Camcorders

Camcorders:


Digital video camcorders have made shooting and editing a movie a simple affair for many. A decade back, one had very limited options, not so anymore! You head to buy one and you find the counters are flooded with various models of digital camcorders from different manufacturers, each with an array of features and formats. Now comes the most difficult part: choosing the one that rightly fits your purpose and budget.
The following sections are intended to guide you through the maze of models and help you select one that suits you the most.

Camcorder Type
Of the two types, analog camcorders and digital camcorders, digital camcorders are a rage today. The analog camcorders are too cumbersome, complicated and heavy to handle. Hence these analog models are fast getting replaced. Recording the information digitally on to a tape or DVD or hard disk and repeatedly playing them without any loss in quality are the major plus points of digital camcorders. They produce excellent quality, color and clarity of the video with 500 lines of resolution making the option of shooting videos with digicams irresistible.

Key Features
Let’s have a glance at the key camcorder features. This will help you understand, which of them you would actually serve your purpose.

Screen Size
Bigger the screen size, the more you can see of what you are recording. At the same time it will draw more battery power too. If you intend shooting frequently in bright sunlight, an additional feature the viewfinder will be very helpful and power saving too. There are various models with different panel sizes. You can have a look at the various models in these sizes:
1.8 to 2.4 in,
2.4 to 2.7 in,
2.7 to 3 in,
3 to 3.5 in.

Zoom
There are two distinct zoom capabilities digital and optical zooms and most camcorders have both. Digital zoom enlarges the image i.e. it magnifies the actual pixels to achieve the maximum zoom. The final image is thus grainy in certain sections and lack clear definition. This blurring of picture due to enlargement of pixels is called pixelation. Most camcorders have the option to turn it off. It is not a very quality feature and you can afford to ignore it when purchasing a camcorder. A high digital zoom rating is impressive in figures but the images recorded are virtually useless. Check out the models in the various digital zoom ranges.
6.3 to 200,
200 to 1000,
1000 to 2000.

Optical zooms use physical movement of lens mechanism. The focal length of the lens is changed and the entire image that passes through the lens is captured with optical zoom. Thus it is more preferred. Higher optical zoom rating gives better image quality.