[Ansteorra] Why aren't we doing this?

[SoldierGrrrl]

On Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 9:30 PM, Giertrud Gyldenstierne
<giertrud at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think discreet videotaping is best since it does not produce the constant
> flashes and still images may be grabbed from single frames on most modern
> digital video cameras.  (The cameras can also be "dressed up" to look more
> period!)
> YIS,
>
> Giertrud Gyldenstierne

Unless video has changed a great deal, video cameras are not capable
of producing decent still frames, especially at night, or in dimly lit
areas.  You can get a digital camcorder that is capable of still
images, but you're probably still not going to get anything from the
motion filming resembling a picture good enough to enlarge.

 This one, http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HDR-XR150-Definition-Handycam-Camcorder/dp/tech-data/B0031RGL2A/ref=de_a_smtd
at almost $550, is capable of HD video and 3 mp still images.  Even
with a 3 mp still capability, you're still going to run into blur,
digital trash and other issues with low-light photography.

 Video cameras, despite what you see on TV, just aren't capable of
producing high-quality still images.  The information to enlarge a
frame just isn't there.  Unlike actual film, where the information is
preserved on the film and the camera isn't making it up as it goes
along (pixel sampling, IIRC), digital cameras are limited with regards
to the amount of information the image contains. That's why you can do
amazing enlargements with 35mm film, while not so much with a camera
with few megapixels.  The camera just can't gather enough information.
 There is a whole science that goes into how digital cameras collect
and sort the information gathered for a "picture," and I don't get it
all, but it does provide the constraints photographers have to work
around.

This one:  http://www.amazon.com/JVC-Everio-GZ-X900-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B001UHMTG0%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa266594-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB001UHMTG0
looks like it *might* be able to pull it off, providing you're
shooting in good daylight, but I think it's still shooting in a FPS
mode, rather than pulling a frame out of the "filming."

I'll have to check and see what my broadcasters say about this, but
I'm not confident that a consumer, with a consumer camera, is going to
be able to pull usable stills from night filming.  I could, of course,
be wrong.

In service,
Helene

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