Important features Camcorders
A flip-out liquid-crystal-display (LCD) viewer is becoming commonplace on all but the lowest-priced camcorders. You’ll find it useful for reviewing footage you’ve shot and easier to use than the eyepiece viewfinder for certain shooting poses. Some LCD viewers are hard to use in sunlight, a drawback on models that have only a viewer and no eyepiece.
Screens vary from 2 1/2 to 4 inches measured diagonally, with a larger screen offered as a step-up feature on higher-priced models. Since an LCD viewer uses batteries faster than an eyepiece viewfinder does, you don’t have as much recording time when the LCD is in use.
An image stabilizer automatically reduces most of the shaking that occurs from holding the camcorder as you record a scene. Most stabilizers are electronic; a few are optical. Either type can be effective, though mounting the camcorder on a tripod is the surest way to get steady images. If you’re not using a tripod, you can try holding the camcorder with both hands and propping both elbows against your chest.
Full auto switch essentially lets you point and shoot. The camcorder automatically adjusts the color balance, shutter speed, focus, and aperture (also called the “iris” or “f-stop” with camcorders).
Autofocus adjusts for maximum sharpness; manual focus override may be needed for problem situations, such as low light. (With some camcorders, you may have to tap buttons repeatedly to get the focus just right.) With many models, you can also control exposure, shutter speed, and white balance.
The zoom is typically a finger control--press one way to zoom in, the other way to widen the view. The rate at which the zoom changes will depend on how hard you press the switch. Typical optical zoom ratios range from 10:1 to 26:1. The zoom relies on optical lenses, just like a film camera (hence the term “optical zoom”). Many camcorders offer a digital zoom to extend the range to 400:1 or more, but at a lower picture quality.
For tape-based formats, analog or digital, every camcorder displays tape speeds the same way a VCR does. Every model, for example, includes an SP (standard play) speed. Digitals have a slower, LP (long play) speed that adds 50 percent to the recording time. A few 8mm and Hi8 models have an LP speed that doubles the recording time. All VHS-C and S-VHS-C camcorders have an even slower EP (extended play) speed that triples the recording time. With analog camcorders, slower speeds worsen picture quality. Slow speed usually doesn’t reduce picture quality on digital camcorders. But using slow speed means sacrificing some seldom-used editing options and may restrict playback on other camcorders.
Disc-based formats have a variety of modes that trade off recording time for image quality.
Quick review lets you view the last few seconds of a scene without having to press a lot of buttons. For special lighting situations, preset auto-exposure settings can be helpful. A “snow & sand” setting, for example, adjusts shutter speed or aperture to accommodate high reflectivity.
A light provides some illumination for close shots when the image would otherwise be too dark. Backlight compensation increases the exposure slightly when your subject is lit from behind and silhouetted. An infrared-sensitive recording mode (also known as night vision, zero lux, or MagicVu) allows shooting in very dim or dark situations, using infrared emitters. You can use it for nighttime shots, although colors won’t register accurately in this mode.
Audio/video inputs let you record material from another camcorder or from a VCR, useful for copying part of another video onto your own. (A digital camcorder must have such an input jack if you want to record analog material digitally.) Unlike a built-in microphone, an external microphone that is plugged into a microphone jack won’t pick up noises from the camcorder itself, and it typically improves audio performance.
A camcorder with digital still capability lets you take snapshots, which can be downloaded to your computer. The photo quality is generally inferior to that of a still camera.
Features that may aid editing include a built-in title generator, a time-and-date stamp, and a time code, which is a frame reference of exactly where you are on a tape--the hour, minute, second, and frame. A remote control helps when you’re using the camcorder as a playback device or when you’re using a tripod. Programmed recording (a self-timer) starts the camcorder recording at a preset time.
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