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What do you really need? A Guide to
Buying a Camcorder
Camcorder
Review - Camcorder Guide
by Mark
Shapiro
What kinds of camcorder features do you
really need? What kinds of bells &
whistles are really important and which ones
can you do without?
It can be very confusing when you go to
buy a camcorder - especially if you go into
a home electronics or department store and
talk to the "experts' Many times the
best camcorder for you is the one they get
the best spliff or bonus for selling.
So what should you look for?
How are
you going to use your camcorder?
This is important. Do you prefer to
just turn it on, point and shoot or
are you the type who likes fiddling with
adjustments? Luckily, if you are the point
and shot type, the automatic adjustments for
focus, shutter speed and exposure are close
to perfect for most camcorders in most
shooting environments. If you want to make
some minor adjustments, most camcorders also
offer AE modes. The Automated Exposure modes
control the exposure, shutter speed, color
control, etc. for shooting in challenging
environments like at the beach, ski resorts,
deserts, dark rooms and spotlights on a
stage.
Even the most affordable and basic
camcorders will provide those capabilities.
However, if you do like making fine
adjustments and getting the shot just right,
then you will need a camcorder with manual
over-rides.
The most
important is manual focus. Almost every camcorder will provide
manual focus. Most middle to high end
camcorders also provide manual over-rides
for shutter speed, zoom speed, exposure, and
white balance.
What you
need to look for is HOW the manual focus is
implemented. How do you actually focus in
and out on the camcorder. In my opinion, a
focus ring on the end of the camcorder's
lens is the best - especially if it includes
markings regarding approximate focal
distance and has a definite start and stop
point. A focus dial on the side of the camcorder
can work but takes some practice - as does a
camcorder that uses the zoom lever for
focusing. Neither are good choices. However,
the worst is a camcorder that uses push
buttons for focusing. It is almost
impossible to manually focus using push
buttons.
A nice
focus feature is an automatic push to focus
button - while you are in the manual focus
mode, you push the button and the camcorder
focuses on what is in the middle of the
frame.
How to Buy Video Gear
We buy our gear (camcorders, software, computer supplies,
cameras) from B&H. Yes, they are a sponsor of this
site, but we have been using them for years and years - long
before this web site existed.
Fair
prices, honest and great service. They might be a few bucks
more in price, but service, trustworthiness and reliability
are very important.
Zoom - Digital versus Optical
Optical zoom ratios are important. The
higher the zoom ratio, the more the
camcorder can enlarge a shot and get tight
close-ups from a distance away. Most
camcorders today offer optical zooms of 8 to
16 times. Some even offer zooms of up to 24
times. Impressive. However, unless you are
using a tripod, it is impossible to hold
your image steady once you get past the 12x
range.
Digital zooms are primarily used for
marketing camcorders and are relatively useless.
See "My
Zoom is Bigger Than Your Zoom"
Almost
every good camcorder now offers variable
speed zooms. The harder you press on the
zoom lever, the faster it zooms in or zooms
out. Other nice to have zoom features are
extra zoom levers in convenient locations
and variable zoom ratios that enable
you to vary the speeds of your zoom. These
features are usually found in the higher
priced, semi-professional camcorders.
Audio
Audio can
be extremely important and is often
overlooked when buying a camcorder. All
camcorders include a built-in microphone -
unfortunately it is often of very low
quality and locate din a spot where it picks
up the sounds of motors and pulleys
spinning, as well as fingers adjusting dials
and knobs. If audio is important, you have
to get a camcorder with a separate audio in
jack that allows you to use an external
microphone.
Most good
to professional camcorders offer external
mike jacks. In addition, the better
camcorders offer multiple mike in jacks and
volume controls. The best camcorders offer
XLR connectors to let you use professional
mikes.
Another
thing to look for is an accessory shoe on
the camcorder that will let you mount the
mike or a wireless mike receiver.
For more
info, check "Audio
for Video"
Image
Stabilization
Image
stabilization is a feature that reduces some
of the shakiness that naturally occurs when
you handhold a camcorder shot - especially a
shot with a long zoom ratio. As mentioned
above, unless you are using a tripod, it is
almost impossible to get a solid shot at
zoom ratios above 12x or so.
Check "Get
a Tripod Please" for more info
about Tripods
There are
two main flavors of image stabilization.
There used to be a big difference in them
but electronic image stabilization has
improved and now is almost as good as
optical stabilization. Optical stabilization
uses a series of lens and motors to
mechanically correct for shakiness in the
shot. Electronic stabilization uses digital
logic to centralize on the middle of your
shot and discard the edges of the image This
means your images gets slightly magnified
and you lose a little detail to the
image.
Optical
stabilization is the best but digital
stabilization is good. By the way, some
camcorders now enable you to apply digital
stabilization when you are shooting, or
during playback of the image, or even booth.
