Six tips to help you choose the right digital camcorder

In case you’ve decided to capture life around with a brand new camcorder it’s two thumbs up from our side. We know you might have a very impressive smartphone or even tablet that can record good quality videos, but nowadays you can buy a good quality high-definition camcorder with numerous more functionalities that give you more at a cheaper price. If you’re thinking about the things to consider before buying one what we have to say ahead might help you considerably.

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Why you need one?

It is important to contemplate on the reason you want to buy a camcorder and the kind of videos you’re going to record using it. In case you’re buying one to just record your best friend’s wedding or your brother’s birthday bash you can content with a low to medium priced pocket-size camcorder that gives you good quality videos/pictures at an affordable price. In case you’re running a business and would be posting videos on YouTube or Vimeo to your customers or in case you’ll be capturing outdoor events you need a more advanced version that gives you more features as well as control over your video.

Resolution

Resolution is not the only thing that determines the quality of your video but it does play a crucial role in churning out good quality videos. You can find a number of handheld camcorders these days capable of recording at a resolution of 1080p at affordable price. Don’t forget to check the frame per second rate, most camcorders offer 30 fps.

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Formats Supported

The formats supported by your camcorder play a vital role in deciding whether or not you can share videos across different platforms. HDD (Hard Disk Drive) camcorders can record videos directly to hard disk drive, though you can often not extend the size hard drive, which to certain extent limits the time for which you can use your camcorder. Most of the compact camcorders though are based on Flash memory that can help you store data upwards of 32 GB. In case you’ll be uploading videos over internet ensure your camcorder supports MPEG-4 format as this is the most supported and compatible format over the internet. AVCHD is another format that allows you to shot videos onto DVDs, it is the same format used by Blu-Ray discs.

Sensors

You may have seen people buying high-resolution cameras that churn out images much lower in quality than your iPhone. The reason is the quality of sensors. If your sensors are not good enough you may face issues in tougher lighting conditions. Camcorder sensors come in two types i.e. CCD (charge coupled device) and CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor). CMOS is generally produces less noise though there is no clear parameter that says one is better than the other. The latest improvement in CMOS technology is backside illuminated sensors that give better image quality even in gloomy conditions.

User Interface and manual controls

In case your camcorder boards a touchscreen it is important that it is intuitive and you should easily get around it without much confusion. In case you’re a beginner ensure it has good number of modes as well as good quality automatic mode that lets you turn your camcorder on and do its job successfully. The same goes with the manual controls on your camcorder.

HDMI Port

Don’t forget to check if your camcorder is compatible with and supports HDMI port as you surely would like to plugin to your big screen and ponder over the moments you recorded with your friends and family.

We hope the suggestions above will help you make a better choice for a camcorder. It is important to understand what you exactly expect from your camcorder and then go for the best choice available.

 

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