Camcorder Digital : Digital Camcorder Buyer’s Guide

Executive Summary about : Camcorder Digital  By www.kelkoo.co.uk

Buyers guides providing up-to-date information on the latest products and technologies. Each buyers guide contains comprehensive impartial advice for consumers. Individual guides are thoroughly researched and written by an independent expert. Smaller, lighter, easier to use, easier to edit, better picture and better sound, these are just some of the reasons why digital camcorders have come to dominate the home movie market in the last few years.

Choosing a digital camcorder

There are a wide range of camcorders on the market with prices to match. To work out the best choice for you we have outlined three user types and suggested which type of camcorder might suit them best.

Beginner

If all you want to do is record things in the easiest way possible and then play them back, a basic digital camcorder with good automatic controls will allow you to point and shoot and achieve good results with the minimum of fuss. You can find models that will support these functions for under £250. These are likely to record on to mini-DV tapes, have an optical zoom at the lower end of the range (x10 to x20) and have a limited number of manual overrides. The image stabilization feature on cheaper models can lead to less sharp pictures.

Example :

JVC GZ MG 330 | Canon FS 11 | Sony DCR SR 35

Intermediate

For those who want to go a little further and edit their recordings using software on their PC should go for a model with a Fire wire or equivalent connection. Swapping footage around, adding soundtracks and effects can enhance any basic recording. On models at this level, and costing between £300 and £600, you will find better features like x25 optical zoom, more manual options like manual focus override for shooting in lower light and larger, 4-inch LCD screens for easier shooting and reviewing. You will also find camcorders that will take good resolution still images.

Example :

Panasonic HDC SD9 | JVC GZ MG 730 | JVC GZ MG 465

Advanced

At the high-end price range, some digital camcorders are perfectly practical for budding filmmakers. You may need some talent to win an Oscar, but the features available on camcorders above £1,000 mean your efforts can at least look and sound similar to the professionals. At this level you may be looking at models with three CCDs (charged-coupled device), one for each of the primary colors, rather than the single CCD most camcorders have, and with some sophisticated electronics to overcome difficult lighting situations. Higher priced still are the very latest models which claim to be capable of playing back images on a high-definition set-up.

Example :

Sony HDR SR12  | Canon HV-30 | Canon VIXIA HF10

Article you may be interested in reading : Flip Video Portable Video or Creative Vado Camcorder

Tags: buying a digital camcorder, digital camcorders, digital camera camcorder, mini camcorder digital, mini digital camcorders