Remember -
if you use a tripod - you can turn image
stabilization off and not use it all.
Batteries
and Power
Most
camcorders, even expensive ones, usually
ship with the smallest battery in the
company's product line. If you want to be
able to get more taping time per battery
charge, you will have to buy bigger
batteries. You can get them from third party
battery vendors or from the camcorder
manufacturer.
Here's the
gotcha! Some camcorders don't allow
you to use bigger batteries! The battery
slips into a slot into the camcorder and you
cannot jam a bigger battery into that
compartment. Some makers do allow you to use
an adapter that slides into the compartment
- the adapter then connects to a battery.
Phooey on that.
Make sure
the camcorder you buy can take larger
batteries.
Another
place where camcorder makers cheap out is
with battery chargers. Some camcorders can
only -re-charge the batteries while the
battery is inside the camcorder. You have to
plug in the camcorder, with the battery
inside, and then let it sit, while you wait
for it to charge.
There's is
no way for you to charge up extra batteries
while you are shooting. Even worse, if there
is some kind of power spike while you are
charging up the battery, you may damage your
entire camcorder.
Get a
camcorder with a separate power supply and
charger. If you can't beat the deal on a low
priced camcorder with built-in charging, at
least purchase a separate battery charger
and use that instead.
ViewScreens
Nowadays,
very few camcorders don't have a fold-out
viewscreen. These are extremely helpful for
composing shots, especially when shooting at
very low or very high angles. Remember
though, that when used outdoors in bright
sunny locations, these screens may wash out
and be unviewable. Make sure your camcorder
also comes with a regular eyepiece for those
times. By the way, using the eyepiece helps
you focus a bit sharper than manually
focusing while viewing the LCD screen.
I
recommend, if the store will let you, taking
the camcorder outside and see how the LCD
screen looks while shooting in sunlight. The
better camcorders offer better screens - as
well as a selection of tools to change the
contrast and brightness of the screen.
Image
Quality
There is
not a lot of difference in image quality
between camcorders. They all look pretty
good. Some brands tend to be a little cooler
- a little bluer - like Sony. Some brands
tend to be a little muted, like Canon.
It is very
hard to judge image quality without watching
back a taped scene. At most electronics and
department stores, the "test"
images you see displayed on the monitors are
not coming form tape, but are live coming
from the camcorder lens and block. They
always look good!
A good
test, if the salesman and store will let
you, is to walk around the store and
outdoors, and shoot some tape. Then watch it
back on a big screen. Does it look good?
Most camcorders have a difficult time
handling outdoor shots on sunny days. The
tiny CCDs build into today's camcorders can
not handle contrasts between bright objects
and deep shadows.
Once you
have decided you like how the camcorder
looks and want to buy, try to buy the
camcorder that is in your hands and that you
have tested. Sometimes CCD quality can vary,
even between identical products from the
same manufacturer. You can get a bum CCD.
Ease of Use
Finally -
how easy is the camcorder to use? Do your
hands fit around the buttons?
As part of
your image quality test (see above) - try
out the various functions and buttons on the
camcorder. Can your fingers easily reach and
manipulate them?
Is the
camcorder comfortable to hold and use? Maybe
you'll notice that when you go to focus,
your finger drapes over and rubs the
microphone. Not good.
When you
got to start and stop recording, your finger
accidentally hits the "Still"
image button instead.
I am a big
guy. I find that many of today's small
DV camcorders are a bit too small for my
fingers.
Take your
time and play with the camcorder.
The Good
News
In general,
most camcorders that are available on the
market today work great and provide good
looking images with a minimum of fuss and
bother. Auto modes have made using most
manual controls unnecessary - especially for
home and holiday taping.
Compared to
years ago when there were dozens of
camcorder makers, now there are just a
handful. With this consolidation has come a
marked improved improvement in overall
quality and reliability.
How to Buy
a Camcorder
You have a
couple of choices - you can go to local
electronics. photo or department store and
pick up and play with the gear - making sure
it looks good and that your fingers will
actually fit.
You can
also buy online if you prefer - most online
dealers are very close in price since they
all get their equipment from the same
distributors.
Personally
I get my online camcorder and related video
gear from B&H
Photo. Yes they are one of
the sponsors and advertisers on this site,
but even if they weren't, I'd still recommend
them. Their prices are competitive and they have been around
forever. I've been buying from them since
1975 and haven't been disappointed or had
any problems.
Here's our
link to camcorders -
Canon,
Hitachi, JVC,
Panasonic,
Sharp,
Samsung, and Sony,
CHECK THE
ABOVE LINKS TO THE BEST NEW CAMCORDERS!!!!
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& Equipment
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Your Camcorder Ready for Vacation?
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