Thread: Panasonic NV-GS200 Widescreen mode

This is a possible purchase ...........the only thing holding me back apart from cash, of course, is the lack of a proper wide screen function. Has anyone any experience of this or perhaps a suggestion as to a comparable cam with a proper wide screen function :

H

What do you mean by widescreen? The very simple answer is that you get three types of 'widescreen'

1) black lines are added at the top and bottom to cover the image. You will effectively lose further res in post production if you crop and expand.
2) the image is cropped and expanded inside the cam to use the full res.
3) the size of the CCD is expanded to capture in true 16:9.

Most cams in your price range will do 2 above

see this resource:
http://members.macconnect.com/users/...reen/16x9.html

the Optura Xi has native widescreen i believe...a bit more expensive tho

The Optura Xi has a high resolution 16:9 mode, which uses the whole width of the CCD to produce the image, rather than just squashing a 4:3 image into a widescreen frame

http://www.dvspot.com/reviews/canon/...ew/index.shtml

The next model up, Panasonic NV-GS400 (which I've just bought ) DOES do the true 16x9 shooting. The CCD's alter to film in rectangular pixels instead of square ones - It looks absolutely stunning.

Originally Posted by argento

The next model up, Panasonic NV-GS400 (which I've just bought ) DOES do the true 16x9 shooting. The CCD's alter to film in rectangular pixels instead of square ones - It looks absolutely stunning.

But out of my price range (£600 - £700) i'm afraid :cry:

H

£870 bought mine. I've read reviews comparing the two, and they say the difference is pretty big!

Altough my camera is officially last years' model now, it has a true widescreen. So check out this years equivalent of the Sony TRV33E, it'll be a real widescreen mode I'm sure. As for price, My 33E was bought early this year for under £500 UKP.

What do you mean by "true widescreen"? Given that anamorphic lenses cost approximately the same price as you camera, it seems like a cheap alternative!

My new shiny XL2 capture images on enlarged CCDs for widescreen so that the effective resoultion is maintained and the image width expanded.

A good way to check whether your camera provide "true widescreen" is to set your camera up on a tripod and record in 4:3 seconds. Now set to 16:9. Compare the two images - does the second one have more footage to the left and right of the screen compared to the first. If the answer is yes, the you have true widescreen. If the answer is no, then your cam is just cropping and expanding, then adjusting the pixel aspect ratio to 16:9.

Thats exactly what I get - This is one of the main reasons I got the camera.