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(meteorobs) Mintron 12V1 and Sony EX-view chip

First the bad news.  I've only just discovered that most Mintron 12V1
cameras apparently have the Sony "Super HAD" CCD rather than the EX-view.
When I ordered my Mintron 12V1 I specifically asked for an EXview, but now
I'm wondering if I got a "Super HAD".  Can anyone tell me how these chips
can be told apart?  I'm awaiting a reply from Mintron.

Now the other bad news!  On the Mintron web pages (www.mintron.com) it
states

   "The drawback to EX-View technology is that, due to the difficult
   nature of the CCD chip manufacturing process and the delicate nature of
   the chips, there is a limited supply of the sensor elements from SONY.

   According to SONY, there are more latent imperfections in the
   photodiodes of the EX-View CCD chip compared to the Super HAD sensors.
   These few defective CCD elements may break down, thereby causing "dead
   pixels", which leave white or black spots on the image which cannot be
   removed. Dead pixels are known to develop whether the CCD chip is in
   storage or in active use.

   As an example, an EX-View CCD might ship from SONY's factory with only
   3 dead spots but the number might increase to 5 during transportation
   and then perhaps grow to 7 while sitting in the camera manufacturer's
   warehouse and grow further to, say, 12 when installed in a CCD camera.
   The number of dead pixels might later grow to 15 to 30 by the time the
   camera is received by the end user. This process will continue until
   the latent defects in the photodiodes stabilize. SONY says that the
   growing number of dead pixel elements is caused by cosmic rays that
   bombard the more vulnerable junctions of some of the photodiodes in the
   CCD array.

   Due to the sensitive nature of the manufacturing process, the yield
   rate for EX-View CCD chips is relatively low, limiting delivery 
   quantities of acceptable units. The high cost associated with the
   manufacturing process makes the EX-View CCD chip good for specific
   applications (e.g. scientific; industrial) where the high light
   sensitivity the chip provides is important, but the devices are not
   cost-effective for use in conventional surveillance cameras.

   As Mintron is a highly reputable and responsible manufacturer, we feel
   obligated to remind our customers of the benefits and limitations of
   cameras incorporating the SONY Ex-View chip. We sincerely regret that
   we have to limit availability of cameras incorporating the SONY EX-View
   chip, declining orders from some of our valued customers who have
   applications in the traditional surveillance field. Please understand
   that this is not a limitation of Mintron's technology or our
   manufacturing processes but a supply-and-demand situation pertaining to
   the availability of EX-View CCD chips from SONY at this time."

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