Granulosa Tip, Jumpy movies of the past are long gone – replaced by home theater based on digital or analog cameras. You can edit and enhance images with music using the computer, then play on your VCR, you can also send e-mail.
Digital camcorders, now the dominant type, generally provide a very good image quality excellent, with excellent sound capability, compactness and ease of handling. Making copies of a digital recording will not result in a loss of image quality and sound. You can also take pictures with some rudimentary digital cameras.
Analog camcorders, now a small market, have in general a good picture and sound quality and less expensive. Some analog units are about the most compact and easy to handle as digital models, while others are slightly larger and cumbersome.
What is offered
Sony dominates the camcorder market, with several models in various formats. Other leading brands include Canon, JVC, Panasonic and Samsung.
Most models are supplied in digital format MiniDV. Disk-based formats like DVD-RAM and DVD-R also emerged. Some digital models weigh just one kilo.
MiniDV. Do not let its small size fool. Although some models can be slipped into a pocket large MiniDV camcorders can record images of very high quality. They use a single cassette tape, and the typical recording time is 60 minutes in standard play (SP) speed. Expect to pay $ 6. 50 for a 60-minutes tape. You will need to use the camcorder for playback – converts its recording to an analog signal, can be read directly into a TV or VCR. If your TV or VCR has an S-video input, use it to achieve high image quality.
Price: $ 350 to over $ 2,000.
Digital 8. Also known as D8, this format offers digital quality Hi8 or 8mm tapes, which costs $ 6. 50 $ 3. 50, respectively. The 8 records in digital format with a speed of belt, so a "120 minutes" tape lasts only 60 minutes in SP mode. Most models can also play your old analog 8mm or Hi8 tapes.
Price: $ 350 to $ 800.
Based on disk. Capitalizing on the explosive growth and capabilities of DVD movies, the advantages of tape formats that can not provide: a long term, a compact support, and random access to scenes such as a DVD. MPEG 3 disk recording 1/4-pollice-2 video, the same format used in commercial DVD videos. The amount of recording time varies depending on the level of quality that you choose: 20 minutes for each side to create the highest quality for DVD-RAM up to about 60 minutes on each side at the bottom. DVD-RAM are not compatible with most DVD players, but the discs can be reused. DVD-R is supposed to be compatible with most DVD players and computer DVD drives, but they are write-once. We paid about $ 25 at a local retailer for DVD-RW.
Price: $ 700 to $ 1000.
Most analog camcorders now use the Hi8 format, VHS-C and Super VHS-C are fading from the market. Blank tapes range in price from $ 3. $ 50 to 6. 50. Analog camcorders usually weigh around 2 pounds. The picture quality is generally good, though a notch below that of the camera.
Price: $ 225 to $ 500.
Important features
A flip-out liquid-crystal-display (LCD) viewer has become commonplace on all but the lowest prices of cameras. Find it useful to review the images you shot and easier to use the eyepiece viewfinder for certain shooting poses. Some LCD viewers are hard to use in full sunlight, a drawback of models that have only one eye and no viewer.
Screens vary from 2 1 / 2 to 4 inches measured diagonally, with a larger screen offered as a step-up feature in models with higher prices. Since an LCD viewer uses batteries faster than an eyepiece viewfinder is, you do not have much time to record when the LCD is in use.
The image stabilizer automatically reduces most of the shocks that occur to keep the camcorder while recording a scene. Most stabilizers are electronic, some optics. Any type can be effective even if mounting the camera on a tripod is the surest way to get images constant. If you are not using a tripod, you can try to hold the camcorder with both hands and leaning his elbows against your chest.
Full Auto can basically point and shoot. The camera automatically adjusts the color balance, shutter speed, focus, and aperture (also called "Iris" or "f-stop" with camcorders).
Auto Focus adjusts the maximum sharpness, but replace manual focus may be needed for problem situations such as low light. (With some cameras, you must type keys longer times to get the focus right.) With lots of templates, you can also control exposure, shutter speed and white balance.
