Bruce Walls writes about using video on your website to increase traffic. You can read this article and more at WebsiteVideoGuide
16Dec/090
Choosing The Right Camcorder For Making Web Videos
If you intend to start shooting video to use on your website and for submitting to video sharing sites for more exposure and to drive traffic to your site then make sure to consider the following points and spend your money wisely.
It is all too easy to overspend and pay for features that you do not need. Think of all the features that your mobile phone has and you never use so don't make the same mistake with your camcorder.
The camcorder is the center piece and mainstay of your video production and if the camcorder you choose doesn't have the needed features, it will be difficult or even inpossible, to produce a quality video.
Having a camcorder with the following features can be the difference between a video that will look professionally produced, or one that is obviously home made.
Here is a list of features to help you select the right camcorder.
MiniDV: The best and most flexible format. Consider HDD but give DVD camcorders a miss, if you do buy one then you will soon realize its limitations.
External Microphone Terminal: Required so you can plug in an external microphone. A must have. Check for the external mic terminal first, if it's not there, choose another camcorder.
FireWire Terminal. Might be listed as a DV terminal or a IEEE-1394 connection. A must have so you can send and receive digital video between camcorder and computer.
Remote Control: Needed so you can operate the camera while recording yourself. Allows you to start the record, zoom, pause, etc. Extremely useful.
Headphone Terminal: Required so you can use headphones to check the audio being recorded. Another must have.
1/4" or larger CCD: Avoid anything smaller. The larger the CCD the higher the resolution of the video.
10X Optical Zoom: Do not settle for less and do not be seduced by digital zoom which is pretty worthless for our needs.
Manual White Balance: Required to balance colors under all lighting conditions.
Image Stabilization: Steadies the image as you shoot. It doesn't compensate for bad camerawork, but it can help smooth out a shot when you can't use a tripod.
Tripod Socket: You would be hard put not to find this but worth mentioning.
Top or Side Loading Tape: Inconvenient to have a bottom loading tape when using a tripod.
Analog Video In/Out: Convert and record analog video to miniDV format or miniDV format to analog. Can connect to a VCR or 8mm camcorder. Most useful.
Manual Focus And Exposure Controls: Having the ability to turn off automatic control leads to better production as you become more experienced.
S-Video In/Out: Needed so you can record input from computer screens. Most useful.
Size Does Matter: A camcorder that is too small can be difficult to operate, will also have a smaller LCD. Look for a medium sized camcorder. When out and about take your digital camera for unexpected shots.
Finally: Stick with the major name brands, Canon, Sony etc. Avoid the temptation to buy a used camcoder from eBay. No need to spend more than the minimum if you can buy a major brand with all the above mentioned features, unless you are planning on moving up a level in your production then go for a 'pro' quality camcorder. My Canon MVX350i has all these features and cost me less than $500.
Research online and narrow down your list noting the prices. Then visit a store and have a 'hands on' before making your final choice. Check on the stores best price and if they are much more expensive then order online and just be patient until it arrives.
11Dec/090
Choosing A Camcorder
It can be quite bewildering when choosing a camcorder, especially with so many available in the different formats combined with the array of different model numbers and opinions from different sources. If your prime consideration is to produce short video clips for publishing on your web site then there is no need to go overboard and buy the most expensive model. A lower priced model offering the desirable features mention towards the end of this article will be perfectly adequate.
Here's a quick overview of each of the main digital camcorder formats that you should consider for producing videos for your website. There are other formats not mentioned here but our advice is to choose from one of the following three formats.
Mini-DV
Launched by Sony in 1995, DV (or Mini-DV) is the most popular consumer digital video format. DV camcorders provide what is arguably the best quality of all of the home video formats, with all models possessing the capability to transfer video signals out to another device (such as a Windows or Apple Mac computer) via FireWire, also known as i.Link. An increasing number of DV camcorders also make it possible to copy edited recordings back to the DV tape in the camcorder using what is known as DV-in. This format offers the most choice and is the standard by which all other formats are judged.
DVD
Hitachi first launched camcorders that record to 8cm DVD disks back in 2001, and several other major manufacturers soon followed suit. DVD camcorders use MPEG-2 compression prior to writing the signals to disk. One of the major problems of DVD camcorders has been the compatibility issue between DVD camcorders and home DVD players, though these are quickly being resolved. If you're planning to import your DVD footage into a computer for editing, you should note that editing DVD (MPEG2) compressed files is much more difficult than it is when working with a format like DV or Digital-8. Editing applications (as bundled with camcorders) aren't that good and it is advisable to purchase third party editing suites. However, the format is now very popular, despite the difficulties with editing.
HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
JVC is one company that is forging ahead with its drive to make Hard Disk recording camcorders more popular and push tape and disk based formats aside altogether. The Everio G camcorder range is a good example of camcorders which uses tiny internal hard disk drives very similar to the larger HDs used in all computers. The company's GZ-MG50 model, just one of many, enables recording of up to 7 hours at best quality. Apple's iPod MP3 players use very similar technology and provide a similar level of interactivity with the files saved onto them. HDD camcorders save files which can then be deleted, moved and transferred just like those on your computer or iPod. They also much more flexible in your ability to access different clips on the hard drive before editing takes place. All the major manufacturers make models of various specifications to suit every pocket. One major drawback is the fact that once the hard disk is full you need to download to a computer or stop shooting.
Which ever format you choose, and at this site we are using miniDV, bear in mind the following four desirable requirements for producing good quality videos for your website.
