If a picture is worth a thousand words, then digital video speaks volumes and endlessly. Plus, the added feature of audio to the video greatly enhances the moving images. Like most of the digital revolution, the camcorders of today have their predecessors. The bulky, shoulder-borne contraptions resembled television station cameras. They fell short on features, and barely got the job done. Not to mention the price tag gave many a consumer serious sticker shock.
Today’s digital camcorders have shrunk to fit in the palm of your hand and enable the parents who record every single thing the kid does a wide spectrum of features and recording media to choose from. The new and improved line of digital camcorders have tossed VHS tapes aside and now have the capability to record in high-definition on a variety of media. Plus, the family cinematographer has the ability to perform a full spectrum of editing and embellishing options via software installed on your home PC.
With technology advancements brings a plethora of choices and options to select the perfect camcorder. To add to the selection processes, the types of camcorders have multiplied:
Lightweight, easy-to-use, multiple storage options, still photography and PC webcam capabilities, and more. How do you decide which camcorder is best for your needs today and in the future? Follow these six easy steps and you’ll be pressing the record button in no time!
STEP 1 – Set a Budget
Chances are you’re going to keep your camcorder for many years so your purchase should involve a little forethought and planning to match your needs and your budget to the camcorder of your dreams. Set a realistic budget … and stick to it! Did we mention to set a budget?
In setting a budget, don’t just think of the camcorder itself. Sundry other accessories might stretch the seams of your wallet and exceed what you can afford. Plan ahead for these necessary items and there won’t be any missteps.
STEP 2 – Choose High-Definition (HD) or Standard Definition (SD)
When selecting a camcorder, choosing between high-definition and standard definition is mostly personal choice.
The video resolution for a SD camcorder is 640 x 480 and is without a lot of the technologies available with HD. With HD, you’ll get advancements such as video resolution as high as 1080p (1920 x 1080) and surround sound. Plus, editing will be easier and will provide more options such as adding special effects to you vacation videos.
Your decision to record in HD might be as simple as your HDTV. Why record your son’s soccer game in SD and then play it back on an HDTV? Most camcorders offer the flexibility to record in SD (4:3) or HD (16:9). With filming in HD, you can burn your HD video to a DVD and play it in a Blu-ray Disc player (AVCHD compatible) for the home theater experience including surround sound.
STEP 3 – Recording Media Storage Options
In your erstwhile camcorder days, you had two choices of recording format to be used in a camcorder; VHS and Betamax, both tapes. They battled for camcorder supremacy for a long time but oddly enough, both of them are now history and are now considered technological dinosaurs. The current choices have nearly doubled since those days but have no fear, choosing a camcorder is now easier than you might think.
Two of the recording formats, MiniDV and HDV, rely on tapes for recording and storing your video, while AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) has gone totally tapeless. They use hard disk drives, memory cards (SD/MMC), and DVDs (mini and standard) to store video.
Let’s clear something up before we continue; hard disk drives, memory cards, and DVDs are storage mediums, not recording formats. They are the media that your video is recorded onto. For example, you can have an AVCHD camcorder that uses memory cards for storing everything after you hit the record button; AVCHD is the format and memory cards are the storage.
MiniDV – These little workhorses are capable of recording, playback, and editing of standard-definition (4:3) digital video and audio onto small, high-density videocassettes known as ‘S’ size. Each videocassette can record 60 minutes at Standard Play (SP) or 90 minutes at Long Play (LP). There are also 80 minute videocassettes that use a thinner tape; they can record for 80 minutes set on SP or 120 minutes set on LP. Both SP and LP record exactly the same signal and video information. You will not be able to differentiate a recording taped at SP and another tape recorded at LP because the video and audio are of identical quality between the two speeds.
HDV – Two attributes of the HDV format stand out right away; they use videocassettes identical to the ones used in MiniDVs camcorders and they record using a true (1920 x 1080i) high-definition signal with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Most HDV camcorders have the ability to record in standard definition while you make the transition to high-definition at your own pace.
For consumers, an HDV unit is a MiniDV camcorder with high-definition capabilities. HDV is also used for commercial and professional camcorders costing thousands of dollars.
This format is inexpensive to purchase and operate since the tapes are so reasonable to buy, especially in bulk. You can record on the tape, upload the video to your PC/Mac for editing and then place the tape on the shelf for archiving purposes. No need to reuse tapes over and over to save money.
AVCHD – This is a format capable of recording in standard definition and high-definition for use in digital, tapeless camcorders. That’s right. They are completely sans tapes and instead record using hard disk drives, memory cards, and DVD (mini and standard discs). For high-definition recording, all the major definitions are supported: e.g., 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.
