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How
to find the right camcorder
part
one
Things that you should look out for (in no particular
order):
-
Firewire-In (If you
plan on editing with the camcorder as well) If your camcorder
has only firewire-out, you can purchase a special piece of hardware
that enables your camcorder to also record via the Firewire.
-
3-Chip imaging (gives
superior colour and overall sharpness compared to the one chip
models)
-
Optical stabilizer I find the digital ones
to be virtually useless; here is just one example why: you want
to perform a pan. On the beginning of the pan, the digital stabilizer
will interpret this move as an unwanted camera-shake and correct
it. As the pan progresses, the computer realizes that this move
is actually wanted and will have to catch up with your pan, making
it look very awkward. The digital stabilizer will also make you
lose resolution of your video. If your camcorder has only a digital
stabilizer, I would recommend you to turn it off whenever you
perform a camera move.
-
Zoom range (most have
1-10 or 1-12 magnification, the new Canon XM1 has 1-20). Do not
be mislead by features such as "digital zoom" 1-48, this one again
is useless as it only digitally magnifies a portion of the image
(meaning you will end up with big blobs on the screen).
-
Audio function Try to
get a camcorder that lets you adjust the audio level manually.
(This is the one major backdraw of the XM1. The higher prized
XL1 does have proper manual control) Also look out for the type
of external mic plug the camcorder has. Standard is Minijack,
the more professional ones have XLR with the option to provide
48V of phantom power.
-
Manual Focus Make sure
that you a) can switch off the auto focus and b) can focus using
a ring on the lens. I have seen models where you are supposed
to pull focus by pressing buttons.
-
Lens Quality (the new
XM1 comes with flouride lenses, which helps the colour rendition
on long focal lengths. On the XL1 you can change the lenses and
both Canon and third parties (such as OpTex) offer them. Some
of the Sony camcorders come with Carl Zeiss lenses.)
Disclaimer:
I am not employed or in any other way paid by Sony
or any other company mentioned on this page. The opinions
on this page are mostly of personal nature and should
be taken as such. Do look around, read books and magazines,
ask friends.
Please
do not mail me with queries about specific
video cameras
I
cannot advise you on which camcorder might
be suitable for your personal requirements.
I hardly every use consumer camcoders and
do not keep track of their developments. Please
refer to the readily available video amateur
magizes, which publish extensive reviews and
tests.
I
work mainly with film cameras, the Sony PD100,
PD150 or professional Beta cameras
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