This Camcorder Buying Advice offers a complete buying guide for anyone in the market for a new camcorder, whether they happen to be novice or expert. We hope you like what you see….

Camcorder Buying Tips

There are a few things you need to decide on before buying a new camcorder – here are our top tips…..

Budget

Camcorders can be very expensive and as ever when considering a new gadget, we really recommend working out your budget and sticking to it. Once you have done that, then you can go about deciding on the best camcorder.

Your budget will be the biggest factor of what kind of camcorder is available to you; in general, a Standard Definition cam will be much, much cheaper than HD, although it’s fair to say that HD camcorders are falling in price of late.

Pocket cameras are also great for a smaller budget and although they have very basic features, they are excellent if you want an easy-to-use video recorder while on holiday or on a night out – and many of them enable you to share your films straihght onto YouTube.

Size

SD camcorders are generally smaller and lighter – which means they can be easier to hold and operate, and better for fitting into a holiday suitcase.

However, the smaller camcorders are often devoid of many useful features so if you think you might want some good sound recording for example, then a bulkier camcorder with a good-quality microphone may be a better shout.

Capacity

While HD camcorders are capable of shooting some stunningly detailed footage, they hold far more information than SD camcorders. If you are planning on recording hour after hour of footage, then we would advise going for SD, unless you don’t mind forking out what could be a lot on extra storage.

As a rule, you can expect a 40GB hard drive to record about 9 hours of footage on an SD camcorder, but only just over half this amount on an HD camcorder. SD can also be transferred to your PC much quicker.

Image Quality

If detailed images are of vital importance to you, then you should really go for an HD camcorder, which can shoot high quality video that offers better colours, better contrasts and better highlights than SD recorders.

Have a think about how you will be displaying your films, too; if you are uploading to YouTube or expecting them to be watched on a small PC screen, then SD will be fine – a large TV will definitely need HD footage to do your video justice.

Camcorder Types

Once you have worked out your budget and requirements, you can think about the sort of camcorder that will be the best for you. Here is what you can expect…

Pocket

Pocket camcorders are excellent for anyone looking for a low price and high portability, whether it is HD or SD. Pocket camcorders are highly convenient and can be whipped out in any occasion, and once you are done, it is very simple to just plug them into your PC and share to your preferred social networks.

Pocket camcorders are available from some extremely tempting prices and are becoming cheaper with every year that passes – we’ve seen them available for just £40, and although you will definitely miss out on some good features.

If you don’t expect superb image quality, sound quality, large memories or many special effects to get creative with, then a pocket camcorder could well be for you.

SD

Standard definition camcorders may not grab the headlines like HD camcorders, but they can still do an excellent job, particularly if you are on a budget – expect to pay half the price of an HD recorder.

SD camcorders are great for recording lots of footage and you can store many more films on your computer than with HD, as the file sizes are so much smaller.

However, if you are looking for excellent detail and a more vivid experience from your home movies, SD might not quite do the business.

HD

HD camcorders offer excellent quality video and piles of different options to get those creative juices flowing – but you will have to pay for the pleasure.

HD recorders are generally bigger than pocket camcorders, but are still compact enough to be easily portable. In terms of features, HD camcorders offer a much bigger range of options and controls.

You can expect features such as microphone jacks and hot shoes for other accessories such as external lights and mics, and manual controls for shutter speed, focus, aperture, amongst others.

HD Prosumer

HD prosumer camcorders could be an option for the more advanced user or professional who is looking for that little bit of extra quality from their video footage to add to a growing portfolio of work.

Prosumer camcorders are more expensive than mainstream recorders, but feature much higher quality lenses and sensors, for example, as well as lots of manual controls, different shooting modes and excellent audio quality.

Prosumer recorders are extremely adaptable and good for upgrading, so would be an excellent choice if you’re buying a camcorder for the long haul.

