EmailCamcorders differ by recording medium
If you plan to watch home movies on your HDTV, you'll probably want a high-definition (HD) camcorder (covered in our companion report). The best HD camcorders record finely detailed, 1,080-line images -- the highest resolution an HDTV will display. Standard-definition (SD) camcorders, on the other hand, record only about 480 lines in an image -- the maximum resolution an analog TV will display.
If you have a standard-definition TV and don't plan to buy a new HD set anytime soon, you can save $100 to $1,000 by sticking with an SD camcorder. If you store or edit your movies on your computer, SD footage eats up less memory and doesn't require such a powerful computer.
Like HD camcorders, SD camcorders can record to different media. Each type has its pros and cons:
Camcorder type | Advantages | Disadvantages |
Mini DV Records to easily available Mini DV tapes (*Est. $2 to $3 each). Each tape can hold 60 minutes of best-quality video | Tapes can be erased and re-recorded Less expensive than other types Footage can be recorded through a VCR to a VHS tape | Footage must be transferred to a computer for editing Few in-camera editing options Requires FireWire port, which has been largely supplanted by USB in PCs |
Mini DVD Records to 3-inch miniature DVD discs (*Est. 50 cents to $3 each). Each disc can hold 20 to 60 minutes of video, depending on quality | Easy navigation -- no tape to fast forward or rewind Write-once or re-recordable discs are available Good in-camera editing features Convenient and easy to use | Most discs need to be "finalized" before they are playable in a DVD player Some older DVD players won't play Mini DVDs Some computers have trouble reading files from Mini DVDs camcorders Images don't always look as nice as those on Mini DV |
Flash memory Records to internal flash memory, Memory Sticks or SD or SDHC cards ($20 for an 8 GB card) (memory capacity varies) | Long recording times possible (about 13 hours with 16 GB memory) Allows for tiny camcorders, as little as 3 ounces | User must download footage to a computer to clear the memory -- or buy new memory cards |
Hard-disk camcorders Record to an internal miniature hard drive (memory capacity varies) | 30 GB models can hold about seven hours of top-quality video; larger capacities available Easy to use In-camera editing features Compact and light | Can be more expensive |
Here's what the experts say to look for when buying a digital camcorder:
- DVD makes movies easy to view and share. If all you want to do is shoot and view, Mini DVD camcorders make it simple: Pop the DVDs out of the camcorder and play them in your DVD player, or share them with friends and family.
- Camcorders that record to a hard drive or to flash memory are smallest. However, some reviews say these can actually be too small to hold comfortably. These eliminate the hassle of tapes, and there are fewer editing problems than with Mini DVDs. The better models deliver video just about as well as Mini DV, although video quality is worse on the cheapest, tiniest flash-memory camcorders.
- Pixels are different for camcorders than for digital cameras. We're used to seeing digital cameras with 6 megapixels (that's 6,000,000 pixels) of resolution, but video needs less resolution than still photos. 690,000 pixels will give you about 500 lines of horizontal resolution. That's about the same resolution as a standard DVD.
- Microphone jacks let you position an external microphone for better sound. Many reviews lament the poor quality of the microphones in digital camcorders; if sound is important to you, look for a model with microphone inputs. Using an accessory microphone also minimizes accidental recording of camera noise.
- A long optical zoom helps you compose your shot. Some models top out at 10x, but some cameras have optical zooms that extend to 70x. Digital zooms can extend things farther, but are of limited value as they tend to pixelate images (e.g. cause them to become blocky and lose detail), sometimes to unusable proportions. Camcorders with long zooms should have some kind of image stabilization, preferably optical, which helps counteract camera shake. Even so, using a tripod is a good idea for long-zoom shots.
- Mini DV is a good value, but it's getting hard to find. Full-featured Mini DV camcorders can cost $100 less than a good hard-disk camcorder. The tapes are inexpensive and readily available. But other formats have largely caught up to the once-dominant Mini DV picture quality, and few new models record to tapes anymore.
You'll generally need a FireWire port on your computer for downloading digital video from your Mini DV camcorder. FireWire ports are standard on most Macs, but PCs have largely phased out FireWire for the more popular USB format. DVD, flash memory and hard drive camcorders that use MPEG-2 compression use a USB 2.0 cable rather than FireWire. Hard drive camcorders also usually have memory card slots, and video can be transferred using removable memory cards. A relatively speedy computer will make the digital-video editing experience more enjoyable; be sure to check system requirements on any digital camcorder you buy.