Whether you are new to the camcorder business or simply upgrading your present piece of kit, the first question you are likely to be asked is what format you would like. ‘Digital’ might be your naïve response. Analogue is dead, isn’t it? Well, on its last legs at least. If this is as far as your research has gone, read on. Whilst digital video (DV) has nudged analogue recording from its throne, there’s a huge range of digital formats out there. If you want to make any sense of the sales talk you will need to know a little about each one.
Tape still lingers
The first misconception to clear up is that although analogue recording has been shown the door, good old-fashioned tape looks set to linger for a while. One of the most surprising things about digital camcorders is that many of them still use cassettes to record data. Others use DVDs, and a growing number are starting to use solid state memory. Here’s a quick overview of the major formats in use:
Digital 8 – the earliest of digital formats but now under threat from other storage media, these Digital 8 camcorders, exclusive to Sony, record digitally on the same Hi-8 tapes older analogue camcorders use. You can also use a Digital 8 camcorder to play older tapes through a TV.
MiniDV – the camcorder records digitally onto compact cassettes which are easy to store and use. To play on anything other than your TV (which you do by using a link to the camcorder itself) you will need to download the data to your PC and burn it onto a DVD for use in a DVD player.
MicroMV– is the Sony version of MiniDV. It works on the same principles but the cassettes are smaller and, therefore, the camcorders may be too. However, you may need to re-format your recording if you want to edit on a PC.
DVD – these camcorders record directly onto DVDs. These are smaller than DVD movie discs but can play in DVD players. However, DVD camcorders record in one of two formats: DVD-R – which will work in most DVD Players – but can only be recorded on once; or DVD-RAM, which can be used for multiple recordings but which, at present, fewer DVD Players will accommodate.
Memory card – some camcorders record directly onto memory cards such as flash memory, Memory Sticks or Secure Digital cards. Exactly how much data they hold varies a great deal. Memory cards are also expensive compared to other storage media like tapes and disks. Some digital camcorders use tape to store video footage and a memory card to store still images. The major drawback with this form of storage is that the capacities are still pretty small – ranging from 128Mbytes to 1Gbytes.
Microdrive – The JVC Everio camcorder uses this removable high capacity disk which can store up to 4Gbytes of movie footage.
Format to suit
It’s pretty obvious that wandering into a retail outlet and asking for a digital camcorder won’t get you very far. Deciding which digital format suits you best is a case of weighing up the merits of them all. However, some sort of battle line, however feint, can be traced in the market at the moment: Solid state versus ‘moving parts’. That is, cameras that use solid state memory, such as Memory Sticks, versus those digital cameras that use DVD or tape.
Up until recently, one of the main reasons to eschew solid state systems was the cost of memory. Recording digital video is a memory-intensive business, and the amount of memory needed in order to rival recording times of tape or DVD meant splashing out unreasonably large sums of money. However, with the cost of memory plummeting, this is no longer the problem it once was.
So what does solid state have to offer over the moving parts formats?
For starters, they have a higher transfer rate. Some models allow for play backs and digital uploading to editing systems at 20x normal speed. This might not be a major concern to the casual user, but if you are something of a camcorder nut you’ll save yourself a considerable amount of time gazing at the loading bar.
There’s also the old adage of the fewer the moving parts, the less that can go wrong. Solid state technology is certainly free from the wear and tear issues that can come into play with the other formats. It’s also non-volatile: data isn’t lost when the power is turned off. Another obvious advantage to fewer moving parts is the ‘drop’ factor: For example, the Secure Digital card has an operating shock rating of 2,000 Gs (equivalent to a 10-foot drop to the ground). Furthermore, the lack of moving parts also means that solid state systems use less battery power, allowing for smaller and more portable devices.
The clincher, for many, is that solid state camcorders, although relatively recent in the consumer market, have proved themselves over a number of years with the professionals. They can be re-recorded up to 100,000 times, which means that they have a much longer useful life than videotape or even recordable DVDs.
DVD the deal clincher
So, solid state is the future as far as camcorders are concerned? If only it were that simple. You see, we all seem to be getting fond of DVDs – most of us having one in the living room or lodged in our PC. In terms of ease of use and familiarity with the technology they are an easy sell as far as the manufacturers are concerned. Recent design improvements, such as new laser pick-ups and smaller disk drives are leading to leaner, more efficient machines. They certainly look as if they are going to be with us for some time to come: “DVD Camcorder sales are set to take around 30%, by sales value, of the total camcorder market by the middle of this year. We are seeing growth in consumer demand for more choice and better performance in DVD camcorders,” said Roland Fritsch, product marketing manager with Hitachi.
When it comes to choosing a format, it’s important to take into account how you’re going to use your camcorder. If you have a large collection of old analogue Hi8 or 8mm tapes, you might want to take a look at a Digital-8 machine that can also play them, for example. In this way, at least, the bewildering array of formats on the market can be something of a blessing.
Camcorders models
Sony DCR-DVD92E
Price: EUR*749
Contact: www.peats.ie
A crucial part of any optical device is, of course, the lens. Sony’s DVD92E sports a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar, with a 20X optical zoom capability. It has a filter diameter of 30mm: In plain talk this means that your images should be bright and pin-sharp, even when you are zooming in from a significant distance. The camera is also capable of recording directly to DVD discs. Formats supported by the new Sony DVD Handycam are DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW for direct recording and DVD-RW and DVD+RW for rewriting. The 8cm DVD Discs used by the Handycam range can be played back on most consumer DVD players. Start and stop record controls and a secondary Zoom button are conveniently placed on the Wide LCD frame for quick access when viewing the subject on the display or for difficult shooting situations, even when you are holding the camera above your head. The ‘point and shoot’ type will find Sony’s Easy Handycam menu a blessing: It locks out the more advanced features of the menu, giving the user a quick and easy selection of basic settings to choose from. These are displayed on the LCD screen in large, easy to read characters. Overall, the DVD92E manages to strike a nice balance between functionality and ease of use – all packed into a modest 440g.
