Welcome to the wonderful world of video! You may want to make movies or just record a recital, but you don’t know which video camera to buy. Think before you buy! Most people will just go out and buy the first camera that they try out at their local retailers store. However, this is one of the worst ways to go about buying a video camera. This guide will help put you in a good position to narrow down your camcorder choices.
Do you want to video tape your kid’s baseball game, a vacation, or some casual shooting that you want to upload to a video sharing site? If so, your budget should be the first thing to consider. Once you’ve set the max you’ll spend, you should then go look at reviews online and in consumer video magazines. The first criteria you want to consider should be whether you want to use tape or a truly digital video camera. Unless you’re on a really tight budget, you should go with a video camera that uses SD cards, a hard drive, or DVD disc. The only reason for tape is the better quality, but only professionals can tell the difference. With HD video cameras that use SD cards at reasonable prices, there is no reason a consumer shouldn’t go with digital.
This is a very important topic that is often overlooked by consumers who buy without actually trying the video camera in their hands. A consumer can never know that the video cameras controls are going to be hard to access with their hands or that they’ll have to surf through three menus just to access a simple function on the video camera. Also, it’s hard to tell whether the LCD display will be easy to view in lots of light just from a picture on the web. After you have narrowed down your video camera choices, you should go to a local retailer and try the video cameras in person. This is the only way you’ll find out (at least before you buy it) whether the video camera is right for you or not.
Most consumer cameras have terrible onboard mics. Try to find a camera that has a mic input. This will allow you to add an external mic, which will give you much better sound than the one that came with your video camera. Sound is just as important as video for the full experience. Also, if the video camera doesn’t have a headphone input, check to see whether the mic input or the a/v input can be used as a headphone input. This is important if you want to check whether that speech your son is giving, is being recorded at a good volume and with good clarity.
No matter who you are, you most likely already have a few video cameras in mind. Do some research on the models you already know about and look at both a corporate site’s review and any comments made by visitors. You never know if the site has a partnership or other motive in pushing a certain video camera, so it doesn’t hurt to check for ‘regular’ people reviews.
Next, consider whether you want a one chip or a three chip video camera. A three chip video camera has one chip for each color, while a one chip camera has to share that one chip among all three colors. In addition, you have to look at the size of the chips. Bigger chips allow for more information, which in turn means you get a higher quality image. Now you have to see whether the camera comes with a manual focus ring.
Also, check whether the video camera has a zoom focus ring as well. While not as essential as a manual focus ring, it can come in handy at times and is worth it if your budget can afford it. Next, you should look into what audio interface(s) your choices have. Does it just have a mic input or does it have XLR inputs? If you want real professional sound, you want a camera that has XLR inputs. Also, check whether the levels of the audio are hardware or software controlled. It can be a pain have to yell cut just to adjust audio levels. Consider whether you want to go with tape or with truly digital media (e.g. SD cards, hard drive, etc.). There are huge debates on this in many online user forums. Most pros will say that tape has a better quality image. However, the other media have caught up now. In addition, digital media frees you from worrying about whether tape heads will wear out or remember when to service the heads. The most modern qualification for cameras is between standard definition or high definition. If your budget can afford it, HD is the way to go. It’s already here in the home, and it is the future of video. However, don’t’ feel too bad if your budget can’t afford it: standard definition will still deliver a quality image.
This is a personal preference that can only be decided by the buyer. It’s safe to say that Canon, Sony, and Panasonic are the main competitors. Consumers should look at the following: Canon Vixia HF10 and Vixia HF100, Panasonic HDC-SD5 and HDC-HS9, Sony HDR-SR11 and Sony HDR-TG1. Amateurs and professional can look at the following, which have good reputations: Canon GL2 and XL1; Panasonic DVX100, DVX100A, DVX100B; and Sony HVR-AU1 and HDR-FX7. Good luck!
© 2005-2009 StyleFeeder, Inc. All Rights Reserved.