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What
do you really need to shoot video for the Internet -
what do you need to
shoot video for home, professional and business?
What
camcorder to buy - DV or not to DV? One
Chip Versus 3 Chip What
Features do you really need? Audio
is VERY Important What
Accessories and Equipment do you really need in addition to your
camcorder?
Equipment
Review Center - Hardware, Software and Cameras
Camcorder Guide
& Reviews
Camcorder
Glossary of Terms
 What
camcorder to buy - DV
or not to DV?
Is it better to use a new digital video camcorder
or can you resurrect your old analog VHS or 8mm machine? Well, it
depends on how you create your Internet videos and want you want do with
them.
If you want to win contests and make money, you
ought to go with the best. You need a good "prosumer" grade, 3-chip,
digital video camera like a Canon XL1/XL2 or a Sony VX1000/2000; or even
a professional DV video camera system. However, if you just want to make
movies of your family and kids, dump them into your computer for some
minor editing out of the bad spots, then you could easily use the old
VHS or 8mm camcorder you got years ago.
First generation video from a Hi8mm or S-Video
camcorder can look almost as good as DV video. In fact, video from a
professional 3-chip S-Video camcorder will probably look richer and
prettier than video from an inexpensive 1 chip DV camcorder.
The advantage of DV is that the recorded video
looks as good as the original captured video. There is no loss as you go
from generation to generation. This was very important in the days of
linear editing, when the editing process consisted of making copies of
the good parts and then laying them down onto a tape in the order you
preferred.
However, with NLE editing (non-linear editing) once
you have dumped your video into the computer and digitized it, you don't
need to be concerned with losing quality as you edit and make
copies. Unless you do lots of converting from one digital format to
another, you won't notice any quality loss at all as you edit.
This means you CAN use a good analog video camera
as your source camcorder. However, as mentioned earlier, it is preferable to use a S-VHS or Hi8mm camera instead of regular VHS
or 8mm.
Looking
for the right camcorder for yourself, your family or for your business?
Check out our updated Camcorder Review section.
One Chip versus
3 Chip
Most consumer video cameras use a single CCD chip to
capture the video and convert it to electronic signals. Most
professional video cameras use three chips, with each chip configured to
capture a single color and convert that electronically. In general,
three chip cameras create a much prettier looking image, with better
color quality and saturation.
However, I have tested many single chip consumer
camcorders versus many three chip "prosumer" camcorders and
found that most people can not really tell the difference unless it is
pointed out to them. This is even more relevant when viewing video on
the net.
If you are planning to edit and broadcast your
videos over a network or cable system, then indeed you need the best
possible camera and lens you can afford. However, for most prosumer
uses, and for capture for Internet use, a more affordable camcorder is
just fine.
One of the major differences between a
"home" camcorder and a pro video camcorder is the lens. The
glass itself. Professional camcorder lens often cost as much as the
camera itself.
If you just starting out, and need a DV camcorder,
I would recommend an inexpensive DV camcorder from one of the major
manufacturers like Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Hitachi Sharp, etc.. You
should be able to pick one up for a thousand dollars or less.
Want to edit your movie like a pro without having
to go to film school? Check out muvee -
for automatic movie editing - it does all the work for you
What
Features Do I really need?
Zoom - you want a powerful optical zoom, not
digital, not electronic. Most camcorders now offer zoom ratios of 10x to
20x. The more the better. You may never use the 24x zoom, but it is nice
to have. Digital or electronic zoom is meaningless; all
digital/electronic zoom does is enlarge a part of your image. Electronic enlargement just
magnifies the size of your pixels. Once you get past 3 or 4 times,
electronic enlargement makes your videos look like a bunch of dots.
Over the last five years, the automatic controls on
camcorders have become extremely powerful and effective. Except for a
few tricky situations, you can almost always operate your camcorder in
the auto mode.
The manual controls that you really need are just
focus and zoom. Control of white balance, aperture and shutter speed are
also helpful. A backlight can also be useful.
Most consumer camcorders now come with image
stabilization. This is great. Yes, you should always use a tripod, but
for those times when a tripod is not available, image stabilization is
the next best thing. Especially for video that is destined for the
Internet. Shaky cam may look cool on home video or on MTV but on the
Internet it makes it a lot more difficult to compress. Optical image
stabilization is better than electronic or digital. Electronic and
digital stabilization technologies basically extract the middle of your video image,
losing the edges and then expands it to fill up the screen again. This
lowers your overall image quality.
Night vision and infrared are cool. Much improved
over the years, this feature can make it possible to get shots where
there is little or no light at all.
Another great feature is a fold out, swiveling LCD
viewfinder. Even though they do suck up power, and reduce your overall
battery power, swing-out viewfinders make it much easier to compose and
monitor your shots.
If you do have a DV camcorder, make sure it is DV
in and out. This enables you to transfer your digital footage from your
camcorder to your computer. It also enables you to transfer your
finished and edited DV productions from your computer back to your DV
camcorder. Analog video in and out is also nice to have. Analog in
enables you to easily convert your old VHS and 8mm videos to DV. Analog
out enables you to easily transfer your DV footage to your VCR as well
as to play it on your TV set.
What about special effects? Forget them. Most
in-camcorder effects are cheesy and cheap. If you use an in camera
effect during the recording process, you can not get rid of it later
during the editing process. Save your effects for the editing process.
Add them then, If you HAVE to use an in-camera effect, limit yourself to
fade ins and fade outs.
If possible, get a camcorder with threads around
the lens. This enables you to use wide angle and telephoto lens, as well
as filters. I love wide-angle. Not only does it make it easier to shoot
because you don't have to worry as much about exposure and focus, the
shots look really cool. People want to see people; close-ups of faces
and heads. Wide angle lens allow you to get really close, filling up the
frame with smiles, eyes and expressions.
Audio is VERY
Important
Audio is very important. If you are serious about
making videos, whether for broadcast, for the Internet, or for yourself,
you need to seriously think about how your camcorder captures audio.
Most camcorder microphones are not very good and are poorly positioned
on the camcorder. (Consider the small DV camcorders with the mikes on
top of them, pointed up - perfectly positioned to captured the sound of
the camera operator, not the subject!)
Make sure the camcorder you buy has a external mike
input jack. On
home and consumer cameras, this will be a small stereo mini-jack. On
better camcorders, this may be twin RCA jacks, 1/4 inch mike jacks or
even XLR connections.
Your camcorder should also have some kind of shoe
or connector on top of the camcorder to seat the microphone. If your
camcorder has a mike jack, but no shoe or mike holder, there are a bunch
of inexpensive, third party accessory holders you can buy that connect
between the camcorder and your tripod.
Get special use microphones. You will need a good
shotgun mike for getting the sound from a distance, as well as a set of
lavaliere mikes for interviews. I personally prefer wireless microphones
that clip on to your subjects. The receiver unit then mounts on your
camcorder and is connected to the mike-in jack.
Related Articles:
Digital
Video versus Digital8 versus S-VHS
Video
Ready Mac
How
to Get the Best from Your Camcorder - Tips and Tricks
Zoom
Wars - My Zoom Is Bigger Than Your Zoom
Camcorder
Reviews
Tutorials and Guides
from the Manufacturers
Ulead has long been one
of the of the leaders in developing and providing inexpensive video
editing solution for beginners as well as for more experienced prosumers
and professional video producers. This tutorial explains how to shoot
video for editing and web use. http://www.ulead.com/learning/video4/page1.htm
Here is another Ulead
tutorial about Digital Video - the basics of the technology and DV
terminology http://www.ulead.com/learning/video1/page1.htm
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