Sony HDR-HC1

The user can touch the screen to specify a specific region of the image; the camcorder automatically adjusts focus or exposure according to distance to the object and to illumination of the selected spot.

When Cinema effect is turned on, important manual controls such as shutter speed and aperture are disabled.

The 50 Hz version of the camcorder, HDR-HC1E, throws away one field from the original interlaced video and doubles another, effectively halving both temporal and spatial resolution.

While this recording scheme is widely used in other camcorders that offer 24- frame/s shooting mode,[2] the camera employs an unusual algorithm of generating progressive frames, and then converting them back into video fields.

[1] As Cinema effect is a synthetic method of achieving film-like motion on an interlaced camcorder, it does not improve vertical resolution or light sensitivity.

The same or better film look effect can be achieved by shooting regular interlaced video and then converting it into pseudo-progressive format with computer software.

In particular, the Canon HV20 and the Canon HV30 camcorders have progressive imaging sensors and are capable of shooting true progressive video preserving spatial resolution and having an added benefit of better light sensitivity compared to interlaced shooting modes.