10 Things to Consider When You Buy A Digital Camcorder
Holidays, graduations, weddings, new babies, heck, even frat parties — all reasons to chuck that honker-of-a-VHS or 8mm camcorder and move up to the compact size and incredible picture quality of digital. But what should you look for in a digital camcorder? What kind of this-and-that is essential for recording truly amazing home movies?

Here's a list of top 10 features you'll want to consider when going digital:
Size
Format
Resolution
LCD Screen
Image Stabilization
Zooms
Special Effects
Digital Video Editing Capabilities
Connectivity
Media

Size
Sleek and compact, digital camcorders are smaller than the camcorders of old. New models are so compact that many fit in one hand. They are truly "take anywhere" camcorders and marvels of miniaturization.

Format
Choose from two. There are two main formats of digital camcorders: MiniDV, Digital8.

MiniDV is the most common digital format, smaller than a Digital8 camcorder, and the tape is very compact (about 1/12th of the size of the VHS tape). Its recording capability is two hours at 500 lines of resolution.

Digital8 format is a good choice if you want to upgrade to digital from an 8mm or a Hi8 camcorder. Features are pretty much the same as a MiniDV camcorder, with one key advantage: Digital8 can play back your old 8mm and Hi8 videos.

Resolution
The difference with digital is in the multipixel, up to 500-line resolution which is presented via a CCD (charge-coupled device) imaging screen. The CCD is measured in pixels. And the more pixels, the better. Digital camcorders offer 680,000 pixels to a whopping megapixel (one million pixels) for amazingly sharp, crisp digital video. With digital, making copies from one camcorder to another is easy and there's virtually no loss in quality.

LCD Screen
Yes, there is a viewfinder. But one of the luxuries of a digital camcorder is also an LCD screen (or a viewscreen). With an LCD screen, you can better see where you're going when trying to capture baby's first steps. Most digital camcorders have both the traditional tilt-up viewfinder on top and a bigger flip-open color LCD screen on the side.

Image Stabilization
Jitters and shakes be gone! Image stabilization (or sometimes called picture stabilization) makes memories viewable without annoying camera shakes. This feature is a must for zoom shots and easy-to-view close-ups. Stabilization tip: Use a tripod wherever possible for ultimate stability.

Zooms
Digital camcorders have both optical and digital zooms. Even though the digital zoom claims of 300x and up sound enticing, this feature lends too much magnification and images are blurred. The optical zoom is what you'll want to use, so get a camcorder with a long optical zoom range (i.e., 16x and higher) and start recording great footage at a distance.

Special Effects
The special effects of a digital camcorder seem endless. Here are explanations of some of the most popular:

• Fade-ins/fade-outs - Fade in and out of any scene for a cinematic effect
• Wipes - Wipes scene to one side
• Mosaic - Breaks the scene into little squares, like a mosaic piece of art
• Sepia mode - Removes the color from the scene and adds a brown, antique-like tint
• Titler - Adds titles like "Happy Birthday" or lets you program your own
• Time/date stamp - Places time and date onto a scene
• Night shot - Lets you record in the dark. The picture will have a green tint, but will be visible.
• Still photo mode - Most digital camcorders have the added bonus of still photo capability. Snap a photo at the same time you record. Unfortunately, the resolution is too low to achieve photo-quality sharpness. If you're interested in taking serious still photos with true photo quality and high resolution, invest in a digital camera.

Digital Video Editing
We've all felt the pain of watching the long, drawn-out wedding video — featuring every aunt and second cousin twice-removed go through the receiving line. With a PC and the right video editing tools, you can cut what you want and turn those special moments into a Hollywood production complete with transitions, titles and special effects. Check out our selection of video editing tools and jumpstart your career as a home movie producer.

Connectivity
Look for a digital camcorder with a FireWire (IEEE 1394) connection, also called i.LINK and DV In/Out. Now on most MiniDV camcorders, this jack is the key to digital editing. Though you can use a video capture card or device to import video into your PC, you'll love the speed of transferring it through a FireWire or i.LINK port. Video can transfer through an IEEE 1394 at up to 400 Mbps, much faster than a standard port. The camcorder connects right to the PC for easy transfer.

Media
After you turn your raw footage into a Hollywood masterpiece, you'll want to store it on blank media to pass on to family and friends. Impress loved ones with a DVD of the latest family reunion, burned from a DVD-RW drive. Or simply keep memories on MiniDV cassettes. Most hold 60 minutes, extended to 90 minutes with LP recording speed.

Some Sony MiniDV cassettes have a tiny, built-in memory chip that can record information. Sony's MICROMV tapes boast a 64KB memory chip that can record up to 60 minutes, and the tapes are drastically smaller than MiniDV tapes.

So that's the lowdown on digital camcorders. Be sure to shop our entire selection of digital camcorders and get one that's right for you.

