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Camcorder Selection Considerations

By: Buster Carnelli


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If you are choosing a new camcorder, one of the first choices to make is the type of storage medium that will record your recordings. Selecting a storage media first will greatly reduce the total number of camcorders you need to consider, this will make later feature-based decisions easier. Let's review the different types of recording medium out there as well the types of user/usage each media is best suited for.

== Tape Camcorders ==

While it's not the newest technology, tape results in the highest grade recordings for camcorders. When using tape as a storage media, the image goes through the least amount of compression so your recordings preserve the highest possible image quality. In addition to providing sharpest images, tape-based camcorders also tend to be cheaper than camcorders that use other storage mediums.

On the negative side, tapes are constrained in how much can be recorded on them to between 60 - 90 minutes. However the tapes themselves are relatively inexpensive to get, so carrying backups is usually not much of a problem. An additional consideration with tape-based camcorders is that to get your films onto a format you can share with others (a DVD for example) requires that you upload your movie to a computer first. The uploading process takes place in real time. So if you are going to upload a 90-minute recording to your computer, it will actually take 90 minutes. You also can't perform any sort of editing (other than backing over the tape and recording over it again); any editing that you are going to perform needs to occur on your computer.

Tape-based camcorders are mostly intended for two sorts of users: the person on a budget, and people who want higher quality recordings.

== Hard-Drive Camcorders ==

Camcorders that use hard disk drives (HDDs) tend to supply the longest possible recording times. With typical amounts of compression, you can usually get up to 10 hours of recording time on an HDD camcorder. With camcorder using a hard disk, you never need to buy additional tapes. Depending on the specific model, you can edit your video footage directly on your camcorder. And when it is time to transfer your movies to your computer, the upload rate will be substantially higher than when transferring movies from a tape-based camcorder.

The primary knock against with camcorders with HDDs is that the movies are usually very compressed and this results in poorer recording quality. HDDs themselves are also relatively high on power consumption and can be more easily destroyed from environmental extremes or drops (as can any camcorder itself). But if you destroy a tape-based camcorder, while the camera may be dead, you still have the tape. In the case of an HDD-based camcorder, if it gets damaged, you are unlikely to get your existing movie off the camcorder.

HDD camcorders are very versatile and they are primarily intended for the home user.

== DVD camcorders ==

Camcorders that record directly to a DVD as their recording media are a effective alternative for people who desire a format that is universally playable and for those without a computer. There's nothing easier than recording a movie on your camcorder and placing the result right into the DVD player.

The main problem with DVD camcorders is the recording quality and length of recording. The length of recording available depends on the type of compression employed, but for the highest recording quality options, you usually only get 20 - 30 minutes per DVD. If you reduce the quality of the compression you can get increased recording times, but then your image quality is decreased.

DVD camcorders are an excellent selection for folks who have no computer since you never need to transfer the video from of the camera; it comes off instantly on the DVD. If you have a computer, and it's a model that you don't think can handle the increased demands of video transfer and editing, a DVD camcorder may also be a good option for you.

== Flash Camcorders ==

As improvements continue to be made in the flash memory field, flash-based camcorders are becoming more prevalent. Solid-state flash takes up very little space and is comparatively low-power, so camcorders with flash memory as a recording media are usually smaller and lighter than other camcorder models. Flash based camcorders are also usually more indestructible and are able to soak up abuse such as drops. As with other non-DVD models, flash-based camcorders need to have their recordings downloaded to a computer so that the recording can be put onto a DVD, but the download is typically very fast for most models.

As with other non-tape based camcorders, there may be trade-offs around image quality and compression. Also, depending on the size of the flash memory obtainable, there may issues around the amount of the recording time available.

If you are searching for the lightest and smallest camcorder available, a flash-based camcorder is probably your best bet.

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Buster is a long-time gadget freak who loves camcorders, look for his camcorder reviews at camcorder-rankings.com.



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