* Broadcast/Cinema 2/3" 3-ccd - We are one of the few vendors in the wedding industry that offer real 3-ccd camera equipment used by elite industry pros in Hollywood. The majority of our competing vendors claim that they use 3-ccd camcorder also. Unless they're are true 2/3" 3-chip, they are not the same in terms of quality and performance. How does a $4K 1/3" 3-chip camcorder vs. a $86K 2/3" 3-chip camcorder? You probably pondering that the differences are small to be concern about. Wrong! Failure to pay attention to this area will have a major impact on the entire look of the video in the future. If your wedding is shot on a cheap 1/3" camera by a competing vendor, it will not able to retain its quality in the near future. A reason for this is the fact that TV technologies are constantly improving. A TV set that purchased 5 years ago for $4,000 is now comparable to a $800 TV. With this in mind, we know in our guts that it is imperative that the shooting must be at its best possible quality. Video produced on anything below a 2/3" 3-ccd camcorder will be soft, colors are lackluster, and annoying low light grainy look. These are some of the pain that you will have to suffer whenever you watch your DVD years from now. TSPECT Productions have worked extensively in the Hollywood industry. We understand that the shooting quality must be at its best if it is going to last for the next decade or more. No exceptions. With TSPECT Productions, all of the available packages are all shot in 2/3" 3-chip camcorder (plus 16x9 widescreen for future generation TVs). You will have a peace of mind that your investment will last for years to come.

At this point, you may stop reading because of the boring techical details. It's true. We don't deny it. How about focusing on the artistic side of things? Yes, we already show case our style earlier on. To backup our identity of being both technically and artistically proficient, we have to feature these technical terms. Continuing on...

We want to set the record straight: Not all 3-ccd camcorders are created equal. There are distinctions that are worthwhile to consider. We started out using 1/4" 3-chip camcorder (Sony TRV900) all the way to 2/3" 3-chip camcorder (Panasonic High Def Varicam; a total of 11 different camcorders used over our career). From those years of hands-on experience, we have plenty of examples to backup our claim. We picked a good example that was shot about a year ago. It was shot on 3 different types of camera types (we no longer mix camera brand). It is a perfect example showcasing how each camcorder behaves. Picture shown below is a 1/3" 3-chip camera (Canon XL1s) in normal lighting condition. It looks fairly acceptable for non-discerning viewers. However, a close analysis reveals that there are absolutely no sharpness or detail on the facials. In otherwords, a muddy and soft look - common limitations found on all 1/3" 3-chip camcorders. To make matter worse, 1/3" camcorders do not have fine aperture control, but preset f/stops that are extremely limiting to control. This means that it is extremely hard to expose the scene properly. Observe the harsh overexposed look on the two subjects standing. Notice the bottom photo (groomsmen standing), 1/3" 3-chip camcorder have hardtime to capture contrasty situation (such as natural church light). Because of low quality lens (found on all 1/3" chip camcorders class, including the interchangeable lens Canon XL1s), the sharpness and clarity are severly lacking.

Next example below shows 1/2" 3-chip camcorder ($12K Sony DSR370 DVCAM and a $3K Canon pro-grade lens). Notice that it looks much better in terms of skin detail. This is due to larger 3-ccd size (1/3" to 1/2" increase in size) and a better lens. However, the clarity is not fully realized. The accuracy of skintones and colors are lacking (looks a bit coolish). The still sample below (scene of the couple and father) shows a better improvement in the resolution detail, but still lack the accuracy and vibrantcy when comparing to 2/3" camcorder.

