4
CAMERA FEATURES
Optical 10x Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*
Zoom Lens
The HVR-A1U is equipped with the new Carl Zeiss Vario-
Sonnar T
®
*
high-definition lens with 10x zoom function. Its
fully coated glass is the same as used on Carl Zeiss prime
lenses, producing sharp, high-contrast images, with virtually no
chromatic aberration.
Electronic Super SteadyShot System
The Super SteadyShot™ system used in the HVR-A1U
detects horizontal and vertical movements and electronically
compensates for unsteady camera handling. The active image
area (the number of pixels used) in the CMOS sensor is
automatically adjusted for the Super SteadyShot system to
achieve the best performance at each zoom position.
Full Scan Mode
The HVR-A1U camcorder offers a Full Scan mode, which
allows the camcorder to capture images with the resolution of
approximately two million pixels at every zoom position when
the Super SteadyShot system is off. With this mode, images
of higher picture quality can be obtained.
1/3-inch Type, 2.97-megapixel CMOS Sensor
The HVR-A1U incorporates one 1/3-inch type primary color
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor
with a total pixel number of 2.97 million and a 4:3 aspect ratio,
which has been developed based on Sony’s many years of
experience in developing imaging devices.
This CMOS sensor can produce high-quality images with high
sensitivity and low noise levels, which is superior to most of
traditional CMOS sensors due to advantages such as its
unique pixel design, which optimizes the photo-sensor area in
each pixel, and advanced noise reduction technique. Another
key advantage of this CMOS sensor is its high-speed
processing capability. Since data captured using a single
CMOS sensor for high-definition format recording is extremely
large, it would take considerable time to transfer and process
by traditional methods. With the Sony CMOS sensor, such
large data can be processed at an incredibly high speed
thanks to its flexible multi-channel readout structure. Use of
the CMOS sensor also allows even large amounts of HD-
resolution data to be processed with amazingly low power
requirements, thus making the camcorder’s overall size
extremely compact. Lastly, CMOS sensors can eliminate
vertical smear, even though the pixel size is small.
Enhanced Imaging Processor (EIP)
The EIP is Sony’s newly developed image processing IC
intended for high-speed processing of large amounts of data
captured by the CMOS sensor. In addition, the EIP employs
the unique algorithm that first separates image data into
texture patterns and brightness components and then
processes these two elements independently. This makes it
possible to have high details in the blacks as well as in
brightly illuminated areas of the picture, delivering a clear
image with a wide dynamic range even under backlight
conditions
2
.
Combined use of the EIP and CMOS sensor allows the
camcorder to provide extremely high image quality with a
high level of gradation and detailed image reproduction.
2 Available when the new Backlight Compensation function is activated.
