Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years it’s difficult to escape the advent of high definition technology which has been brought to video games, DVDs, TVs, digital camcorders and cameras. The cream of the crop at the moment is ‘full HD’, but why would you want to shell out for a full HD camera instead of a normal high definition camera? Here’s why:
Full HD Camera vs. Normal HD Camera
The principle difference between a HD and a full HD camera is the number of pixels (points of light) the camera contains when it produces either a still or moving image. Just like with your television set, digital cameras scan horizontal lines of pixels which produce an image for the eye. By increasing the number of lines of pixels, the pixel density is much greater which creates a much sharper and clearer image.
In order to qualify as a standard high definition video camera, a product must be ‘720’, which means there are 720 horizontal lines of pixels and 1280 vertical lines. A full HD camera will have 1080 horizontal lines and1920 vertical ones, which is why there is such a buzz around ‘1080’ technology – it is the highest resolution available in HD at the moment creating the clearest images.
Progressive Scanning vs. Interlaced Scanning
Having a high resolution is all very well but unless the pixels can be scanned quickly then the benefits of the resolution will be lost. ‘Scanning’ is how quickly the image can be processed and displayed on a screen. Most normal cameras come with interlaced ‘i’ scanning, which means that the image is drawn using alternating lines of pixels. The even lines will appear followed by the odd lines, which is often imperceptible to the eye as it fills in the blanks.
Progressive ‘p’ scanning, however, displays the full image all at the same time. A full HD camera with progressive scanning not only has the highest resolution, but can display that resolution all at once in a continual sequence without the image flickering.
The bonus of progressive scanning is that the images keep their clarity even in slow motion and can capture much better still photos from video frames. The combined quality of 1080 pixel resolution and progressive scanning makes full HD a must-have for anyone serious about their digital cameras.
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