May
Samsung T9 Demo on a Olympus SP-510 UZ (3rd Try)
I decided to do another (actually a couple) of video demonstrations of the Samsung T9 mp3/video/photo/fm-radio player with voice and fm-radio recording capabilities. I cover the specifications more in detail in my previous demonstration.. Anyhow, I added to this demonstration, the close-range video recording capability of the Olympus SP 510 UZ digital camera (299 dollars from “Cirtcuit City”). I had originally purchased a Panasonic FZ7, which mysteriously got higher marks than the SP510 and had (at least for the camera I got) the worse image quality and video capture ability. The Image Stabilization on the Panasonic FZ7 couldn’t hold a candle to the Olympus SP-510 UZ. Also my SP-510, through all the videos and photos I’ve taken with it, has been running off the same Panasonic (what a coincidence) Alkaline batteries that came in the camera’s package, since Friday (6 days ago). For the record I’ve videotaped about 30-40 minutes of video at 640×480, and have taken at least 600 pictures since then.
The SP-510 UZ uses digital stabilization, which is not so bad.. It seems that the camera uses a larger frame buffer than the video capture, and uses the extra space to frame the shot when the camera jumps. Using this theory, I’ve been able to keep shots stabil (avoiding shakes of more than 100 pixels), that seems to work.. If it jumps more than this, a jerk of a greater distance is produced.
Anyhow, the SP-510 UZ (as mentioned in the video) uses MJPEG as a master video format (which is okay). MJPEG as a distribution format (as in the Sansa E2×0 mp3/video players) is not a good idea, that’s where MPEG4 makes more sense.. That’s why its better to get a DV cam than a camera that tapes to DVD-R’s. DV cams that use tapes record to something like MJPEG, and tapes have greater surface area than a DVD, or even a memory chip. DVD-R Video recorders are best for speed of delivery, like a polaroid camera, but the quality of video is usually MPEG4 which is not a good master video format, but can compress more video into a smaller space..
Anyhow, this SP-510 UZ can store about ten minutes of video into a 1 Gigabyte card. That’s 1 gig per minute, or about 1.66MB/sec, or 54KB per frame. Though this is awful for compression, it’s great for archival and video editing.
The SP-510 UZ, like it’s C-750 cousin, has 10x optical zoom, with a optional Super Macro Mode that allows it to get within 3cm of it’s subject keeping the subject in focus.
So knowing this, I thought “great!! I will re-demonstrate the Samsung T9 with the SP-510 UZ..
The only drawback is that Olympus SP-510 UZ comes with the worst sound resolution for recording audio with the video: 7.8Khz PCM (63kbps, the worst use of bits for audio compression, mpeg audio is CD-quality at this data rate, at least for mono, but Olympus went el-cheapo on the audio quality of a digital answering machine).
If you do do professional projects and are not demonstrating the only YP-T9 you have.. The audio record capability of the T9 should do well for a professional dub. Note, if you need a better microphone to record with, on the T9, try using a microphone with a headphone jack, and a audio amplifier, connect that to a FM transmitter, and you can record the audio with the T9.. Or you could just get a video camera..
I doubt you will find an affordable video camera that takes 7.1 megapixel images with a 10x zoom, nor a digital camera that takes DV-quality video with CD-quality audio.. It seems the japanese intentionally cripple products to avoid competition between product lines (to maximize ROI on products). See to have image stabilization on a video camera, you need to capture video at a higher resolution (eg. HD), so the SP-510 UZ could potentially offer HD quality video capture, but that would ruin any future investment Olympus has in HD-quality products..
Still for what the device can do, it’s a lot of value for 300 dollars, as compared with other digital cameras.
Hey, I wouldn’t be suprised if the CEO’s of Panansonic, Sony, Olympus, and such go to the same sake bar everynight and negotiate their plans..
I’m a little bit tired of waiting for HD quality video on low-end consumer level products.. If it’s a matter of bus-rate guys, just make the bus wider and use two or even three memory cards instead of one.. There is no excuse for it..
Note: I said Samsung Should be Flogged on the video, it was a freudian slip, I was talking about Olympus.. The camera’s sound recording quality (~8khz, possibly 8-bit, PCM) is what limited the sound of this video
It features Sony's Precision Cinema Progressive circuitry, Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 channel outputs, and also offers coaxial and optical digital outputs. It's compatible with DVD-RW/-R/+RW/+R, MP3, JPEG, CD-RW/-R, VCD and SVCD formats--so it can play just about any disc you have from movies and video to music. Other convenience features include multi-disc resume (40 discs), custom parental controls (on all 400 discs), playback memory (400 discs), background graphics that display on your TV while music plays, and a multi-brand remote control. 
