Are
you clinging to decade-old gear or living on the high-tech cutting
edge? Do you want to replace a worn-out camcorder or move up to a new
system? Do you shoot once-a-year vacation videos or are you a video
enthusiast? No matter which of the various video formats you choose, a
new camcorder will most likely have more features and better
resolution, be smaller and lighter, and cost less than the equipment
you’re using now.
Recording Medium
Videotape has been the medium of choice since the videotape recorder
was invented more than 50 years ago. While tapes have gotten smaller
and smaller over the decades, the basic technology has remained the
same. However, the past couple of years have introduced camcorders
using several tapeless recording media: DVDs or hard drives.
MiniDV tape is by far the most popular recording medium currently in
use for consumer and semi-professional camcorders. That popularity
means tapes are available everywhere. Every manufacturer offers a lot
of choices, from pocket-sized to professional. If you transfer video
into a computer for editing, then staying with your current recording
format means you won’t have to update your computer or software to
adapt to a new camcorder.
The new media formats include
recording to disk (mini-DVD) or an internal hard drive. As with
tape-based systems, each of the new-format camcorders is offered in a
range of features and prices.
A big advantage of the
hard-drive systems is longer recording times. One hard-drive camera
(the JVC Everio GZ-MG77U) boasts more than seven hours of video
capacity in its highest-quality mode or 37 hours at low resolution.
It’s not that changing a tape is difficult, but it always seems to be
needed at the most inappropriate time. Think of how that long recording
time would help out if you were taping an all-day event or an extended
vacation.
Camcorders that record to DVD or hard drives allow for simple editing in-camera. You can access your video clips instantly—there’s no fast winding back and forth to find them. You can select the order in which you want to play back clips, delete the bad scenes and tighten up the good takes, then hit play and watch the edited show. With a DVD-based camcorder, you can finalize the DVD in-camera and then play it back on almost any DVD player.
The disadvantage of a hard-drive camera is that you can’t replace the
media when the drive is full. To make additional recordings, you must
download the video you want to save to a DVD burner, a computer or even
a VCR, and then delete the old files from the camera. You’ll need to
plan ahead with your downloads to make sure you have enough drive space
available for the next shooting session. You’ll also need to have an
archiving system in place to store and catalog your video clips after
they leave the camera.
Generally, the new-format camcorders
come with basic editing software that you can load into your computer.
But if you already have a favorite editing package, you may need to
upgrade your software and/or hardware to be compatible with a new
system. Also, be aware that DVD-based camcorders use the smaller
three-inch mini-DVD disks, and not all DVD players can accept these.
Generally, tray-loading players will work, but slot-loading players
won’t.
Bigger Pictures
Another thing to consider when camcorder shopping: will you stay with
the standard-definition television format (480 lines of resolution, or
720 x 480 pixels, at 30 fps in the U.S.) or move up to high definition
(HD). HD is the future of video, and the transition is picking up speed.
Video can also be recorded as progressive or interlaced frames. With
progressive, the entire frame is captured in one scan; with interlaced,
all the odd-numbered lines are scanned first, followed by the
even-numbered lines (standard broadcast television uses interlaced
frames). Interlaced frames are better at handling rapid camera
movements; progressive frames make sharper still images and have a more
“film-like” quality.
Many HD cameras also give you the choice
of shooting at 30 fps (the U.S. television rate) or 24 fps, the rate
for 16mm and 35mm films. If you plan on transferring your program to
film at some point, shooting at 24 fps will give you better results.
Fortunately, many HD video monitors will accept video in all these
formats, as will many of the newest video-editing packages for your
computer.
(Note: Most standard-definition camcorders also
record in wide-screen mode, but this isn’t an HD image. Wide-screen
only stretches out the standard-definition picture from its normal 3:4
ratio to a wider 9:16 format, but it’s still recording only 480 lines
of resolution.)
If you’re thinking about moving up to an HD
camcorder, be sure that your whole system can handle HD. You may need
to upgrade your editing computer to handle the data flow of HD video
(about four times the data of SD). Of course, you’ll want a true HD
monitor to watch your creations. And right now, the only way to play
back HD is from your HD camcorder or your computer, although
high-definition DVD players should be on the market by the time you
read this.
