Your first step is to buy
shooting equipment, like a camcorder (short for camera recorder.) Fortunately
these days you can buy a good camcorder with broadcast quality (TV quality) for
a price under $1000.
There is a very wide range of camcorders that you can choose
from stores or the Internet. This makes it hard and confusing to find a
suitable camcorder.
Considering the factors below, you can narrow down your choices.
DV Format : Camcorders
that record in DV format, known as DV or mini DV camcorders, are currently the
best choice. Mini DV cameras record the video with excellent quality in digital
format on mini DV tapes. The tapes are very cheap and can contain 1 hour of
video footage. You can easily connect these camcorders to the computer for
capturing and editing the video footage.
Firewire Port : Firewire
is the standard connection to transfer the video from the camcorder to the
computer and vice versa. Be sure that the camcorder you buy has this port.
Automatic vs. Manual Controls :
Although you may use camcorder image controls in automatic mode most of the
time, you should be able to adjust them manually for special conditions. So,
check the video camcorder to insure that it has the manual control,
specifically for Exposure, Focus and White Balance. Usually cheaper camcorders
do not offer manual controls and perform everything automatically.
Lux : Lux is a standard
for measuring the sensitivity of the video camcorder in low light. The lower
the camcorder's Lux number, the smaller the amount of light that the
video can record. Consider the Lux number of the camcorder you are buying. If
you want to shoot in low light often, buy a camcorder with low Lux.
Do not confuse the low-light sensitivity of the camcorder with the "Night Shot"
option. With "Night Shot", the camcorder alters the video image and
reduces the quality in someway to record in low or zero Lux.
Optical Zoom vs. Digital Zoom :
When you buy a camcorder, always look for the optical zoom number. Don't be
confused by big digital magnifying numbers advertised on the body of the
camcorder. The quality of the image is reduced drastically with digital zoom.
Resolution is Not Important! :
Unlike digital still cameras, resolution is not important for video camcorders.
The reason is that the video resolution is standard: 720x480 for DV NTSC and 720x576 for DV PAL. The actual capturing resolution of camcorders can differ from one
to another, but this is not very important for consumer camcorders.
Manufacturers usually advertise the still image resolution of a video camcorder
as a selling point. Do not let this confuse you. Remember that you are buying a
video camcorder and not a digital still camera. Camcorders produce a lower
quality of still images than digital cameras, so do not try to combine a
camcorder with a digital still camera. Buy a good video camcorder regardless of
the still image resolution.
Brand : Among the
manufacturers, Sony, JVC and Panasonic offer the best collection of consumer
mini-DV video camcorders
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