Even after you decide to get a mini-DV camcorder, you still have to decide if you want a mini-DV camcorder that’s one-CCD or 3-CCD. What is a 3CCD camcorder and is it worth the extra few hundered of dollars?

In this tutorial I will talk about:

• The function of CCD in a camcorder
• How CCD size matters
• How number of CCDs matters

NOTES & TIPS

CCD is short for charge-coupled-device, and is often referred to as a “chip.” The chip converts visible light into an electronic signal, which the camcorder reads and stores to tape.

It may interest most of you to know that while the image you see on your LCD screen is in colour, that�s not original how your camera saw it. In fact, when it came into the camera through the CCD, it was in black and white. A specialized filter is used to translate the particular shades of grey into red, green and blue (a.k.a. RGB), and the combinations of these colours make up the entire colour spectrum.

CCD Size Matters

Generally, the bigger the CCD the better; broadcast camcorders often have 1/2-inch to 2/3-inch CCDs, while consumer camcorders usually have them within the window of 1/6-inch to 1/3-inch. The larger the CCD, the more light is taken in with the image, resulting in brighter pictures with better colors. CCD size becomes quite important in low light situations. CCD sizes in consumer camcorders vary with every model and manufacturer, and always should be considered. The difference between a 1/6-in. and a 1/4-in. CCD may seem small, but when those values are squared to measure the surface area, it has a large effect on video and low-light quality

3 CCD is better than 1 CCD

With one CCD, there’s only so much detail the camera can take in and some concessions have to be made so that one colour doesn’t wash out another.

With a 3-CCD camera however, there is actually one CCD devoted to each of the Red, Green and Blue colour spectrums. A special prism is set up to convert the light entering the camera into the three different colours, they are processed separately, and then combined into a final image. The colors on professional three-CCD camcorders are much brighter, vivid, lifelike, and accurate than the colors of one-CCD camcorders. A three-CCD camcorder almost always beats out a one-CCD camcorder, and the difference in quality both in normal and low-light shooting is noticeable This is one instance where more is almost always better.

The result is superb detail and accurate color representation. This means more accurate color and more realistic-looking video.

A three-CCD camcorder almost always beats out a one-CCD camcorder, and the difference in quality both in normal and low-light shooting is noticeable.

So, why would you get a 3CCD camcorder?

The main reason is color fidelity. Instead of one CCD having to deal with the three primary colors, you now have one CCD for each color. So what you’re paying for is basically, three different cameras put into one. Panasonic has been a leader in bringing 3-chip camcorders to the masses with the GS-series of camcorders.