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All camcorder are designed to record video, but there’s amazing variety of models, all the terminology you need to know and help you choose the right model for your need. Most camcorders can shoot video that’s compatible with the PAL TV format. This has resolution of 720×576 pixels and consists of 50 interlaced frames per second. Interlacing is when each whole frame is recorded and stored as two fields, each with only half the pictures, so in fact only 25 full frames are captures per second, this standard definition video will play on any TV with an appropriate video input.
High definition (HD) TVs are becoming the norm, and if you haven’t got one yet, chances are that your next TV will be HD, HD camcorders have been available for a while now, but they’re still relatively expensive compared with standard definition models. Resolutions and frame rates vary, but 1,929×1,080 pixel is a common standard and gives you around five times the resolution of standard definition camcorder’s image.
It’s worth noting that a higher resolution doesn’t necessarily mean higher quality video, especially where colour accuracy and noise levels are concerned. However, you’ll certainly appreciate the extra pixels when watching your recording on a large HD TV, which will probably be the case when you’re reviewing your recording in years to come. The sensor detects the light coming through the lens, which the camcorder processes into video. Physical size not the number of megapixels is the most important specification for a camcorder’s sensor. A large sensor can capture more light and generate an image with greater detail and colour accuracy, most camcorder use a single CCD or CMOS sensor, which has an RGN filter to determine colour, some high-end camcorders have a prism that split the incoming light so that if falls on three separate sensor’s, one each for red, green and blue, these three CCD camcorder generally have superior colour accuracy and perform better in low light then single-sensor models.
An HD camcorder with a big sensor is undoubtedly a good thing, but storage formats can be a matter of personal taste, until recently, most camcorder stored video on MiniDV tapes, but manufactures have moved to memory card, usually SDHC, some of the very latest models support the newest SDXC standard, which caters for capacities beyond SDHC’s maximum of 32GB.
The ever increasing capacity of memory cards makes them ideal for use in compact camcorders, after recording video to a memory card, you can simply slot it into a PC’s memory card reader, extract the files, edit the footage or burn it straight to DVD for long term archiving, most SD card have a class rating table, the number represent the minimum amount of data it can transfer per second, so a class 6 card can transfer a minimum of 6MB per second, the faster the card, the quicker you can transfer video to you PC, however, the rating is also important when recording video, as some camcorders have top-quality recording modes that quire 24 MB/s, this mean you’ll want a class 4 card of faster, while class 2 card may prove too slow.
The amount of video you can store on a given memory card will vary depending on the codec used and the quality level you’ve selected. So it’s worth buying on this size to make sure you can continue shooting until the battery runs out. HD video is stored using the H.264 based AVC or AVCHD standard, which is highly compressed, most video editing software is now reasonably adept at handling AVCHD footage, but you’ll still need a fairly powerful PC to edit it, if you plan to shoot a lot of video or you don’t want the hassle of removable media, a camcorder with a hard disk is ideal, just make sure that you check the manufacturer’s web site to see If the models we’ve reviewed are available with a hard disk.
All the model have USB port, if you simply want to playback video you’ve just shot, it can be easier to hook up your camcorder to a TV using its video and audio output, all camcorder have AV outputs, which combine composite video and phono stereo and can be connected to the red, white and yellow input on most TV’s, some camcorder also have mini HDMI output for connecting to HD TVs. If you want high-quality sound, buy an external microphone, but make sure your chosen camcorder has a mic input, alternatively, you can use a mic that’s compatible with your camcorder’s accessory shoe, and both Sony and canon make these.
There’s nothing more frustrating than running out of power at a crucial moment, we’ve tested all the supplied batteries by leaving the camcorder filming and then timed how long they take to recharge, however, in real use, when you’re using the zoom and autofocus, you can expect to get about two-third of this figure. A wide range of spare batteries, both official and third party are available for most of the models.