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BUYING A Video CameraThere are many options available for the consumer looking to buy a new video camera and many features to look out for.Format Firstly one must decide a format to use. Analogue video (including Video8, Hi8, VHS, SVHS), Digital Video tape (including miniDV, DVCam, HDV, Digital8, micromv), DVD or Hard Disk. How do I tell which one is best? These days, the quality available on Digital Video Tape will outperform any analogue tapes and the longevity will be substatially more because of the way that it is stored. DVD, Hard Disk and micromv are all poor choices as they compromise quality for ease of use. This leaves miniDV, DVCam, Digital8 and HDV. miniDV, DVCam and HDV can all use the same miniDV tape. Hence, especially over time this will mean that it becomes easier to obtain the tapes required as 8mm video is phased out over time just as Betamax is not so common these days. Resolution and Colour HDV provides excellent resolution and colour in daylight at levels never before seen in the consumer market and at a level that cost $100Ks not so long ago. The trade off is that it does compress on the fly to a larger extent that miniDV. If you can afford it, this is the best consumer level camera available. miniDV and DVCam are both excellent choices if you cannot. DVCam is mainly used for semi professional cameras. If you cannot afford an HDV camera, the next best thing to look for is a 3CCD miniDV or DVCam camera. This will ensure better colours. The larger the lens size the better the resolution possible with the camera. For example a 1/3" CCD will provide much better results than a 1/6" CCD. Always look for a crystal lens as this will ensure better quality images. Sony and Panasonic use crystal lenses. Many other manufacturers do not in order to save money. Optical zoom is the ability of the camera to magnify the image without loss of quality and digital zoom is the ability of the camera to enlarge the image albeit with a loss of quality. Hence, a camera with a higher optical zoom is definitely an advantage if shooting over a distance. Other Many video cameras come with the ability to take digital stills. However, there is almost certainly going to be a compromise here as the still images will not be anywhere near the quality of a digital still camera. Cameras with large viewfinders consume more battery charge. So where possible it is better to shoot with the viewfinder closed. A video camera that is too large may be too bulky to cart around whilst a camera that is to small may not give enough stability if you are using it handheld. Make sure that the camera have some sort of image stabilisation feature. Do you need to take video at night. Nightshot is a way of getting grey or sometimes green images in low light. A better way of shooting at night and obtaining better images is to use a video light. Also, think about purchasing a tripod and extra battery. The tripod will keep your camera still whilst the extra battery will means that you don’t miss that shot because you ran out of battery. |
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