This is the final example of 2/3" 3-chip camcorder (using a HD-grade lens that all of our packages offer). Currently, 2/3" is the biggest CCD size available for camcorder. As you can clearly see, the bigger the chip size (2/3" 3-ccd vs. 1/3" 3-ccd), the better the color and contrast it can capture. 2/3" 3-chip camcorder is ideal for wedding because it allows us to not use any additional lights and has no no technical limitations that hinder our creativity. We have intentionally put examples showing the worse lighting conditions (extreme low light, overhead light, backlight and virtually no available light). You can see that 2/3" 3-chip camcorders class are able to deliver oustanding result. No more limiting focus and contrast problems. Images are sharp and vibrant in color. In addition, you also notice the incredible depth of field that only 2/3" grade camcorder offer. Depth of field is a term used by cinematographers to control the front or back focus of the image. Are you willing to settle anything less than a 2/3" 3-chip camcorder for your once-in-a-lifetime wedding?

CONCLUSION: 2/3" 3-chip camcorders have always been better and always be better in video performance. This applies to standard and high def. formats. For example, the new Sony HD-FX1 (1/3" 3-ccd high def) camcorder WILL NOT perform better than a Panasonic SDX900 (2/3" 3-ccd standard def.) Although the HD-FX1 will perform better in terms of resolution, the overall image quality (color vibrancy & accuracy, contrast ratio, depth of field) can't be beat because of the smaller ccd size. SIZE DOES MATTER. We hope this will expand your understanding the video production process.

Here are some sample images of our lens and camcorder. We use broadcast/cinema industry standard B4 2/3" lens, which enables us to mount on any type of camcorders. For example, if you want your wedding to be shot in 24P/HD-Varicam, we will simply switch to the HD-Varicam body. Everything else remains the same (this includes the mattebox and lens). The beauty of our setup is that it's extremely flexible. We are able to use our huge collection of optical filters (same one used in movies and high end TV shows), same mattebox system, etc. For those on a tight budget, we still use HD-lens on your standard definition package. Even at 480p, we still shoot everything in widescreen 16x9. The exact same aspect ratio is found on all high-def formats. However, we do not mix standard and high def formats. We recommend you to stick with one format for the entire wedding. For instance, a two cameras standard def. or two cameras high-def Varicam is recommended. Do not try to mix two cameras with a standard def. and a high-def.

Below is an example of another form of high-def format that's surfacing currently It's called "HDV". BE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE CLAIMS. We have seen several competing vendors on the market that claim to shoot in this format. It's likely that they're using HDV. It is a consumer format, not even a professional or broadcast. Quality is certainly better than most average camcorder, but no where close to the real HD format. We have a chance to sample the model and was not too impress with the overall quality. Initial impressions are lackluster color performance (due to the HDV's heavily compressed MPEG-2 formats, poor optics performance, lack of depth of field and so much more limitations that are too many too list). Even our standard def. 480p Panasonic SDX900 look better than this camcorder. You can see that recording format alone is not enough. Other factors such as broadcast/cinema grade lens, bigger CCD size, and high quality DSP counts. We will post samples of these camcorder for your reference in the near future

JVC's GR-HD1U, GR-HD10U

This is a vaporware camera. Sorry JVC, this camera is no better than a high end standard def. camcorder. with a decent lens even if it's shot in high def at 720p or 1080i. The biggest shock is that it's a single ccd-camera.

Sony's HDV-FX1

Newly introduced, but still needs improvement. First impressons: pretty good, but still doesn't have 24P Cine Gamma. Poor audio input. Lackluster lens performance. Camcorder's DSP still weak in the area of extreme shadows and highlights. With this camcorder, we can't express our creativity to the fullest extent. Nice for luxury home video, but not ready for serious professional work. Again, most of us think that all HD formats are created equal. They will be surprised that it's not.

From what you've seen, a conclusion to camera comparison is this: Size does matter. Bigger size camcorder will always perform better. All of these camcorders are 3-ccd type. But not all 3-ccd camcorders are created equal. Other factors such as the ccd size, the quality of the lens are the major factor that will shape the final picture quality. Are you willing to settle for anything less than your once-in-a-life-time wedding event?

Enough of these technical stuff! We will not go any further. Our main focus is how to use the tools and maximize the creativity. Our experience had taught us that no matter how great the tool is, the element of human ingenuity and creavity will always prevail. Please go back to our demo page for actual samples.