Sanyo VPC-C1 Xacti Digital Movie
Price: EUR*499
Contact: Power City ???
This is one for those that like things in miniature: it’s compact enough to slip into your shirt pocket. It’s also something of an all-rounder. The XACTI Digital Movie C1 unites the digital camera and digital camcorder in one single device – it can deliver colourful photos and movie clips with true VGA resolution. Individual images can be taken in full 3.2 Megapixel resolution even while recording video. It features a 5.8x optical zoom lens and 3.2 Megapixel resolution. Despite its size, it sports a lens diameter of 24mm and a 110 000 Pixel LCD. As you would expect from a camcorder as tiny as this, it’s a solid state – shipping with a 128Mbyte SD memory card. Still images can be captured as JPEG, DCF, DPOF, Exif Ver2.2. Videoclips are stored as MPEG-4. It’s also capable of recording realistic stereo sound (AAC). You might not have enough recording time to capture your maiden aunts wedding, but it’s ideal for capturing those personal video clips with a view to emailing or adding to your home page.
Panasonic NVGS75B
Price: EUR*799
Contact: Panasonic ???
The NVGS75B from Panasonic is one for the image purists. It’s a 3CCD machine – previously the preserve of the professionals. Essentially, this means that it uses a separate CCD to process each of the three primary components of light, providing exceptionally pure, faithful colour. This is backed up by Panasonic’s ‘Crystal Engine’ system, which processes the signal from each of the three CCDs independently, giving both moving and still pictures outstanding quality. It records onto mini DV, but there’s also an SD slot that caters for 1.7 Megapixel still image recording. In terms of looks, it runs along fairly traditional lines. There’s a good 2.5-inch LCD and a large lens – 37mm in diameter – that incorporates a 10x optical zoom. Connectivity is one of this camcorder’s strongest suits: As well as the SD slot, it features a USB 2.0 port for DV data streaming as well as DV output through IEEE1394.
Hitachi DZ-MV750
Price:???
Contact: www.meritec.ie
Hitachi, inventor of the DVD camcorder, has extended its DVDCam range recently. The DZ-MV750 uses an 800K CCD for image capture, can record in 16:9 format and delivers 16 x optical zoom and 240 x digital zoom in a pretty compact camera unit. It is supplied with a PC software kit and has a high-speed USB2.0 connection so you can easily download and edit video footage. After editing, the footage can be transferred back to the camcorder and burned to a DVD-R disk for playback on most DVD players. It’s certainly a step forward in DVD camcorder design: It features a new laser pick-up, a DVD disk drive that is 40% smaller with bare DVD disk load (i.e. without the need for a cartridge) and a new more efficient image processing chipset, All this makes for better image quality and lower power consumption – you’ll see a 20% longer battery life using the optional battery (DZ-BP14). A new ‘ready-when-you-are’ record start time of only seven seconds means that you won’t have to wait long for their camera to start up before filming.
Canon MV850i
Price:???
Contact: Canon 01 205 2400
The MV850i is one of Canon’s new releases, sporting a 22x optical zoom, Digic DV and ‘Easy’ mode, giving it point-and-shoot simplicity along with the quality reproduction you would expect at this end of the market. It also features 16:9 widescreen mode, image stabilisation and digital still capability. At just 5cm wide, the compact body fits snugly in the palm of a hand. Despite its small size, the MV850i features a generous 2.4-inch colour LCD screen. The camcorder’s true digital still functionality begins with a mechanical shutter, for blur-free photos worthy of a spot in your photo album. The MV850i connects to any PictBridge compatible photo printer to create photo prints without the need to first download to PC. JPEGs and up to 60 minutes (depending on the type of footage and memory card capacity) of Motion JPEG are stored direct on MMC or SD memory cards. Up to 1Gbyte of video clips can also be recorded.
JVC GZ-MC500
Price: EUR*1599
Contact: JVC ???
The new GZ-MC500 is the newest member of the JVC Everio family – the only camcorders currently available that record onto a 4Gbyte removable HDD. Like the single-CCD Everio camcorders launched last autumn, the GZ-MC500 records 60 minutes of DVD-quality video or thousands of photo-quality stills to a Microdrive removable hard disk. This latest machine combines these benefits with 3-CCD/5-megapixel performance. The GZ-MC500 also features a high-resolution 10x optical zoom (8x for stills) lens and shoots native 4 x 3 or 16 x 9 video. The hard disk is protected from shocks and vibrations by a floating suspension system that effectively dampens vibrations through shock absorbers that engage when the disk is writing/reading (and therefore most vulnerable), and disengage to allow disk ejection/loading. The GZ-MC500 is slightly larger than the previous two Everio models. One advantage is that the ‘hands on’ type can easily operate the manual controls. Key among these is a manual focus ring on the lens barrel for easy complete control. In the video camera mode the GZ-MC500 shoots up to 60 minutes of MPEG-2 video clips. The digital still camera mode shoots JPEG digital stills at up to 2560 x 1920 pixels.
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