Professional

Professional camcorders are expensive, but for a professional they are an essential investment. What you get will be dependent on what you pay, but pro-camcorders offer a wealth of options, with facilities in place for plenty of customisation, including lens-swapping.

What pro-camcorders offer in adaptability, they lack in portability. However, their bulky size enables them to host a huge range of buttons and dials you can play with.

Expect superb visual detail, incredible sound and cinema-quality movies – but allow for a lot of storage space, as pro-level video files will be huge in comparison to what you record on your little pocket cam.

Camcorder Features

What features can you expect on a modern camcorder? Here, we’ll take you through the sort of features you can expect….

Screen

LCD screens are standard in modern camcorders and are vital as they let you see what you’re doing and what you have done, afterwards. Larger, hi-res screens will offer a much better representation of your movie, but will also eat away at your battery life.

There are a few other things to consider; more modern camcorders may offer touchscreen functions but may suffer from response issues and normal LCD screens are notorious for reflecting glare, so if you plan to use your camcorder in bright sunlight often, make sure you get an anti-glare screen.

Lens

Your camcorder’s lens will feature either digital or optical zoom, the better of which is optical zoom. The majority of camcorders will feature a 10X optical zoom, which should be enough for typical users.

Digital zoom isn’t quite so good, as it can leave you with grainy and pixellated movies – so keep an eye out and always ask for a demo.

Batteries

Camcorders should offer at least an hour’s-worth of battery life – and you should always buy a spare battery for important occasions – expect to pay anything from £30 upwards for an extra.

Microphones

If sound is important then try and grab a camcorder with its microphone located at the front of the unit as they tend to produce better sound than mics at the top.

You may want to consider a zoom microphone for a more professional effect – particularly if you are recording speeches for a conference, for example.

Stabilisation

Image stabilisation is essential in camcorders to prevent even the very minute shakes that your hand makes while recording. There are two types; optical and electronic image stabilisation.

Optical stabilisation works by using the camcorder’s lens mechanism to move with the movements of the operator’s hands, while electronic image stabilisation uses internal circuitry to adjust the image after it has been taken – optical stabilisation tends to be better, but is more expensive.

Camcorder Accessories

There are plenty of extras and accessories you can buy for your camcorder – so if you think you will need one of the following, always allow for them in your budget.

Tripod

Tripods are essential if you want to add steadiness to your shots. Make sure the tripod you buy can fit with your camcorder.

Carry Bag

If your camcorder costs over £1000, it makes sense to protect it with a decent camera bag.

Microphone

Mics can add excellent sound quality to your movies, but ensure the microphone you want is supported by your camcorder.

Computer

You may need a computer to playback, edit and share your videos – head over to our sister site …. for our PC tips.

HDTV

If you are shooting HD videos, you may want to consider an HD TV to play them back on – check out …. for more HD TV tips

Blu-ray Player

Once you have made your HD film, you may want to save it on a Blu-ray disc – but you’ll need a Blu-ray player to play it back on.

Camcorder Jargon Buster

Aperture

Aperture is the term for the adjustable opening that allows light to pass through the lens before hitting the sensor behind it.

Compact Flash Memory

Flash memory is a removable memory card that is used in some types of camcorders to store and transfer your movies.

Exposure

The term exposure describes when a camcorder allows more – or less – light to hit the image sensor, resulting in the image you see on film.

Hard Disk Drive camcorder

Hard disk drives – or HDDs – store all your video footage without the need for extra cards or external storage.

LCD screen

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display and is a screen that lets you view and review your movies and also look at different controls and options.

Optical zoom

Allows zoom without loss of picture quality – some camcorders go over 30x zoom..

Secure Digital (SD) Card

A memory card format that is becoming the standard in cameras and camcorders, and slots into most computers, too.

Shutter

The shutter controls the duration of time it takes to scan the image – the longer the shutter takes to close, the more light is let in and the faster the shutter speed, the less light is let in.

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