What do I look for in a camcorder

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SJK

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I'm thinking of buying a camcorder. Can anybody recommend a brand or advise on what I should be looking for?
 
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What do you want to use the camcorder for?

Generally, I would be looking for things such as:

(1) Resolution - does the camcorder record standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD) - and if it's an HD camcorder, does it record in 720p (720 horizontal pixels - progressive scan) or 1080p (1080 horizontal pixels - progressive scan) - 1080p is "full HD" and will give you the best picture quality - although this is only really relevant if you have got a "full HD" television or a suitably high resolution screen to play the video back on. Some camcorders may record in 1080i as opposed to 1080p - this is "interlaced" rather than "progressive", so slightly less good in terms of picture quality compared with 1080p - but still good.

(2) Recording media - some camcorders record to memory cards (e.g. SDHC cards) - some record to built-in hard drives - some even record to mini DVD discs. As SDHC memory cards are pretty cheap these days, I'd probably be looking for a camcorder that recorded on those - I wouldn't really be so fussed about it having an internal hard drive personally.

(3) Recording format - as far as I know, AVCHD is probably the best format for recording high-definition video in terms of picture quality and recording time - it uses very efficient compression algorithms to store as much video as possible within a given amount of memory. Other camcorders record in MPEG - which isn't as efficient as AVCHD - so you won't be able to record for as long before your memory card fills up, compared with AVCHD. Then, a lot of digital cameras that have video recording functionality record in a format called "motion JPEG" - where they take a separate JPEG image for each frame of video - which eats memory for breakfast so is really only suitable for very short videos - say 10 minutes or less.

(4) Quality of optics - including the amount of optical zoom - optical zoom is where the lens of the camera moves to zoom in and out - as opposed to "digital zoom" - which is where the camera just uses a smaller proportion of the sensor as you progressively zoom in - with the result that the more you zoom in, the more blurry and pixellated the image will get. So go for the highest range of optical zoom that you can get, and don't be impressed by a huge digital zoom range.

(5) Ability to record in low light. The best camcorders will still record with reasonable quality in low light (e.g. in a room at night lit with standard electric light - or when out at night) - whereas poorer quality camcorder may well give you a fuzzy or noisy picture with very dull colours by comparison.

(6) Quality of the microphone. Ideally you want at least a camcorder with a stereo microphone. If you can get a camcorder with an input for an external microphone then all the better - as the quality of most microphones on consumer camcorders is usually a bit crappy - so if you have the option of plugging in a much higher quality microphone, then this could be a lot better if you are serious about recording video with decent sound.
 
I like Sony camcorders - have a HD one that takes an SD card rather than a tape lol
 
I'd probably buy a Panasonic myself :)
 
I actually have a little JVC camcorder that records on SDHC cards that I picked up from the QVC outlet shop in Shrewsbury for just over 80 quid... it's pretty basic - just records at SD resolution rather than HD - but is perfectly adequate for shooting the occasional video for YouTube...
 
But I'd have bought a Panasonic that records full HD 1080p in AVHCD format onto SDHC memory cards if I had the money ;)
 
Thank you both so much for your replies. I'm taking all that into consideration and looking around, but my problem seems to be battery life. I went to my local AV shop today and they only sell Panasonic. The most suitable camcorder only had a battery life of 40 mins! What on earth do people do? Just give up and charge it up again?
 
Thank you both so much for your replies. I'm taking all that into consideration and looking around, but my problem seems to be battery life. I went to my local AV shop today and they only sell Panasonic. The most suitable camcorder only had a battery life of 40 mins! What on earth do people do? Just give up and charge it up again?

Hmm, some camcorders will work interchangeably with batteries of a higher capacily... e.g. I had a Sony digital camera about 10 or 11 years ago, where the battery that it came with only lasted just over an hour or so... but I was able to buy a couple of replacement batteries that were the same physical size, so fitted into the camera just fine - but had double the capacity - so lasted for 2 and a half hours...

So maybe that is something you could look into? If the camcorder with the 40 minutes battery life will actually work with an alternative battery that lasts any longer?
 
Thanks Ruth, I'll take a look around and see what I can do.
 

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