Buying and Using a Camcorder or Video Camera

Ready for your close-up? First, take a closer look at camcorder and video camera choices
By Greg Brown

Buying a digital video camera, often interchangeably called a digital camcorder, is easier than ever. Technology has shrunk quality digital camcorders down to palm-size and optics and recording technology, whether mini-DV tapes, DVD disc or an onboard hard drive, is easy to use.

Other than price, the decision factors are fairly easy to master, and a digital camcorder bought today will likely be technologically current for years to come.

Covered in this guide:

1. What to look for in a digital video camera
2. Buying a consumer model camcorder
3. When to consider a 'prosumer' digital camcorder
4. Learning more about digital video and camcorders

Understanding digital camcorder basics

The important differences are video format, the size of the LCD-screen viewfinder, maximum optical zoom and weight of the camera. Look to buy digital rather than outdated analog technology. Get an LCD that's big enough to comfortably view at arm's length, and focus on optical, not digital, zoom.
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Mini-DV is the most commonly sold format now, but recordable mini DVD discs are catching on. Some new cameras come with hard drives, too. Canon, Sony and Panasonic make a selection of affordable models. Look to them and at Samsung, Hitachi and Sanyo for fancier DVD models. More video cameras and camcorders be found at Business.com.

Decide first what your camcorder will do for you

The vast majority of camcorder buyers simply want to shoot home movies they can play back easily on a television. If that's you, then your choices are pretty easy: Buy a consumer model camcorder in either mini-DV or tapeless format and get shooting.
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Mini-DV is a miniaturized videocassette. The tapes are easy to buy at drug stores and the image quality is comparable to what local television crews use. The newest wrinkle has been tapeless versions of the same video camera, which use either recordable mini DVD discs or a hard drive on the camera. See consumer mini DV camcorders at Best Buy or Circuit City and at retailers including Wal-Mart, Sears and Target.

Want more than a standard video camera? Go prosumer

If you expect to shoot video for editing and professional use, a higher-end camera can be had for about twice the money as a consumer model and can accomodate different lenses as well as carry a stronger battery pack and capture high-quality audio.
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Mostly, though, the difference is in having three, rather than one, charged coupling devices, or CCDs. These are what capture the image being recorded. "Prosumer" type cameras will be pricey compared to most but still less than a fully professional rig. Canon, Sony, JVC and Panasonic aim squarely for this market.

Learn more about digital video cameras

A good way to get in slowly is by reading up in the enthusiast press. Camcorder owners tend to be a bit obsessive about small details, and their insights can help you choose your camcorder.
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Read up on the latest in digital camcorder technologies at Digital Video. Compare and contrast new models from manufactures and read editorial picks at CNET. See video camera and camcorder supplies at Business.com.

• Digital zoom is a software trick, not true zoom, and results in lower quality images. Rather than focus the lens physically, bringing distant subjects closer, digital zoom blows up a small part of the existing image, distorting it.
• Go down to the electronics store and ask the salesperson to put the one you are considering in your hand. Are the buttons too small or unclear? Is the LCD as clear and bright as you'd like? Usability is a factor you cannot determine by looking at Web sites.
• It's less crucial, but some camcorders are wireless video cameras. A remote control can be helpful if you expect to be in the shot, but it's a nice-to-have more than a dealbreaker.