Shooting In HD Has Never Been Easier

Something many video camera buyers realize once they start to use their gadget is how much more difficult it is to produce good film than good photos. This generally has nothing to do with the model or the user.

Whereas a photo, for all the sophistication in terms of zoom, shutter opening, lighting conditions etc, is an image of a (mostly) static object, a video camera will record movement too. So while all the sophistications of a still picture come into play, a video-taker will have to adjust to movements, his own and his object’s, to recording angles, changing light and other niceties.

Luckily, most of today’s video cameras (or camcorders) are designed to relieve the user from as many complications as possible, and come in a wide variety of models with specific features. A first distinction is between HD and pocket camcorders.

The former offer better image quality and have features such as built-in optical image stabilization and optical as well as digital zoom, essential for shooting high quality video. Optical zooming means that the lens of the camcorder moves like a telescope, while you shoot, while digital zoom acts on the recorded image and tends to make the image grainier.

The Samsung HMX-H400 HD camcorder for example, has a 30x optical zoom and good visibility on its LCD screen, so it works very well for those panoramic pictures of your favourite landscape. At £ 250 it’s not one of the most expensive on the market, even though the quality of sound is not excellent. The Canon Legria HF R38 is another HD camcorder which, for a price in the region of £ 270, offers a 32x optical zoom and very good picture quality.

Independent tests however tell of a rather short battery life (the Samsung HMX does better in this respect) and mention the lack of manual settings which would cater to a more expert type of user. The same applies for the more recent Canon Legria HF M52 model, which however is a step ahead of the others in terms of picture quality, and of price (at about £ 480) too.

To reach the next level, try the Panasonic HC X-900 HD camcorder. It features a 12x optical zoom, dual image stabiliser, a large 9 inch LCD screen and it takes great stills too. One very interesting feature is the electronic viewfinder, something that’s not common even at this level of price (around £ 640).

Picture quality is excellent even in poor lighting conditions and the general reliability is of a high standard, as with most Panasonics. For this model too battery life isn’t a strong suite, barely reaching 75 minutes of recording.

To improve in this particular department you have to go for top-of-the-range models like the Sony HDR-TD 20VE, which offers superb picture quality and a battery life of over 220 minutes of recording at the not inconsiderate price of £ 1100 or thereabouts. If your recording needs are less stringent, and your budget more so, then you can focus on pocket video cameras.

As the name implies, they are generally small and do not feature HD capabilities. For example you can spend £ 122 or less for the Sony Bloggie MHS-TS22. This will get you a hardy device that will shoot decent video, minus optical zoom, image stabilization and stereo audio, and with a decent battery life, around 110 minutes.

For £ 100 you can try the Panasonic HX-DC2: it features a 5x optical zoom and shoots HD, though it enjoys a low battery life at just 50 minutes. While the Sony uses a flash drive for memory, the Panasonic uses memory card, making it more flexible in terms of storage capacity.

Finally, we review a pocket model that differs from others in one significant respect. While its competitors in the pocket market, and some of the HD models too, are indifferent to poor in sound quality, the Olympus LS 20M is a pocket model which does good quality HD film and excellent audio recording.

For around £ 200 you don’t get image stabilization or an optical zoom (it features digital zoom) but if you want your videos to sound good too, then this is the model to go for.

   Mark Jenkins

About the Guest Author:

This post is written by Mark Jenkins and he works at CouponAudit as a writer, where thousands of valid and working online coupons for different stores are available including but not limited to diapers.com coupon code and various other online stores.