Although you do not necessarily need accessories to shoot a good video, they can
improve and ease the process.
Look at your budget. If you are able to buy only one item, you should purchase
a monopod. Monopods can really help you take steadier shots.
External Microphones and Light projectors should be your next purchase, and
steadicams should be the last thing you buy for making a home movie.
Monopod and Tripod : These tools are
used to stabilize the camcorder to remove the shakiness from the shots.
Tripods have three legs. It is possible to leave the camcorder on a tripod
without any other support. Heaver tripods usually produce more stable video images,
but it’s harder to move them around and they are more expensive. Pan
shots can also be smoother by using the more expensive tripods.
Monopods are light and easy to use. Since they have only one leg, you cannot
leave the camcorder on them unsupported. The degree of image stability is less
than tripods but monopods are more convenient to use and easier to carry
around.
The price range for a good tripod or monopod for home use is between $50 and
$150.
Steadicam : This is a tool for taking
smooth moving shots. There are small and inexpensive Steadicams for light weight
consumer camcorders. If you want to take Hollywood type shots for your video,
you should buy a Steadicam. Steadicams are sensitive to the weight of the
camcorder, so buy one that supports your camcorder.
Light Projectors (On Camcorder/Separate) :
You can use light projectors for illuminating the environment at night. There
are two types of light projectors:
Attachable light projectors: Several
camcorders have a place on their body (usually on top), that you can mount
small light projectors. These places are called accessory shoes..Some camcorder
(like most of Sony models) can even provide power and control for light project
through their accessory shoe.
Separate light projectors:
They are usually more powerful and heavier than attachable light projectors.
The range of illumination varies dramatically with the projector’s power.
Some smaller projectors are handheld and use batteries. The more powerful ones
are bigger and require stands or tripods as well as power from an outlet.
You usually do not need very powerful light projectors unless you want to
illuminate large parties.
External Microphones : In addition to
on-camcorder microphones, you can buy an external microphone to improve the
sound recording on your video. Some external microphones can be attached to
your camcorder’s accessory shoe. Other than that, most of the camcorders
have microphone jacks for external microphones.
Sound is very important, but do not pay too much money for an external
microphone. For home use, external attachable microphones in the price
range of $100 can meet all of your sound recording needs.
Remember that buying a large expensive microphone may slow down the process of
your shooting, and you may end up not using the microphone at all.
Before buying attachable light projectors and external microphones, make sure
that they match your camcorder by checking the manufacturer’s website.
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