra weight to this measurement.

Figure 3: Video Resolution

Noise floor is the amount of noise produced with nothing plugged in to the camera, and it represents the dynamic range. A lower number has a higher dynamic range. Total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) is a standard technique for measuring audio quality, and the lower the number, the better the quality.

A custom audio CD was used as input, and specific techniques were used to derive accurate measurements. Each camcorder was set to automatic gain control (AGC) mode to adjust volume automatically based on source level. The GL1 and Elura 2mc are AGC-only, but the VX2000 has AGC plus an optional manual volume control; figures for the manual control are in parentheses. The GL1 has a menu-selectable microphone attenuator; values with the attenuator on, are in parentheses.

For reference, two other digital audio recording devices are included in the table — an Aiwa AM-C80 portable MiniDisc recorder, and a Turtle Beach Fiji sound card.

Closing Arguments

Overall video quality (including video noise and image contrast) comprises 66.6 percent of our final ranking, while audio quality comprises 33.3 percent (see Figure 4). Video resolution was not included here because the differences between cameras are small and because video size is not necessarily a measure of video quality.

Video Noise: The Canon GL1 has the lowest noise level, and thus the highest score for video noise. Differences between the cameras’ video noise are exaggerated as resolution increases. So, at resolutions of 320x240, the difference in video noise between cameras is less pronounced than at 640x480.

	Video Noise	Image Contrast	Audio Quality	Total Points
Sony VX2000	6	8	6	20
Canon GL1	8	8	4	19
Canon Elura 2mc	4	5	5	13

Image Contrast: The Canon Elura reproduced given scenes with a higher contrast, tending to wash out highlights; the VX2000 was the best of the three in terms of contrast. This effect is most easily noticed in the "talking head" part of our streaming video test.

Audio Quality: The audio bandwidth of each camera is adequate for high-quality sound. The GL1 and Elura 2mc are roughly equal in quality. But the VX2000 exhibited significantly lower audio distortion levels than both of the Canon models. A MiniDisk recorder will typically sound better than all three.

The Verdict

Overall, the quality of the two more expensive, prosumer cameras does result in better objective performance as compared with the less expensive model. If you are going to produce SVHS, DVD, or other high-resolution content, these cameras will produce a better product.

If your only objective is to produce streaming video at today’s common resolutions (320x240 and lower), the consumer Elura 2mc will produce results that are roughly the same as those produced by the more expensive VX2000 and GL1.

But beware, because both the high-end and middle ground of standard resolutions will continue to rise over time, and today’s 320x240 high-end will eventually become the middle ground, and some years after that it will even become the low-end.

So, what camera should you get? If you’re only shooting for a Web audience and have a limited budget for the short term, the Elura 2mc is a good bet. But if you plan to produce video for multiple delivery media, or if you can afford a bit of future proofing, the Sony VX2000 is the best of the lot.