Mind the quality & feel the width
We took the FX1E on a number of outdoor shoots in varying weather conditions, and got some stunning results. It was hard to credit just how high a level of detail the FX1, and this was paired with exceptionally good colour reproduction on par with a VX2000-series DV camcorder.If using “old” DV to shoot widescreen, it’s necessary to compose picture very differently than shooting regular 4:3 DV - the resolution is the same in each case, so close-ups are de rigueur with widescreen. But shooting HDV is much more like shooting film, and it takes some getting used to just how much it is possible to get into the frame and, further, just how much of that will remain discernible.
With HDV, it’s not necessary to use a close-up to capture facial expressions(click-through JPEG is at 50% of original size)
For example, we shot a small boat on the river Thames, and were amazed at the detail visible on the wake around the vessel. The spray was very clear indeed.
The spray from this boat is so detailed you can almost feel it (and it doesn’t look badin the JPEG click-through image, shown at 100%)
Another Thames shot (slightly cropped and click-through at 50%) We experienced few obvious artefacts from diagonal lines, such as the brickwork we’d typically shoot to expose this kind of issue. The autofocus and exposure were highly responsive, and the optical image-stabiliser reasonably capable of smoothing out minor vibrations.
There were few problems with diagonal lines on HDV footage (click-through at 50%)
To see the same kind of detail on the brickwork with a Panasonic NVGS400B,we had to zoom in greatly
What does need to be said, though, is that since, currently, the FX1E is one of a kind, it’s close to impossible to give a definitive quality assessment of its capabilities. It’s obviously in a totally different league to DV – indeed, so far ahead that the nuances of its image quality are somewhat immaterial.
But, until we see competitive devices, such as the Pal 1080i HDV camcorder JVC has been promising for some time, there’s no way to make a like-for-like comparison. Even so, there’s no doubt in our minds that the picture quality is genuinely revolutionary. But make your own mind up, first by looking at some of the example grabs we’ve included here – though bear in mind the restrictions of publishing images on the web – and then by getting hands on yourself
The FX1’s wide angle lens manages to get into focus the near foreground and distant background. The details on the tracks is very finely resolved (click-through JPEG at 100%)
With this shot, again taken with a Panasonic NVGS400B, much closer framing is requiredto achieve similar detail
Panoramic shots are HDV’s forte, and just aren’t possible with widescreen DV (click-through 50%) 
