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Still + Video Camcorders

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Two cameras in one, digital camcorders can capture still photos alongside your HD video

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Canon Vixia HV30

Only a few years ago, high-def video recording was out of reach for most of us. It was the stuff of broadcasters and movie studios, not the home enthusiast. A lot has changed since then, with HD camcorders becoming increasingly mainstream and affordable.

One of the benefits of digital capture is the possibility of capturing motion video and still images with one camera. While you won't see the same level of quality in these still images as you'd get from a high-resolution digital still camera (native resolution averages less than 4 megapixels), on those occasions when capturing motion video is the primary goal, the convenience of carrying one camera that can do both video and stills is an advantage. And though the native resolution of the still capture is low compared to most digital cameras, most camcorders automatically increase the image resolution through interpolation to produce a larger still image.

Sensor And Format
As with D-SLRs, there are two types of sensors used in camcorders: CCD (charge-coupled device) and CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor). CMOS is common in consumer camcorders of late for a number of reasons. The main advantage of the modern CMOS chip is lowered power consumption with higher image quality compared to previous-generation CMOS sensors. This allows for smaller camcorder designs as fewer components and less power are required. However, CCD camcorders are less complex than their CMOS counterparts and cost less to design. At the end of the day, both CCD and CMOS imagers offer excellent imaging performance when properly designed.

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