Types Of Camcorders

DIGITAL VIDEO CAMCORDERS

There are four basic types of digital video camcorders. The question is which type is right for you? If you just want to add video to your website you don't have to get a high-end camcorder, but paying a little extra will mean the digicam can also be used to create your own DVDs.

The format can also make a difference in the ease with which you can capture video into your computer for editing and uploading to the Internet.

CAMCORDER MEDIA TYPES

Here are the four types of digital video media used by camcorders today:

• Digital Memory
• Digital Video Tape (MiniDV cassettes)
• DVD or MiniDVD
• Hard Disk Drive

Digital Memory Camcorders. This is the cheapest way to go and may be suitable for web video. The video is recorded on internal flash memory or flash memory cards (Compact Flash, SD, etc. like still digital photos) that usually hold 4 gigabytes or so with cards available up to 32 gigabytes.

Check out camcorders with digital memory

Fairly new on the market are Flip Video cameras and Kodak's Zi8.

For less than $150 these are handy and excellent quality video cameras with a built-in USB plug to transfer video to your computer. The Kodak Zi8 also has a socket for an external microphone, great for shooting interviews with a lapel microphone or two, since it's a stereo input.

Of the two I would recommend the Kodak Zi8. It has image stabilization, editing and sharing software included and has a rechargeable battery and remote control as optional accessories. For $129 at Amazon.com  you can't go wrong.

Digital Video Tape. Mini DV camcorders record on digital cassette tapes called, you guessed it, MiniDV tapes. The tapes record high quality video (200MB/minute) so your camcorder doesn't have to try and compress the video.

The video is normally transferred to a computer via Firewire or, in some cases, USB. This is fine for a Mac but if you are using a PC, make sure you have Firewire capability prior to buying a MiniDV camcorder. If not, you can easily install a Firewire card into a PCI slot inside your computer.

From what I've found, all computer video editing software can recognize a MiniDV camcorder and record video off from the tape. You select the format you want to convert to using the video editing software, which usually does a better job of compression.

But, this technology is really starting to show its age and I would recommend a digital memory or HDD video camera if you are buying a new one.

See examples of MiniDV camcorders  

DVD or MiniDVD. DVD camcorders are NOT computer friendly. They are handy for people who shoot 2 hours of video (30 minutes on MiniDVD) and plug it into their DVD player with no editing.

Here are the steps I had to go through using a clients MiniDVD camcorder to capture their video into a computer - You have to format the DVD, shoot the video, hook up the A/C adaptor, finalize the DVD (which takes about 5 minutes), gin up the editing software, hook up the USB cable to the computer, import the video (which is admittedly faster than DV tape), unhook the USB cable, un-finalize the disk, and reformat it to erase the video.

Another problem is the video is in the DVD version of MPEG2, which is called .VOB and as such is not recognized by the free Windows Movie Maker editing software.

I don't recommend the purchase of a DVD camera.

HDD Camcorder. A camcorder with a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) should not be confused with a High Definition (HD) camcorder. With HDD, the camcorder records to an internal hard drive. These cameras are generally more expensive, and record in MPEG2 (DVD quality) but hard drives range from 60 - 120GB allowing for hours and hours of HD video recording. Lower quality settings allow for even longer video storage.

Hard drive camcorders also use USB to transfer video to your computer, avoiding the possible hang-up with installing a Firewire card. I haven't used one but, if you can afford it, it seems a lot more convenient than messing with cassettes or DVDs.

Check out HDD camcorders  

HD Video. HD, or High-Definition video provides a wider screenshot and higher resolution. However, editing software really taxes your computer's hardware and you need a fairly up-to-date computer with a higher end video card installed in it to easily edit HD video.

WebCams. Webcams don't record to any type of media; if you record a webcam it goes directly to the hard drive of your computer. While webcams can record at 30 fps, the quality really isn't that good, even for publishing to the web. You are better off with a camcorder - while more expensive, the results are much more professional looking.

Next, we'll look at getting your video into your computer.