Firewire compatible
External microphone jack for connecting an external microphone for enhanced audio quality.
Remote control, essential if shooting a video on your own.
Quality lens.
As the mainstream consumer market favors ease of use, portability, and price, consumer camcorders emphasize these features more than raw technical performance. For example, good low light capabilities require large capturing chips, which affects price and size. Thus, consumer camcorders are often unable to shoot useful footage in dim light. Manual controls need space, either in menus or as buttons and make the use more complicated, which goes against the requirement of ease of use. Consumer units lack many manual settings, often excluding video exposure, gain control, or sound level management. For the beginner, entry level camcorders offer basic recording and playback capability.
For the more advanced user, high end units offer improved optical and video performance through multi-CCD components and name brand optics, manual control of camera exposure, and more, but even consumer camcorders which are sold for $1000 are not well suited for recording in dim light. When dimly lit areas are brightened in camera or in post production, considerable noise distracts the viewer. We recommend setting up a basic home studio with lights to make best use of your camcorders abilities and to produce good quality videos.
Ten years ago, consumer video editing was a difficult task requiring a minimum of two recorders. Now, however, a standard PC of even modest power can perform digital video editing with low cost editing software. Many consumer camcorders bundle a light (feature limited) version of such software, as do some computers, and more advanced software is highly recommended and is widely available at a variety of price points.
Bruce Walls writes about using video on your website to increase traffic. You can read this article and more at WebsiteVideoGuide
29Nov/090
Choosing A DVD or Video Camcorder
Mini dvd camcorders use a tiny tape while mini dvd camcorders use a small dvd disc. As far as what camcorder to choose. It all comes down to what you want to do with the final video. If you're looking for a camera to make video productions that you will edit on a computer, go with a mini dvd camcorder. Going with this option means the use of video editing software and can become a time consuming process: Capture video from the mini dvd tape onto your computer (no quality loss), edit that captured video using free or low cost editing software, distribute your edited video out to a dvd using your dvd burner.
If you're looking for an all-in-one camera you can take on, say, a cruise and instantly make a dvd without any editing for all to view in any dvd player, go for the dvd camcorder. There are two forms of consumer cameras. dvd Camcorders, that is great for people who don't want to make changes. Shoot, take the dvd out and then put it in a dvd player. The advantage is pretty straightforward. You can just edit without having to capture (depending on the editing system + hardware.)
I want to make sure we're not talking about capturing on, say, a still camera as an avi.I'm talking about the $500+ systems that attach to the back of cameras like the XL-1s from canon.
It stores footage in MPEG-2 format. In MPEG-2 format, not every frame has all the information. That's how you can store hours of footage on a dvd . MiniDV Camcorders (which uses fire wire, and you'd have to get a card for your computer that uses fire wire), permit you to capture the data off the tape in the camera. The footage is stored in "DV format', where every frame has all the data. I'd pick MiniDV (if you want to be able to easily edit it). You'll need a fire wire card. The tape stores the 0s and 1s (which is data). Fire wire permits you to slurp the data from the tape and edit it on the computer.
Not a "camcorder", but a simple 8mm movie camera made for the typical point-and-shoot amateur photographer. Eastman Kodak made several million Brownie 8mm movie cameras in the 1950's and early 1960's, both with single lens and multiple lenses. The crank on the side winds up a spring motor, and then you can shoot about 20 seconds of film at a time. I'm afraid these cameras have no historical significance at all, they remain common as dust today, they are virtually unusable, and so they rarely sell for much more than $20.
After you install the new drivers from your camcorder manufacturer, try to switch the USB port, and then check the USB port version, if it is the same with the camera. You can find this in the camera's documentation. Connect the camera by USB (it must be power off), and after that press the "power on" button, wait a little and go to My Computer, there must be a new driver, go on it and copy the files.
For best quality video, you need to transfer MiniDV or Digital8 video from your camcorder to your computer with IEEE 1394, commonly called FireWire or I. Link. USB will not work well with most camcorders to transfer video as they output USB 1 not "High Speed" USB2. USB is normally used for transferring still images and web cam features. Most editing programs will not transfer with USB; if they do it will not be the best possible video quality.
There are some dvd burners out there that do have a direct connection to the recorder available. The link is one such interface - it's a Sony spec I believe. Generally, when you download video to a computer, the computer has to store the images digitally on a memory system at least temporarily because the ram is limited and video eats tons of memory.
Once it's on your hard disk, there are numerous programs available like Avid Pro that will allow you to edit and manipulate the video like a professional. You can add titles, fades, intersect clips, add sound tracks you name it. Once you're done editing, then you can select an option to permanently record it to a dvd if you like. You can also simply record it without editing of course.
Once the video is stored on the dvd , it's basically permanent, unless you obtain dvd +RW discs, in which case you can record over it, erasing the original recording.
I'd recommend always recording the original video first to a dvd or some other permanent storage medium, and then upload the video from the dvd disc to a computer for editing. Once you're done editing, use another DVD disc and burn it with your edited version. This way you always have the original handy and you can put it and the edited version in a safe place for the future when you're an old fart like me and want to cry watching your little kids playing in the backyard.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant at http://www.SellUsedCamcorders.com/. Sell Used Camcorders is a community of various independent camcorder sellers from around the world. Each camcorder seller represents a unique style of products all their own. If you have camcorders to sell, click here to create a Camcorder Account.