10 Things to Consider When You Buy A Digital Camcorder
Holidays, graduations, weddings, new babies, heck, even frat parties — all reasons to chuck that honker-of-a-VHS or 8mm camcorder and move up to the compact size and incredible picture quality of digital. But what should you look for in a digital camcorder? What kind of this-and-that is essential for recording truly amazing home movies?

Here's a list of top 10 features you'll want to consider when going digital:
Size
Format
Resolution
LCD Screen
Image Stabilization
Zooms
Special Effects
Digital Video Editing Capabilities
Connectivity
Media

Size
Sleek and compact, digital camcorders are smaller than the camcorders of old. New models are so compact that many fit in one hand. They are truly "take anywhere" camcorders and marvels of miniaturization.

Format
Choose from two. There are two main formats of digital camcorders: MiniDV, Digital8.

MiniDV is the most common digital format, smaller than a Digital8 camcorder, and the tape is very compact (about 1/12th of the size of the VHS tape). Its recording capability is two hours at 500 lines of resolution.

Digital8 format is a good choice if you want to upgrade to digital from an 8mm or a Hi8 camcorder. Features are pretty much the same as a MiniDV camcorder, with one key advantage: Digital8 can play back your old 8mm and Hi8 videos.

Resolution
The difference with digital is in the multipixel, up to 500-line resolution which is presented via a CCD (charge-coupled device) imaging screen. The CCD is measured in pixels. And the more pixels, the better. Digital camcorders offer 680,000 pixels to a whopping megapixel (one million pixels) for amazingly sharp, crisp digital video. With digital, making copies from one camcorder to another is easy and there's virtually no loss in quality.

LCD Screen
Yes, there is a viewfinder. But one of the luxuries of a digital camcorder is also an LCD screen (or a viewscreen). With an LCD screen, you can better see where you're going when trying to capture baby's first steps. Most digital camcorders have both the traditional tilt-up viewfinder on top and a bigger flip-open color LCD screen on the side.

Image Stabilization
Jitters and shakes be gone! Image stabilization (or sometimes called picture stabilization) makes memories viewable without annoying camera shakes. This feature is a must for zoom shots and easy-to-view close-ups. Stabilization tip: Use a tripod wherever possible for ultimate stability.

Zooms
Digital camcorders have both optical and digital zooms. Even though the digital zoom claims of 300x and up sound enticing, this feature lends too much magnification and images are blurred. The optical zoom is what you'll want to use, so get a camcorder with a long optical zoom range (i.e., 16x and higher) and start recording great footage at a distance.

Special Effects
The special effects of a digital camcorder seem endless. Here are explanations of some of the most popular:

• Fade-ins/fade-outs - Fade in and out of any scene for a cinematic effect
• Wipes - Wipes scene to one side
• Mosaic - Breaks the scene into little squares, like a mosaic piece of art
• Sepia mode - Removes the color from the scene and adds a brown, antique-like tint
• Titler - Adds titles like "Happy Birthday" or lets you program your own
• Time/date stamp - Places time and date onto a scene
• Night shot - Lets you record in the dark. The picture will have a green tint, but will be visible.
• Still photo mode - Most digital camcorders have the added bonus of still photo capability. Snap a photo at the same time you record. Unfortunately, the resolution is too low to achieve photo-quality sharpness. If you're interested in taking serious still photos with true photo quality and high resolution, invest in a digital camera.

Digital Video Editing
We've all felt the pain of watching the long, drawn-out wedding video — featuring every aunt and second cousin twice-removed go through the receiving line. With a PC and the right video editing tools, you can cut what you want and turn those special moments into a Hollywood production complete with transitions, titles and special effects. Check out our selection of video editing tools and jumpstart your career as a home movie producer.

Connectivity
Look for a digital camcorder with a FireWire (IEEE 1394) connection, also called i.LINK and DV In/Out. Now on most MiniDV camcorders, this jack is the key to digital editing. Though you can use a video capture card or device to import video into your PC, you'll love the speed of transferring it through a FireWire or i.LINK port. Video can transfer through an IEEE 1394 at up to 400 Mbps, much faster than a standard port. The camcorder connects right to the PC for easy transfer.

Media
After you turn your raw footage into a Hollywood masterpiece, you'll want to store it on blank media to pass on to family and friends. Impress loved ones with a DVD of the latest family reunion, burned from a DVD-RW drive. Or simply keep memories on MiniDV cassettes. Most hold 60 minutes, extended to 90 minutes with LP recording speed.

Some Sony MiniDV cassettes have a tiny, built-in memory chip that can record information. Sony's MICROMV tapes boast a 64KB memory chip that can record up to 60 minutes, and the tapes are drastically smaller than MiniDV tapes.

So that's the lowdown on digital camcorders. Be sure to shop our entire selection of digital camcorders and get one that's right for you.