Pete's guide to home video I - Intro/Choosing a camcorder

Introduction

Last November and December I posted here almost daily about the process I went through to create a video documentary. Since then I've done quite a bit more filming and editing, and I've learned a bunch about the whole process from filming to burning a DVD, and I've decided to post a short series of articles here for other people who are relatively new to video.

Most of the stuff I'll be covering should be pretty much common-sense but in a few places I may make comments that are based on personal opinion - I'll try to mark any such sections. Also, bear in mind that I use a particular camcorder (a Sony DCR-TRV280) and particular editing software (Sony Vegas Movie Studio+DVD Platinum) so what I say will naturally be slanted toward those.

And so, without further ado...

Choosing your camcorder

When choosing a camcorder there are a couple of things to look for in particular. The first is the format used to record video.

Formats

There are several recording formats and media types. Let's take a look at the most common. I've included a few examples of camcorders that use each format, together with prices, but note that the prices are not necessarily typical - for example, the range of MiniDV camcorders available is wide and you can pay as little as about $250 or as much as $3700, or more.

VHS-C

VHS-C uses the same recording format as standard VHS tapes but the tapes are smaller (the 'C' stands for Compact). This is an analog format, so getting the video into your computer for editing may be a problem and there may be a loss of image quality. There are still a couple of VHS-C camcorders available, and they're not expensive; if all you want to do is shoot your film and drop the tape into a standard VHS player (you use an adapter that lets you do that), this may be for you. On the other hand, if you want to be able to edit your footage into something you can give to friends and family on DVD, VHS-C probably isn't a good choice. Bear in mind also that these cameras have essentially been made obsolete by digital camcorders and may not be available for much longer.

Example: JVC GRSXM38US, $230

Hi8

This is another analog tape format. Once common, there aren't many Hi8 camcorders available these days (Sony lists only one Hi8 model at this time). Like VHS-C, Hi8 camcorders may not be around for much longer.

Example: Sony CCD-TRV138, $240

MiniDVD and Hard Disk camcorders

Most camcorders that record onto these media use the MPEG2 format - the same format used on standard DVDs that you buy. MPEG2 compresses the video data pretty heavily, losing image quality in the process (freeze-frame a DVD movie and take a close look at the TV screen to see the effect) which means that when you get the video data into your editing program it's already suffered a drop in quality before you even begin working on it. For this reason many people don't like to use MPEG2 as the recording format.

You can usually record 30 minutes of video on a MiniDVD (although some cameras can push this to 120 minutes at lower image quality). Hard-disk cameras can record several hours of video, but the downside is that when the disk is full you're stuck until you can transfer the data to your computer - as yet I'm not aware of any camcorders with removable hard disks.

Examples: (DVD) Sony DCR-DVD105, $500; (HD) Sony DCR-SR100 30GB, $1000

Digital8 and MiniDV

DV format is slightly compressed so the image quality is better than MPEG2 but the resulting files are pretty huge - you'll burn up a gigabyte in about four minutes. MiniDV and Digital8 both use DV format but Digital8 tapes are physically larger (actually, they're Hi8 tapes - the camera just records the video data digitally instead). One MiniDV or Digital8 tape holds an hour of video. MiniDV is the format of choice for most serious home-video enthusiasts and also for many professionals.

Examples: (Digital8) Sony DCR-TRV280, $280; (MiniDV) Sony DCR-HC46, $500

DVCAM and DVCPRO

These are formats used by expensive, professional cameras. DVCAM is basically an upgraded version of the DV format used on MiniDV and Digital8 tapes.

Example: Sony HDW900 (as used by George Lucas to film Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith), $115,000

Features

The other thing to look for when choosing a camcorder is the range of features on offer. Some features are simply candy, and don't do much for you. However there are features that are a real boon. Let's look at some.

Autofocus

You really can't do without this. However there are times when you may want to switch it off so that the camera doesn't refocus on a background object if your subject moves to one side for a moment. Make sure your camera gives you the option to switch off the autofocus and give you manual control.

Zoom

Another indispensible feature. Beware that there are two kinds of zoom - analog zoom, where the focal length of the camera lens is adjusted, and digital zoom where the effect is simulated electronically. A good analog zoom is what you want - digital zoom works by restricting the number of pixels on the camera's sensor that are used to create the image; at extreme zoom only the few thousand pixels at the centre of the sensor are used, so the image is extremely pixellated and low quality.

FireWire (a.k.a. i.Link or IEEE 1394)

Most cameras have a USB connector for transferring your video data to a computer for editing, but (especially for MiniDV/Digital8 cameras) this isn't the best way; USB has a tendency to get the audio and video signals out of sync with each other. FireWire is far better. Consider this an essential.

Steadyshot

This lets the camera compensate for camera shake when you're filming hand-held without a tripod or other support. If you're like me, 90% or more of your video will be taken hand-held, so this feature is very handy to have.

Backlight

There will be times when you need to shoot a subject against a relatively bright background. In these cases the automatic exposure on the camera will underexpose your main subject so that it comes out looking very dark. The backlight feature lets the camera adjust the exposure according to the brightness of the subject in the centre of the field of view - the background ends up overexposed but your main subject looks better. Not a vital feature, but very useful sometimes.

Low-light shooting

A feature I never thought I'd use, then on the first trip out with the camera I found myself in a small zoo that kept kinkajous and bats in a darkened enclosure - something I couldn't have possibly filmed without Nightshot, because it was simply too dark.

Many cameras are able to shoot in low light because they have very sensitive CCDs. Some augment this with an infra-red light emitter and sensor, making it possible to film in pitch blackness - very useful if you're into wildlife photography and you want to film animals at night without disturbing them.

1-CCD/3-CCD

Most of the lower-end cameras have one CCD sensor, but some new consumer-level cameras are now boasting the 3-CCD setup previously only available in more expensive cameras. In a 3-CCD camera there are sensors for each primary colour - a 1-CCD camera separates the colours using special filters and electronics. 3-CCD cameras are generally regarded as having better image quality. Not an essential feature but something to be aware of when shopping for cameras.

High definition

Not essential, but HD cameras are coming down in price so you might want to consider this.

In the next article...

What to look for in your editing software.