Which Digital Video Camera Should You Buy?

As a former instructor in television and video production and still employed in the field, I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked advice on, "Which brand of video camera should I buy", or, "what video editing software should I get?" In this installment, I will try to answer the first question. I will get to the second question in another segment. To get a better idea of how a camera actually works, I recommend reading my article How a Camera Works:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/606541/careers_in_television_and_video_production.html

In any case, what should you buy? Well, I could list a bunch of different camera brands and models, or tell you what my favorite camera is, but by now, you have heard a thousand suggestions for your question. Besides, next year's model will have even more features than the one you buy this year. Here is my advice. This is what I do when spending my hard earned cash for anything, especially if it is electronic. First off, find one to three cameras that you are interested in, and research them. Do not look up the manufacturer's opinion of the model. You know what that will be. Research the web message boards about the camera. Read how one compares to the other by people who actually own them or have used them. Read about their opinions on camera functionality, sturdiness and reliability. Also, do not just ask questions already answered in past posts, it irritates some people. Put in a little effort on your part and search through the archived posts. It is just being considerate of others who are providing the information.

Next, ask yourself what you want the camera for, and what features do you need. Do you want to make money from your investment, or just have fun? Will you need all of the camera's features? Let us start with camera output quality. Many people may argue with me on this, but I will say it anyway. Look, if you want to just capture your kid's birthday party, buy a name brand digital video camera with lots of auto features and go for it. The same goes for those wanting to make videos for the web. What does the quality of the camera matter when you are crunching the video down to 320x200 pixels, or even a whopping 640x480? Using proper lighting techniques, you can use an old VHS camera (752x485) for that. Unless you want to edit in HD with professional results, many digital video cameras will put out at least 1024x768. That should be sufficient for most needs. Even so, you probably want your camera to have an ability to produce a picture that will output to wide screen HDTV. Should your camera have three CCD video chips? Yes, but if you plan to connect your camera via s-video and not firewire for editing or dubbing, then it becomes irrelevant using three CCDs. See the above article for that. Just about any name brand digital video camera will suit most purposes in many instances, unless you absolutely must have one that will further your career, or income. The most you have to worry about is being able to connect your camera to a computer for editing. You will also need a video capture card on your computer that has video inputs. Which inputs depend on what output connections you camera has.

What matters now is connectivity and compatibility. For a video camera, firewire is the most desirable connection because it carries video, audio and other information to your computer at the camera's highest capacity. You would also want your camera to have an s-video output connection to hook up to a video projector, monitor or DVD recorder. By the way, for those of you with older video cameras having composite (RCA) connections, you do not necessarily need a new camera to make videos on a computer, if that is all you want to do. All you need is an inexpensive video capture card for your computer with RCA input connections. When it comes to audio connections, it again depends on the purpose you plan to use your camera. If you want the best audio possible, find a camera with XLR (low impedance) audio connections. These cameras are semi-pro cameras, and more expensive. Some have two-channel stereo, it is like having four audio channels. Some digital video cameras will record audio and video in digital format. If this is what you are looking for, look for standard compatibility (MPEG, WAV, etc.) unless you just have to have state of the art formats. If none of this matters, then simple RCA audio output connections will suffice. Separated stereo audio inputs would be the best option for a camera. This way, you can plug in a microphone or even a CD player to your camera while you are taping. You may want your camera to take still pictures, and most do. Just check to see if the still picture matches in size and compatibility to suit your needs, most probably will.

Well, what about camera features and effects? First off, most cameras have similar features, and they are usually automatic features. Most cameras have backlight, gain, white balance, filters and other similar features. They may just have different names for them. If you really want control over your camera, look for a camera that can shut off the auto features. Most do, but what are you left with when you turn them off? What I mean is if you turn off the auto focus, what does the camera have to manually focus? I have seen cameras with a little thumb wheel to manually focus. If you plan to use your camera more like a professional does, make sure it has a large enough lens and focus ring. A manual iris and macro ability would be desirable too. The most desirable cameras are those with removable and interchangeable lenses. Focal length, optical capacity, and f-stop settings are also considerations. If you don't know what I am talking about, you probably don't need it.

The zoom control of your camera should have pressure control, not one speed. This is important if you want steady zooms that you can control. Also, make sure that the zoom control is not too small or sensitive. If it is, it will be difficult to control. You should be able to apply light pressure while zooming, controlling the speed at will. There should not be a lot of play or this will cause you to uncontrollably speed up or completely stop during a zoom. What I am describing is a semi-pro, or professional camera. This will set you back a few thousand dollars. If you intend on making money from your camera, look for these features. Overall, look for quality cameras. I have seen cameras costing a thousand or two with little itty-bitty connections and knobs that easily break off, and if you use your camera often enough to make money, they usually do. Seek solidly built construction in your camera.

In regards to the special effects and title options they build into cameras, if you want them, get them. Just understand that effects and titles are normally done in post, or editing. What you preferably want to record is a clean and well-lit video image, and that's it. This is how they do it in a professional world anyway. They want the cleanest images possible. If they want an effect, or special look to the video, they will do it in lighting the scene, or post-production editing. The camera is only the eye they see through and capture images. Like I said before, if most of this does not matter to you, then do some research, and get a brand name digital video camera. Most importantly, have fun with it.