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Camcorder Buying Tips

23 Responses (Add) | Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 5:45am

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There are a LOT of choices out there when it comes to buying a new Camcorder. How many MegaPixels do you need… or do they even matter? Here are some excellent tips sent in by a community member, to help you in choosing your next Camcorder.

  • Megapixels do not increase video quality Everywhere you go, you read about Megapixels. However, this is really just marketing from the manufacturers. While the megapixel count has a big impact on the quality of the still photos that your camcorder takes, it has very little impact on the video quality. What impacts the video quality is the size of the chip inside the camcorder (called the CCD). A CCD is simply the chip that recognizes light. It takes the light in as input and breaks it down into the basic Reds, Blues, and Greens. Naturally you want 3 CCD’s to capture anything nice and pretty. Many people rely on the auto features for still video when in reality you want to be able to white balance your picture, as well as set the focus to your face.
  • Figure out where and when you are going to use your camcorder Some camcorders do better indoors, while others do better outdoors. Some camcorders are more compact… while others are easier to handle. Before you start shopping for a camcorder, write down 5 or 10 different situations you see yourself using your camcorder in.
  • Low light performance matters – a lot! You’ll read people talking a lot about the low light performance of a camcorder. Now, when we talk about low light performance, we’re not just talking about a bar or a dark basement. We’re talking about the inside of your typical house! Low light to you and me is much different than low light to a camcorder. Typical room lighting is low light for a camcorder, so you should pay extra careful attention to the low light performance before you buy.
  • There are features, and then there are features that matter A lot of camcorder makers have put features on their models that might seem to be important and helpful, but in reality they are just gimmicks. While we mentioned megapixels, another one to look out for is an on-camera video light. These never have enough power to really improve your video quality. However, the biggest gimmick is digital zooms. Camcorder makers will advertise 500x, 600x or 700x digital zooms. The problem with a digital zoom is that it highly distorts the picture, and you should never use it. When shopping for a camcorder you should totally ignore the digital zoom.
  • Hybrids still and video is not always a good thing While a lot of people like the convenience factor of being able to combine your digital camera and your camcorder in one package, it’s not the most frugal choice. Unless you’re spending upwards of $1,000, you’re not going to get the same still performance out of a camcorder that you would out of a digital camera priced under $200. The best deal is to buy them separately. You will save money and also get better quality.
  • Play before you buy With a camcorder, it is critical that you’re able to hold it steady to shoot good video. While some of you may be thinking, “hey, I have image stabilization so I can shoot while I’m in an earthquake”… image stabilization’s capabilities are limited on all models. It is really important that you’re able to hold the camcorder still and stable and comfortably. Even when buying online, go into a store and play with the models before you click buy.
  • Buy a warranty, bag and tripod Although you might be a bit wary of salespeople’s techniques to up-sell you to buy more, you should always buy a warranty with your new camcorder. Considering that this is a portable device that you’ll be taking outside and on adventures, the likelihood of it breaking is pretty high. As for a bag, it’s important to protect your camcorder from damage and a dedicated bag is the best solution. You might balk at the idea of lugging around a tripod to events you want to shoot, but it’s the best way to ensure that your video isn’t shaky and that people will want to watch it and not get sick!
  • If it’s too good to be true, it probably is When buying online, remember the old adage “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” If you find a price that is drastically lower than most of the competition, it is very likely that you’ll get a camcorder from a country other than the one you are buying in, a camcorder with it’s accessories missing, or not get your camcorder at all. You also should be careful to make sure you’re buying a NEW product, and not a re manufactured one.
  • All camcorders are not made equal While most of the models on the market will suit your needs, there are huge differences in the different camcorders on the market today. Don’t just buy any old camcorder, research and understand the models before you actually make a decision.
  • Use your camcorder! While this isn’t strictly a buying tip, it’s important nonetheless. Don’t just buy your camcorder, put it in a closet and take it out only for a wedding or graduation. Think of new interesting events and things that you can tape. You may capture some amazing memories.

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23 Comments

wikili

August 14th, 2008
at 7:03am

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Windows Vista Torrent

March 11th, 2008
at 3:12pm

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audiofreeq

March 10th, 2008
at 11:15pm

nice cam chris..and yes i agree with you ,you may have 1 ,but using it,thats another thing,

Godusesamac

March 10th, 2008
at 11:34pm

I just got a new camcorder, this is a good time because prices have dropped with the new models coming out. I bought an open box HD HDD camcorder and saved 500 bucks in the process

badboy2009

March 11th, 2008
at 12:19am

chris gets more hilarious everyday, think next stop is too take over the comedian section here on youtube! And a top10 bloody hell thought you were after top5s lol! still a good solid list though and pretty good info.

Godusesamac

March 11th, 2008
at 12:47am

Yeah it was. I should mention it was a Sony with a 40 GB HDD. It was originally listed at around a thousand dollars and is still on Amazon for over 800.

newyorkfish

March 11th, 2008
at 8:58am

It’s not too late to return it.