The zoom is typically a finger control – press one way to zoom in and one way to expand the view. The speed with which the zoom changes depends on the effort you press the switch. Typical optical zoom ratios range from 10:1 to 26:1. The zoom relies on optical lenses, such as a camera (hence the term "optical zoom"). Many cameras offer a digital zoom to expand the range of 400:1 or more, but the image quality less good.
For tape based formats, analog or digital, each camera has a top speed of tape the same way no one VCR. Each model, for example, includes an SP (standard play) speed. The downloads are slower, LP (long play) speed increases of 50 percent at the time of registration. Some of 8mm and Hi8 models have a speed that doubles the recording time on LP. All VHS-C S-VHS-C camcorders have an even slower EP (extended play) speed that triples the recording time. With analog camcorders, slower speeds degrade the image quality. Slow speed usually does not reduce the quality of images on digital cameras. But with the slow pace means sacrificing some editing rarely used and may limit the playback on other camcorders.
Disc-based formats over a variety of ways that trade off recording time for image quality.
Rapid determination to display the final seconds of a scene without having to press lots of buttons. For particular light conditions, the default auto exposure can be helpful. A snow and sand "setting, for example, adjust the shutter speed or aperture to accommodate high reflectivity.
A light provides some illumination for close shots when the image is too dark. Backlight compensation increases the exposure slightly when your subject is backlit and silhouetted. A recording mode sensitive to infrared light (also known as night vision, zero lux, or MagicVu) allows successful shooting in very dark or black, with infrared transmitters. You can use it for nighttime shots although colors will not be recorded accurately in this mode.
From audio / video inputs allow you to start other material from a camcorder or VCR, useful for copying part of another video on their own. (A digital camcorder should have such an input jack, if you want to record the equipment from analog to digital.) Contrary to a microphone, an external microphone is connected to a microphone can not find the noise from the camera itself, and generally improves performance audio.
A feature of the digital camera lets you take snapshots, which can be downloaded to your computer. The picture quality is generally inferior to that of a camera.
Characteristics that aid in the May issue includes a built-in generator capacity, and once a date and a time code, which is a frame of reference exactly where you are on a tape – in hours, minutes, seconds and frame . A remote control allows you when you use the camcorder as a playback device or when you use a tripod. Programmed recording (timer) starts recording the video camera, a preset time.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Choose your price range and size. The cheapest cameras on the market are analog. Everything else is digital.
Once you have decided that part of the price range to explore, you must choose a specific format for recording. What determines not only the money spent on tapes or discs, but also for how long the record you receive. The tape-based formats are generally superior in terms of image quality.
With analog, you can get 120-300 minutes of recording on a cassette Hi8, SVHS-C or with the VHS-C, you can get 30 to 120 minutes.
With digital formats that use MiniDV, Digital8 or MicroMV tapes, you can get at least 60 minutes of recording on a standard cassette. D8 and MiniDV tapes are cheaper and easier to find.
DVD camcorders from Panasonic and Hitachi can accommodate DVD-RAM, which can be reused, but are not compatible with all DVD players. All brands also use a DVD-R discs use a work in most DVD players. Yields regulatory 60 minutes of recording, "fine" setting, 30 minutes.
If you are replacing an older camcorder, think about what to do with the bands you've accumulated. If you do not stay with the format used, you'll probably need to transfer old tapes of a means of easily accessible information, including a DVD.
If you're buying your first camcorder, concentrate on finding the best for your budget, whatever the format.
Check the size, weight, and controls. In the store, try different camcorders to make sure they meet your hands and is comfortable to use. Some models can feel surprisingly small. (You must use a tripod if you want rock-steady video, whatever camera you choose.) Camcorders Most are designed to control the most commonly used – the switch to zoom in and out and the record button – fall easily to hand. Make sure that the controls are convenient and you can change the tape or DVD and remove the battery.
Check the flip-out LCD screen. Most of measure 2. 5 inches on the diagonal, but some are larger, adding about $ 100 in price. If the viewer looks small and hard to use or suffer from too much reverb, consider negotiating a similar model or another brand to get a better screen.
Think of lighting. A camera is not always used outdoors or in well-lit room. You can shoot in dim light, but do not expect miracles. In our tests, using the default mode of cameras, the images produced more fair or poor light is very low. Many cameras have settings that can improve performance, but can be a challenge to use.
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