4
CAMERA FEATURES
Optical 10x Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T
*
Zoom Lens
The HVR-A1 is equipped with the new Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar
T
*
®
high-definition lens with 10x zoom function. Its fully
coated glass is the same as used on Carl Zeiss prime lenses,
producing sharp, high-contrast images, with virtually no
chromatic aberration.
Electronic Super SteadyShot™ System
The Super SteadyShot
TM
system used in the HVR-A1 detects
horizontal and vertical movements and electronically
compensates for unsteady camera handling. The active image
area (the number of pixels used) in the CMOS sensor is
automatically adjusted for the Super SteadyShot system to
achieve the best performance at each zoom position.
Full Scan Mode
The HVR-A1 camcorder offers a Full Scan mode, which allows
the camcorder to capture images with the resolution of
approximately two million pixels at every zoom position when
the Super SteadyShot™ system is off. With this mode, images
of higher picture quality can be obtained.
1/3-inch Type, 2.97-megapixel CMOS Sensor
The HVR-A1 incorporates one 1/3-inch type primary color
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor
with a total pixel number of 2.97 million and a 4:3 aspect
ratio, which has been developed based on Sony’s many years
of experience in developing imaging devices.
This CMOS sensor can produce high-quality images with high
sensitivity and low noise levels, which is superior to most of
traditional CMOS sensors due to advantages such as its unique
pixel design, which optimizes the photo-sensor area in each
pixel, and advanced noise reduction technique. Another key
advantage of this CMOS sensor is its high-speed processing
capability. Since data captured using a single CMOS sensor for
high-definition format recording is extremely large, it would
take considerable time to transfer and process by traditional
methods. With the Sony CMOS sensor, such large data can be
processed at an incredibly high speed thanks to its flexible
multi-channel readout structure. Use of the CMOS sensor also
allows even large amounts of HD-resolution data to be
processed with amazingly low power requirements, thus
making the camcorder’s overall size extremely compact. Lastly,
CMOS sensors eliminate vertical smear, even though the pixel
size is small.
Enhanced Imaging Processor (EIP)
The EIP is Sony’s newly developed image processing IC
intended for high-speed processing of large amounts of data
captured by the CMOS sensor. In addition, the EIP employs
the unique algorithm that first separates image data into
texture patterns and brightness components and then
processes these two elements independently. This makes it
possible to have high details in the blacks as well as in
brightly illuminated areas of the picture, delivering a clear
image with a wide dynamic range even under backlight
conditions
2
.
Combined use of the EIP and CMOS sensor allows the
camcorder to provide extremely high image quality with a
high level of gradation and detailed image reproduction.
2 Available when the new Backlight Compensation function is activated.
