VP-CG10 dissapointment

[subc]

Inspired by a question in another thread and since I was pretty much ready to upgrade to the CG10 from my Cg65, I decided to read a bit about the possible problem of a 'zoomed-in' lens... kind of like the previous HD700 from Sanyo.

+ Here is the Focal Length of the CG10
f=6.8 to 34.0mm (35mm Equiv: 40-200mm) Optical 5x zoom

+ Here is the focallength of the previous HD700
f=6.3 – 31.7mm (35mm Equiv: 38-190mm)

+ And finally here is the focal length of one of the most awesome wide angle lens cameras I've seen so far... the Panasonic LX3
f=5.1-12.8mm (35mm Equiv: 24-60mm)

What do these numbers tell me? (using the 35mm lens equivalent)
- That a 24mm wide lens looks awesome! (even from up close http://vimeo.com/1616719)

- That the new CG10 'wide' lens setting is 40mm.. 2mm LESS wider than the HD700!!!
:P
Here's a sample of the HD700 'zoomed-in' effect... with a wide angle adapter that just makes everything look worse. http://vimeo.com/429245

== IN CONCLUSION ==

It appears that my dreams of having a nice affordable 720P camera are once again shattered.

*This public service announcement has been brought to you by subc*

ABANDON SHIP!

[mlkwestcoast]

hello
maybe i might be the person who inspired you? i dont know to much about lences so finally the cg10 has the same field of view of the hd700 and hd800?

[subc]

I don't know much about lenses either, but I do know that the shorter the focal lenght, the wider the view, and the longer the focal lenght, the more 'zoomed-in' or narrower the view will be.

My opinion is expressed in the previous post above.

The important thing is the lowest number equivalent to a 35mm lens, ins this case 40mm for the CG10.

As I pointed out, the LX3 from Panasonic has a 35mm lens equivalent of 24mm, and this gives a very wide view that keeps the image steady and allows the user to capture more area in confined spaces...

In other words, the smaller the focal lenght number, the wider the lens, and this means that whoever is taking video will not have to 'step back' in order to 'get more' in the picture.

The CG10 is 40mm, the previous HD700 is 38mm so you can see where this is going.

[mlkwestcoast]

ok thanks, im desapointed, i really wanted to buy this cg10, but tell me why is the first 40mm important in this f=6.8 to 34.0mm (35mm Equiv: 40-200mm)? what the 200mm and 6,8 and 34mm mean?

[subc]

Lenses with an FL shorter than 50mm are called wide-angle lenses. These have a wide angle-of-view, thereby taking in more of a scene.

Lenses with an FL longer than 50mm are called telephoto lenses. These have a narrow angle-of-view and magnify the subject.

Basically:

[mlkwestcoast]

oh thanks man, i have also been reading some info about that and i learned much, but what intrigue me is that even the other models have same wide angle or worse!!! look at hd2000 for example:
Videos: f=44.4-710mm(=35mm) 16x Adv. zoom so maybe i dont understand something or its really worse than hd700? i think im certainly wrong when i see this info:
F=1.8(W) – 2.5(T) for hd2000 , and in a french website it is said that we cannot judge a cam with these info because every manufacturor has his own parameters, so this is why they give the equivalent to 35mm :?

[pajamas]

how can you compare it to a digital still camera?
okay so tell me which other camcorder has a better wide angle lens?

Btw the correct spec for CG10 is as follow -
Photos: f=38-190mm(=35mm) Optical 5x zoom
Videos: f=40-200mm(=35mm) Optical 5x zoom

[subc]

The funny thing is that my CG65 has the same focal length than the HD700, and yet, I get a very wide field of view with it (640x480 4:3).

I can only hope with the CG10:G

[Taynt3d]

As a long-time HD700 user what's even more interesting is when they say 38mm or 40mm what mode EXACTLY are they talking about.

I've discussed this here before, but for those who haven't figured it out, shooting in 640x480 provides a MUCH WIDER field of view than in 720p widescreen. Counter-intuitive isn't it? And pretty stupid if you ask me. I often shoot in 640x480 just for this reason along, although I'd rather shoot in HD.

So, the question I ask is: Is that 38mm/40mm equivalent the measurement at 640x480?

If yes, then HD is much less -- unless things have changed from the HD700 model to the newer models.

If no, then at least that's good...

[rgvcam]

So why is Sanyo still doing this? Is there some technical limitation in their design that they cannot get over?