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"Picky Details" for the Contax TVS digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing
I measure both cycle times and shutter delay times, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 01 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Contax TVS:

NOTE: My qualitative characterizations of camera performance below (that is, "reasonably fast," "about average," etc.) are meant to be relative to other cameras of similar price and general capabilities. Thus, the same shutter lag that's "very fast" for a low-end consumer camera might be characterized as "quite slow" if I encountered it on a professional model. The comments are also intended as only a quick reference: If performance specs are critical for you, rely on the absolute numbers to compare cameras, rather than my purely qualitative comments.

Contax TVS Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	4.14	Lens extends. About average.
Shutdown	3.58	Lens retracts. About average.
Play to Record, first shot	2.45	Time until first shot is captured, a little slow.
Record to play	1.5	Time to display a large/fine file after capture. About average.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.997 1.347	First time is in wide angle mode, second is in telephoto. On the slow side of average, particularly the telephoto figure.
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.131	Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Very fast.
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	2.27/2.26	First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic images. Both are about average for higher-end cameras, the small/basic number a tad slow. In large/fine mode, the first three shots are captured this fast, after which the interval stretches to 5.27 seconds. In small/basic mode, I didn't find the limits of the buffer, but it was something greater than 15 frames.
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution	0.43/0.43 2.27fps	First pair of numbers is for large/fine, second set for small/basic files. Number beneath are corresponding frames per second. Regardless of resolution, the TVS captures a maximum of three frames in a continuous series. For large/fine files, cycle times slow dramatically, to anywhere from 5 to 21 seconds. For small/basic files, cycle times slow to around 2-3 seconds.

 

Power
The TVS uses a single lithium-ion battery pack for its power source. The table below shows power consumption by the TVS in various modes, and approximate run times for each, based on a single lithium-ion battery pack with a (true, not advertised) 1500 mAh capacity:

 

Operating Mode	Power (@5 volts on the external power terminal)	Est. Minutes (3.7 1500 lithium-ion pack)
Capture Mode, w/LCD	547 mA	122
Capture Mode, no LCD	434 mA	154
Half-pressed shutter w/LCD	553 mA	121
Half-pressed w/o LCD	440 mA	151
Memory Write (transient)	572 mA	n/a
Flash Recharge (transient)	750 mA	n/a
Image Playback	278 mA	240

Storage Capacity
The TVS stores its photos on SD/MMC memory cards, and a 16MB SD card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64MB card or larger, given the large maximum resolution of the TVS.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 16MB card at each size/quality setting.

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card		Fine	Normal
Full Resolution 2,560 x 1,920	Images (Avg size)	6 2,560KB	12 1,313KB
	Approx. Compression	6:1	11:1
1,600 x 1,200	Images (Avg size)	15 1,041KB	28 554KB
	Approx. Compression	6:1	10:1
1,280 x 960	Images (Avg size)	23 690KB	42 378KB
	Approx. Compression	5:1	10:1
640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	72 222KB	110 144KB
	Approx. Compression	4:1	6:1

 

TVS Review
TVS Sample Pictures
TVS Specifications
TVS "Picky Details"
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