DIGITAL CAMCODERS

Smaller lighter easier to use easier to edit better picture and better sound these are just some of the reasons why digital camcorders have come to dominate the home movie market in the last few years Recording information digitally whether it is on tape DVD or hard disk means there is no loss of quality after repeated plays It also makes it easy to input into your PC for editing and that means you can create effects previously only available to professional filmmakers Recording formats can be confusing and you will need to be clear about which features you really need but there is a type and price to suit almost everyone. Beginner If all you want to do is record things in the easiest way possible and then play them back a basic digital camcorder with good automatic controls will allow you to point and shoot and achieve good results with the minimum of fuss You can find models that will support these functions for under Rs 12500 These are likely to record on to miniDV tapes have an optical zoom at the lower end of the range x10 to x20 and have a limited number of manual overridesAdvanced At the highend price range some digital camcorders are perfectly practical for budding filmmakers You may need some talent to win an Oscar but the features available on camcorders above Rs 50000 mean your efforts can at least look and sound similar to the professionals At this level you may be looking at models with three CCDs one for each of the primary colors rather than the single CCD most camcorders have and with some sophisticated electronics to overcome difficult lighting situations The zoom feature key on a camcorder The ability to get closer to your subjects can make a huge difference The optical zoom ranges are the most important These move the image closer by internal lens movement Basic camcorders will allow you to zoom in by a factor of 10 Others will let you get 26 times closer Look out for models proclaiming their digital zoom factors Image stabilization Failure to hold a camcorder steady will result in shaky and jerky recordings To keep this to a minimum almost all camcorders have some form of image stabilisation device usually electronic but sometimes optical Poorer electronic ones can cause loss of sharpness or resolution Electronics aside the best way to get a stable picture is to use the camcorder with a tripod.