MiniDVD – The original media specified in the AVCHD standard is the DVD disc. To ensure the camcorder did not need to grow in size to accommodate the standard size DVD (4.75-inches, 12cm), only the MiniDVD (3.16-inch, 8 cm) can be used. Although the MiniDVD is compact, its storage capacity is a respectable 1.4GB for single-sided, single-layer discs and 5.2GB for double-sided, double-layer discs.
DVD – You can record straight onto a DVD+R and enjoy easy and convenient playback on a standard DVD player. This familiar type of storage medium offers space to store up to 480 minutes (eight hours) of MPEG-2 video per dual-layer disc. A single-sided, single-layer DVD+R disc can hold 4.7GB of video per disc while a dual-sided, double-layer DVD+R disc can hold 17GB of video per disc.
Memory Cards – This type of storage uses solid-state flash technology such as SD/MMC. Some memory cards are available in high capacity formats such as SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity). Memory cards are lightweight and compact, and they provide limitless rewritable storage. Consumers are familiar with memory cards; that’s because you have used memory cards in your computers, TVs, digital cameras, cell phones, PDAs, Blu-ray Disc players, etc.
HDD – Hard disk drives (HDD) dramatically increase the storage capacity over MiniDVDs, DVDs, and SD/MMC memory cards. Depending on the camcorder model, hard disk storage can range from 30GB to 120GB before downloading to another form of digital storage is required (using a USB cable). Another bonus to using HDD over other storage is the faster recording data rate than MiniDVDs, DVDs, or SD/MMC memory cards.
Examples of two camcorders; one using hard disk storage and one using DVD and SD/MMC storage:
STEP 4 – Feature & Option Choices
IMAGE STABILIZATION aka Shaky Hand Syndrome
Most camcorders have some form of image stabilization, which helps correct for camera shake … er, I mean shaky hand syndrome. It is your hand shaking, not the camera, right? Other instances where this feature can help your recording turn out well is using your zoom to near maximum limits, filming while walking, or recording fast-moving objects. Even little shakes can be exaggerated and amplified in your finished product.
There are three types of image stabilization:
- Electronic – Adjustments are made electronically.
- Optical – Uses a set of lenses to adjust for the additional motion.
- Digital – Helps prevent overcompensation when it senses the tilting or panning of the camera.
One sure way to solve your image stabilization issues is to use a tripod if at all possible. For camcorders, it is a must-buy accessory. Obviously, tripods can’t be a benefit in all instances, such as while you’re walking, but for the most part, they are an asset that cannot be ignored.
OPTICAL ZOOM vs. DIGITAL ZOOM
Which is better, optical zoom or digital zoom? Now that’s a question for the ages. Since only one of them, optical zoom, is really zooming (movement of the optics) closer to and away from an object, then hands down, optical zoom wins. But, what do the ratings imprinted on the side of your camcorder mean if it states 10x Optical Zoom and 200x Digital Zoom? First, let’s define exactly what optical and digital zooming are and then we’ll put them head-to-head.
Optical Zoom
As the name implies, optical zoom is optically zooming in closer to the image you see in the viewfinder or LCD screen. The range of the lens is the ratio of the length of the lens when zoomed in close (all the way) versus its length at the widest setting (no zoom at all). Quite literally, the lens moves in and out to adjust for the settings controlled by the cinematographer. If your camcorder is rated at 10x optical zoom, that is the maximum range of your optical zooming capabilities. You can still zoom in and take video at 1x, 5x, 8x, etc.
Digital Zoom
This feature is an invention of the digital revolution and really has nothing to do with optically zooming in closer to an image. It is simply the measure of your camcorder’s ability to increase the size of the pixels in your video to give the illusion of optical magnification. The end result is a pixel enlargement created by digital zoom taken from the best optical zoom your camcorder is capable of providing.
The reason for adding digital zoom to optical zoom is twofold. One reason is better optics cost more money. So a camera lens setup that can zoom optically 15x would cost more than lenses rated at 10x. A lens zoom rated at 10x optical and 200x digital equals 210x zoom, right? Yes, but not exactly.
The 10x optical zoom is truly zooming in closer to the object 10 times closer. When your camcorder’s 10x optical zoom has reached its limit and you still want to zoom in closer to record the look on your child’s face, your 200x digital zoom kicks in. But, it is not actually zooming in closer to the image. The digital zoom is actually enlarging the pixel size, causing it to appear as though you’re zooming in further. But, you’re actually still at 10x zoom.
When you increase the pixel size of an image, you reduce the overall quality of the image. Interpolation, the act of digital zooming, enhances the image with some loss of image quality. You can achieve better results if you record the video at the optical zoom limit and then use the tools available in your desktop video editing software.
Zoom Summary
Now that you know optical zoom and digital zoom, the decision to select between the two is obvious. If you want real zoom power, optical zoom is the way to go. With digital zoom you’re interpolating the images, not zooming. Only use digital zoom if you have no other choice (e.g., no video editing software available).