Digital Video Cameras
The Canon DC40
records to mini-DVD disks. The 10x zoom lens is paired with an
electronic image-stabilization system to reduce the effects of camera
shake. In wide-screen mode, it records video in a true 9x16 letterbox
format. In addition to watching the DVDs from your camera or a DVD
player, you can connect the camcorder to a computer via USB and
download your footage for editing with the supplied Roxie MyDVD
software. It also captures up to 4.3-megapixel still images to an SD
card. List Price: $899.
The Hitachi DZ-GX3300A
records video and 3-megapixel stills to four different mini-DVD disk
formats, as well as an SD card. There’s a 10x optical zoom, and the
camcorder is ready for quick action with a 1-sec. startup time. The
one-button finalize process makes it a snap to prepare the disks for
playback on a DVD player. List Price: $799.
The Sony DCR-SR100 Handycam
is a single-CCD camcorder that records to a 30 GB hard drive. It can
hold more than seven hours of MPEG-2 video in high-quality mode or more
than 20 hours at low-quality. It has a full range of manual options,
but for those who don’t want to bother, it can switch to the Easy Run
mode and everything locks into automatic. It links to Windows PCs using
USB 2.0. Still photos up to 3 MB in size are stored on a Memory Stick.
List Price: $999.
The Canon GL2 is a 3-CCD
professional-model camcorder with easy-to-reach manual focus and
exposure controls, as well as fully automatic operation. A sharp 20x
optical zoom has an optical image stabilizer to keep images smooth. It
links to your computer via FireWire (IEEE 1394) or analog connections.
You can record to miniDV tape in standard and wide-screen formats, and
interval recording is available for time-lapse sequences. The
microphone adapter allows for connection to professional XLR-type
microphones. List Price: $2,799.
The Sony HDR-HC3 HDV 1080i Handycam is
a single-CMOS-sensor, high-definition camcorder that records either
1080i HD video or standard NTSC video using standard miniDV cassettes.
It also offers the choice of 24 fps cinema-mode recording, and the Slow
Recording feature gives you super-smooth slow-motion playback. You can
shoot 2.3-megapixel stills to a Memory Stick while recording video or
4-megapixel stills separately. The 10x optical zoom lens has Super
SteadyShot and downloads to computers via FireWire (IEEE 1394). The
flip-out screen is also a touch panel for many of the camera’s
controls. List Price: $1,499.
The Panasonic VDR-D300
records to DVD and will accept DVD-R, DVD-RW or DVD-RAM format discs.
Discs can go right from the camcorder to a DVD player. It’s a 3-CCD
camera with a 10x optical zoom lens and optical image stabilization.
The index screen allows you to easily edit and order your video clips
right in the camera. It also captures 3.1-megapixel still images to an
SD card and is PictBridge-compatible. List Price: $999.
Another hard-drive camcorder is the JVC EVERIO GZ-MG77U,
featuring a single-chip image sensor with a 10x optical zoom lens. It
also can take 2-megapixel stills and store them on the same 30 GB hard
drive. You can organize and edit your clips right in the camera,
creating playlists, and then send your video to a TV, VCR or JVC’s
ShareStation DVD burner (not included) for creating discs without a
computer. You can also plug into your computer via USB cable to make
use of the included DVD Creation software. The unit’s “drop detector”
instantly shuts down the hard dive if the camera senses that it’s
falling, protecting your video clips. List Price: $900.
The Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 Digital Media Camera
is an ultra-compact video recorder that records to an SD memory card
rather than to tape or recordable disc. The HD1 video is created using
720p HD Video Scanning (1280 x 760 Progressive) and compressed into an
MPEG-4 file. The camera, which also features built-in image
stabilization and wind-noise reduction, can capture video as well as
5.1-megapixel still images. The camera can record as much as 41 minutes
of HD video on a 2 GB SD card. List Price: $799.
The Samsung VP-D963WI features digital
image stabilization as well as built-in light and audio enhancements
for high-quality picture and audio. Recording to standard miniDV
cassettes, the camera also records video to a memory card (SD, Memory
Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro) installed in the camera’s multi-memory
card slot. List Price: $899.
