How to buy a Digital Camcorder

Digital camcorders make shooting home videos and editing them on your home computer as easy as 123. You can create movies and put them onto DVD, or post them on the Internet. Whether you want to record shots of your new baby coming into the world, or if you’re dreaming of becoming a filmmaker, this guide will help you to make the right choice.

Budget
Just as you would with any other purchase, you will need to determine how much money you are willing to spend. A low end digital camera can cost you about $400 & a super high end one will run at about $3000, so you can see why a decision as to the budget is best made before the trip to the store. Be sure to compare prices and features as you go along, never make an impulse buy or you will likely regret it in the end.

Wide Angle Shooting
Wide angle shooting is a feature that is often overlooked when deciding to purchase a digital camera. Wide angle shooting determines how far from your subject you will need to be in order to capture a clear image. It will also determine whether or not you will be able to shoot video in close quarters. Try shooting video in a tour bus or in a small room, often there is not enough room to back up & therefore you never get the whole shot.

Low Light Performance Matters
Low light performance doesn’t just mean how well the camcorder will perform in the late hours of the afternoon or in a dimly lit basement, it also affects shooting inside the house in the middle of the afternoon with normal interior lighting. In most cases low light is anything that’s not outside on a sunny day. If you are buying from a retail store, ask them to let you try it out in a low light corner of the store or a back room, this will give you a better idea of how it will perform out of the florescent lights of the showroom.

Avoid Hybrid Cameras
Although this may sound like a good way to save money, the old two for the price of one deal, it’s truly not. Taking a still with a digital camcorder is inferior to almost all digital cameras, even the cheapest ones on the market. If you want to take digital stills, then you are better of getting a digital camera. Focus on the core features of the camcorder when going to look, don’t be swayed by features that will cause you grief in the long run. If you’re dead set on getting a camera with both features, you are better off getting a still camera with video features, than you will be the other way around.

Other Features
The features and attributes to consider when purchasing a camcorder include:

• Firewire/IEEE 1394 support
• Lens Quality
• LCD Size
• Optical Stabilization System
• Digital Still Image Capability