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Buying Guide - Digital Camcorders
How they work
In many ways a digital camcorder is very similar to a digital still camera. In fact the two are interchangeable to a certain degree, with most digital still cameras able to shoot video, and the majority of digital camcorders able to shoot photos. The same underlying technology drives both devices. A lens focuses an image onto a digital sensor, which then captures said image and writes it to a digital storage medium. In most cases the digital sensor is a CCD, but CMOS sensors are also employed. There's no real advantage or disadvantage to each sensor type, although manufacturers tend to favour one or the other.
Early digital camcorders used cassettes for storage, but unlike older analogue video cameras they recorded digital data rather than raw video. These days digital camcorders write to many different kinds of digital media including DVD discs, hard disks and memory cards. Recording your movies digitally also makes it far easier to edit and show your handy-work off once you've shot it. There's no need for the expensive and complex video capture equipment that was necessary with analogue video cameras, since the digital data can be copied directly to a computer without conversion.
Features
There are a lot of features to consider with a digital camcorder, but the best place to start is resolution. A Full HD digital camcorder will clearly command a premium, but they're not as expensive as you might think. Standard definition digital camcorders are still available, and are also comparatively cheap, but you'll be losing out on the image quality. Another important factor is the lens, with many manufacturers partnering themselves with experts in the field to reap the benefits.
Most Panasonic camcorders sport Leica lenses, while Sony models often come equipped with Carl Zeiss lenses, and of course Canon camcorders benefit from the company's own legendary lens technology. The focal length is another feature worth considering, with many camcorders boasting incredibly long zoom ranges. However, it's always worth remembering that it's only optical zoom that matters, digital zoom numbers should always be ignored. Also, the longer the focal length, the more important image stabilisation is. If you want a steady picture at 35x zoom, you'll need optical image stabilisation. Then there's 3D to consider. Coinciding with the latest trend of 3DTVs, 3D camcorders are hitting the market, but expect to pay a high price for that 3D functionality.