If using the zoom feature of your camcorder is important to your video recording needs, you have two options to ensure you’re optically zooming:
- Purchase the highest possible optical zoom rated camcorder to avoid needing digital zoom.
- Purchase an aftermarket add-on lens to further enhance your camera’s optical abilities.
CCD & CMOS CHIPS
The quality of the video image itself can be directly related to the size and amount chips in your camcorder. They are known as CCD (Charge Couple Device) chips and even the smallest difference in size can make a huge difference in the quality of your video. One key element to judge good video from bad video is lighting. The CCD chip inside your camcorder is the determining factor for the brightness, brilliance, and the color of your video images.
Most consumer camcorders are equipped with a 1/6-inch (.16) to 1/3-inch (.33) CCD chip. Most high-end to professional camcorders will have a 3CCD setup. This means they have one CCD chip per color of the primary RGB (red, green, and blue) spectrum. You will see a marked increased in video quality with a 3CCD camcorder over a 1CCD camcorder.
On the horizon of technology for camcorders are CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) chips. The advantage of a CMOS chip is production costs can be reduced because all three primary colors can be made into one chip without compromising the picture quality gained by the advancements of the 3CDD chip. The transition from CCD to CMOS is slow when compared to other advancements in technology because CDD still works and is a tried and true chip. Either way, 3CCD or CMOS, you’re going to get the best image sensor on the market and will get great results.
VIEWFINDERS & EYEPIECE
You’ve got two options for filming your personal masterpiece as far as seeing what you’re recording; using a viewfinder or an eyepiece. Using one or the other might fall into personal taste but a viewfinder is recommended for filming while walking and moving about so that you can use your peripheral vision to see where you’re going. Plus, a viewfinder allows you to see what’s NOT in the frame as well as what’s in the frame so you can make adjustments.
Viewfinders are LCD screens (just like your laptop) and range in size from 2-inches to as much as 4-inches and display in color. Most viewfinders are designed to swivel, as much as 180-degrees, so that you film above your head, below your waist, or even include yourself in the frame.
An eyepiece is usually a singular-view (monocular) lens that is protected by a flexible, rubber shroud that also helps seal around your eye socket to keep out excess light. On some models, the eyepiece is adjustable to several different angles and on others, it is stationary and in line with the lens of the camcorder.
WIDE ANGLE (NO ZOOM ALLOWED)
Probably the most forgotten close up shot doesn’t use any zoom at all – wide angle shots. The native ability of a camcorder to shoot wide angle shots will determine how far away you’ll need to be to get everybody in the frame when shooting in close quarters.
If you’ve ever run out of real estate while taking baby steps backwards all-the-while trying to squeeze one more person in the viewfinder, then you’ve experienced the need for wide angle. You might not use this feature very much but it is best to check out your camcorder’s wide angle ability beforehand.
MEGAPIXELS
Unlike their digital counterpart, the digital camera, megapixels aren’t really important to a camcorder unless you’re taking a still photo. But even then, they can’t compete with a digital camera so it is best to use your camcorder for still photography only when it is absolutely necessary.
STEP 5 – Accessorize Your Camcorder!
A wide range of accessories are available for most any camcorder. Depending on what type of recording you do will depend on what accessories you choose to add to your camcorder purchase. If you’re going to be filming your children playing little league sports, a tripod and extra batteries will be in order. Here are some examples of accessories that you might need:
- Tripod (mini or full-sized)
- Carrying Case/Bag
- Charger and Extra Batteries
- Additional Storage Media
- Cables (e.g., USB, FireWire)
- Extra Lenses and Lens Adapters
- Mounting Bracket (e.g., for use on handle bar of mountain bicycle).
STEP 6 – Have Fun!
There’s nothing like enjoying the pictures and sounds of days gone by to stir up memories that might have been lost forever without the use of a digital camcorder. After your purchase your camcorder, you’ll find yourself looking for reasons to video everything; from birthday parties to weddings to vacations.
Create, store, edit, e-mail, post, and share; the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Don’t eschew or sally forth the world of camcorders; embrace it and you’ll be rewarded with video that will amaze your eyes and ears. The captured memories will last lifetimes and beyond.
FINAL THOUGHTS
To browse hhgregg’s camcorder selection including the point-and-shoot, pocket-sized camcorders, click here.
Still have questions? – feel free to speak with an hhgregg associate. We offer the best-educated associates in the business who are smart enough to make it simple. Price and Advice Guaranteed!
Resolution
Zoom measures how close a camera is able to bring the action to you. Typically a point and shoot camera will have between 2 and 6 times zoom. There are newer super zoom cameras available now that can go as high as 20x or even further.
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