Digital Video: The Basics

Digital camcorder technology is one product area where the new gear just beats the socks off analog. And though digital camcorders used to be expensive, now they start at about $300--and as the Duo discover, even the entry-level models are pretty good.

Most digital camcorders use tape, but an increasing number record directly onto DVDs, either minidiscs or the full-size sort. There are even a couple of models that record onto tiny hard drives not unlike the ones you'd find in an IPod, or directly onto digital memory cards like the ones in your digital camera.

Further down the food chain, many digital cameras can double as camcorders for quick-clip purposes, and some mobile phones can even capture very basic, very grainy moving images. Or you can take a giant step in the other direction, all the way to the high end: for about $3,200, you can get a digital camcorder that records in high definition.

With all this choice, what's a Duo to do when it's time to review? Steve and Angela opt to start with the mainstream and talk about camcorders that use the classic MiniDV format. MiniDV tape cassettes run for an hour and cost as little as $3.50 each. Like the tape cassettes, the cameras that use this format are comparatively small.

Since this is relatively common technology by now, even at lower price points, the feature sets on these cameras are pretty good. You get a zoom lens that in most cases goes to at least 10X magnification, and you also get some form of image stabilization--particularly useful when you're zoomed all the way in, since even tiny hand or camera movements are magnified in that situation.

Most MiniDV camcorders have both external LCD screens and internal LCD viewfinders. Why both? Different tools for different jobs, as the saying goes. Viewfinders are handy when you want to hold the camera up to your eye to follow action, but they're almost always grainier than the screens. They're often brighter in sunlight--and they suck up less battery power than the screens.

Screens, meanwhile, come in a variety of sizes, and most folks prefer a screen as large as possible. Some, particularly those from Sony, are touch-sensitive, displaying menu items and allowing you to select by tapping the screen. That can be a pain for two reasons, snarks Angela: one, it can be hard to use them in bright sunlight, and two, you get your sunscreen-greasy fingerprints all over 'em.

But there's one big advantage to touch screens, says Steve, at least in some cases. Sony has a spot-metering mode that lets you select the area of the image for which you'd like to set the exposure with just a tap--you tap the screen, and the camera will abide. Want a different exposure? Touch another spot.

It's a wonderful feature that's incredibly simple to use, but you'll never find it unless you stumble upon it in the manual--which brings the Duo to an aspect of camera selection that's harder than usual to test for. Angela emphasizes that every buyer should take into consideration their own personal interaction with the gadgetry. How easy is the camera to use? Is it comfortable in your hand? Can you figure out how to work the various settings? The Duo can make broad suggestions, but for once, Steve and Angela are going to have to let you figure this one out on your own.