Tips & Hints Camcorders |
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| Digital vs. Analog
With all the hype about going digital, you might be wondering whether you should join in the digital video bandwagon. Well, making a decision isn't that difficult if you know the advantages that digital camcorder has over its analog counterparts. DV
Convinced about the advantages of getting a digital camcorder but unsure of which model to choose? Should you get a DV, DVD or Digital 8?
The essential difference between them lies in the different forms of recording media. The most popular digital camcorder is a DV as it is smaller than its counterparts and records on a mini-DV tape that is compact with advanced features. |
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- Choose a brand that you trust or has a proven record of producing excellent camcorders with good CCD, lens, optics and excellent service.
P/S: With more than 60 years of experience in producing optical lenses, Canon DV contains excellent lenses which produce sharp and clear images. - Choose a digital camcorder that meets your needs.
If you just want a basic camcorder to record your special occasion and then show the footage to your friends and family. You should check out our MV 600i
-- suitable for first time users and consumers.
If you are a professional and you need to make high quality movie then our XL1s will not disappoint you. - Choose a digital camcorder within your budget.
The more features the camcorder contains, the more expensive it will be. While it is nice to have a gamut of features, you may not need to use them all. If you have a limited budget, the rule of thumb is "buy what you need."
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| All set to purchase your digital camcorder? Having a good knowledge of the features and functions is necessary to select the DV that best meets your needs.
Image Quality
Quality of the recorded images is determined by factors such as resolution of the CCD, lens, optics and recording media. If you are a serious user or professional who needs excellent colour reproduction then you will need a camcorder with 3 separate CCD.
If not, a single CCD camcorder is sufficient for any consumer. An interesting fact to note: the number of effective pixels in a CCD is only around 470,000 and the rest of them are utilised for functions such as image stabiliser. Therefore it doesn't mean
the more pixels the CCD contains, the better the image quality will be.
Horizontal resolution
To fully appreciate the high quality recording of a digital camcorder, you will need to view the footage on television that is rated for over 500 lines of resolution.
*Horizontal resolution is the maximum number of vertical lines counted horizontally across the screen.
Zoom
There are 2 types of zoom namely; optical zoom and digital zoom.
Most digital camcorders have an optical zoom that ranges from 10x -20x and digital zooms between 300x and 400x. Try to avoid excessive usage of the digital zoom as image quality degrades due to interpolation. To get the best image quality during zooming,
optical zoom should be used.
Image stabiliser
If you don't have a tripod and worry that an unsteady handgrip will blur the video images, "Image Stabiliser" is a must-have. It steadies the video so shakiness that is common among hand-held camcorders is largely eliminated.
Image Stabilization can be achieved either digitally or through the optical stabilising lenses. Digital Image Stabiliser provides an adequate amount of stabilisation for most consumers. However, if you need a more sophisticated image stabiliser, optical
stabilising lenses are needed.
LCD monitor
The LCD monitor can be used as a viewfinder or playback screen which enables you to preview your shots. A LCD screen which swivels around will give you maximum shooting comfort even from difficult angles.
IEEE 1394 Standard
IEEE 1394 is the high-speed serial bus cable needed to transfer images from a DV camcorder to a hard disk (vice versa) without any drop in quality. This widely adopted standard is also known as Firewire or i.Link.
You should ensure that your digital camcorder uses IEEE 1394 instead of a parallel printer cable such as IEEE 1284 for a faster and better image quality transfer.
Editing software
It is often boring to show an unedited footage to your audience. A good software is needed to spice up the footage with some editing, interesting frames or wordings.
Audio
If the quality of sound is important to you, go for a model with hi-fi stereo. The 12 bit sound quality is slightly lower when compared with the 16 bit. However the 12 bit allows you to do recording on separate channels so that the original audio can be
left on the tape while new audio (eg music and narration) can be added without erasing the original sound.
Analog Line-in
Analog Line-in helps you to digitilse analog tapes. If you have some precious analog tapes and you want to digitise them to prevent degradation of image quality then this is a must-have feature. |
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| The precautions for handling digital video tape are not that much different from any tape product (video or audio).
Day to day
The main rules for day-to-day handling are: - Do not touch the tape.
- Always put the cassette in its case.
- Do not subject the tape to shock or impact (dropping it).
- Do not expose the tape to strong magnetic fields.
- Do not leave in a car (because of the heat, cold, vibration).
- Do not use the tape if it has gotten wet or has had anything spilled on it.
- If the cassette is cold, let it warm up for at least 2 hours before using.
- Do not store the cassette in hot, humid or dusty locations.
- Do not leave the cassette in the DV recorder.
- Never disassemble the cassette.
Long term storage
Follow the Day to Day rules plus
- Always store the tape vertically, tape rewound, and the tape in its case.
- If the tape has been stored for a long time, occasionally fast forward and rewind the tape.
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