Seriously, the HD tapes are better.

ccubsfan94

March 11th, 2008
at 12:58pm

That is true about take your camera along on what seems boring adventures. one time i wnet to my grandpas just thought to take it along and i got some great recoring of 2 bald eagles and about 20-30 deer in one area. on of the deer had a broken leg. you never know what your going to see. i also suggest if you are going to take it on a airplane use like a backpack because to other people a camera bag seems too tempting to steal.

EXel

March 11th, 2008
at 6:33am

About that warranty stuff… Creators design technical stuff, give them warranty (say… 1 years)… Usually it means that this device will brake after about 1.5 – 2 years… Sad… But that’s the truth!

DJ124

March 11th, 2008
at 10:56am

hey Chris i must say fallowing this guide is important for the normal tech users because i know the felling of getting convinced that the besybuy or other tech store gets you to buy the most expensive product and then finding out that its not that good of a camera and feeling stupid. I bought a canon and got convinced that it was a great camera to use for normal user . but it turned out i spent over $800 for a simple camera that had nothing special about but camera and video options. and only a 5.0mega pixels camera were for the some price i could have got a higher mega pixel camera with more options for a normal users. that brings me to something that is also very important is that WAIT!!! a few months for the camera if the price its to high. chances are the price will go down by a lot. then camera i got was $200 cheaper 3 months later. i tried to return it but they said no SO WAIT!!!. if the price doesn’t go down anywhere you go and you want to buy it, make sure you know what it will do for you if its to much for you to handle then go for a downgrade and find something more you.

Walrusgoat

March 11th, 2008
at 11:08am

Good tips. Got me thinking.. DV cameras have become like VCR’s, no one uses them anymore almost everyone has a dvd player. I believe everything will be in HD in the next year or so.

MrBuzz

March 11th, 2008
at 2:04pm

I’ve been looking for a camcorder for some time now; trying out friends’ cameras and browsing the internet and local shops. The only new thing I’ve learned from my weeks of searching is that a good camera isn’t cheap. What I do notice is that the quality of the video from camera to camera never varies much (there are the odd ones that are particularly sharp). The main things that attract me are the memory capacity, the build quality and the speed at which the camera responds to imputs.

livvidd

March 11th, 2008
at 11:34pm

Yeah but the software, Is that model compatible with decent editing programs?

Godusesamac

March 12th, 2008
at 12:04am

It’s compatible with imovie & Mac which was important to me in this case.

Adam Reyher

March 11th, 2008
at 7:48pm

Just a minor correction: the megapixel count does NOT have an impact on the quality of your still pictures. There is only one image sensor in the camcorder and it can only record at a certain number of pixels. With HD camcorders, the image sensor is typically 1.4-2.2 megapixels. However, some camcorders advertise 4-6 megapixel stills. While the output will indeed be 4-6 megapixels, this is only because the original photo was resized, which will cause a stretching or pixelation effect.

While there are still cameras that do awesome photos and decent video, unfortunately there’s really no camcorder that does awesome video and decent stills. My advise is to figure out which is more important to you: video or picture quality. I myself prefer still quality, so I just use the video on my still camera.

- Adam

Shutterbug

March 11th, 2008
at 10:40pm

I have had camcorders and digital cameras from practically day one.
Even after 10 years my JVC mini DV camcorder with (only) one megapixel
still camera works just fine. Of course since then I purchased two more
newer digital cameras as recently as 2 years ago. I recommend at least
7-10 OPTICAL magnification.

Digital cameras are light hungry and you NEED to use a tripod under low
light conditions or you will have a fuzzy unstable picture. I recently shot a
xmas tree close up and had to use the tripod to achieve the right picture.
Lens systems and CCD are very important for a true quality image. One should read camera reviews for a complete shakedown before you buy.
Why? To learn about your intended camera and its functions and the pro and con of your model.

Unless you intend to blow up your pictures greater than 8 X 10 I do not
see the attraction for a camera beyond 6 megapixel. Even if you could blow up your picture to 2 or 3 times that size you can’t print it without
a professional photo shop. Also it will take a lot more space on the storage media and your computer.

Keep it simple and buy what you need for your intended use. Whatever you purchase will be obsolete in 3-5 years. Good luck.

nanciesweb

March 12th, 2008
at 7:07am

Ahahahaaa! Front page.

I guess I shouldn’t talk. I have Dreamweaver 4…

Still.

That said, I’m trying out something called “Nvu”. Seems promising.

nanciesweb

March 12th, 2008
at 7:13am

I really have to disagree with the hybrids comment. I really like my Kodak and it suits my needs just fine.

Of course, I mostly record for YouTube. It’s pretty good in low light and it uses an SD card. And of course the camera takes pictures as well. Great for a parent like me.

ipodish

March 14th, 2008
at 12:14pm

Thanks for going over this chris, my school a while back bought a whole bunch of camcorders for the video editing class,the camcorders had a decent picture quality and so I looked up their specs and found out they were 1 megapixel cameras,. Since I didn’t know then that megapixels didn’t really count, I was like Huh!? Now I finally understand, Thanks Chris! -ipodish-

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