Thursday, February 23, 2012

What Kind of Camcorder Should I Buy?










Good news video enthusiasts! It's a buyer's market in the consumer camcorder world. Today's models are smaller, lighter and more affordable than ever - yet capture your most precious moments with more quality than ever before. Here are some of the latest types of camcorders available:








Pocket Camcorders: Many of us just want to point and shoot!

  • Flash based
  • Low cost
  • Good quality for the money
  • Convenient and portable
  • Easy transfer to your computer
  • Not a lot of memory
  • Small lenses, file compression, and lack of manual controls means not as high quality as more expensive cameras







HD Consumer Camcorders: A little better video quality and a few more options
  • Internal hard drive based
  • Better HD video quality than pocket camcorder
  • Larger than pocket camera
  • Portable, reasonably priced and easy to use
  • Some include SD card slot for removable media
  • More memory, bigger lenses and sensors
HD Prosumer Camcorders: When your ready for the next step


  • Higher quality components assure higher quality video
  • Many more manual controls
  • Larger
  • More accommodation for good audio recording
  • Many accommodate MiniDV tape in addition to removable flash
Video-Capable Digital SLRs: A camera and camcorder in one!


  • A still camera that shoots professional quality HD video
  • Not as bulky as a video camera
  • Rather expensive


Choosing the right camcorder depends on your ultimate interests in recording. If convenience is your main interest you might look at a simple Flash based camcorder. They are lightweight and portable and are inexpensive, however the storage space tops out much quicker than an an Internal Hard Drive based camera. If massive storage is your concern the Hard Drive based camera offers that. But you might sacrifice size and convenience.
Here are a few more tips to consider:

Check out the LCD screen in daylight:You want to see what your doing.
For longer recording times, buy an extra, higher-capacity battery: Nothing's more frustrating than losing a shot because you ran out of juice.
Try out the camera's controls before you buy: You want to like working with your camera!