Buying Camcoder

7 Tips before buying a Camcoder..

1. The most popular camcorders today are Flash and Dual Flash camcorders. These camcorders use flash memory cards (same as digital cameras) to store video, or have built in solid state flash memory. Without a tape mechanism or harddrive, these camcorders are generally smaller in size than other camcorders and have better battery life. The most popular memory cards for these camcorders are the SDHC Memory cards. Currently you can get them cards with up to 16gb at reasonable prices, and larger sizes such as 32gb have been introduced. (Best pic: CANON HFS200 Camcorder). The DUAL Flash Memory camcoders also have built-in memory other than memory cards.
HDD are the next best bet and then comes the DVD based camcoders. DVD based ones will write on the DVD in compact form and some quality may get lost. Also it is not easy to edit.

2. Performance in low light: As with video quality, a camcorder with a larger sensor will have better light gathering ability, and low light performance. Those camcorders with larger lenses will also help in low light situations. The above camcorders that have large CCDs will do well in low light, however only the professional camcorder will give you BOTH a larger sensor and larger lenses for excellent low light ability.

3. SD or HD : Today you have two choices in camcorders. Standard Definition, which is up to DVD quality or worse, or High Definition which greatly exceeds DVD quality. In the future, all camcorders will be high definition, as that is the way the industry is headed. Most camcorders sold today are high definition. With a high definition camcorder, you usually have the option of recording in either standard or high definition. Even if you record in high definition, you can still play it through your standard (non HD) TV set.

4. CCD/CMOS : 3CCD/3MOS Imaging Sensor - A 3ccd imaging sensor is a special sensor that is composed of 3 separate sensors. One for each color (red, blue and green). Most professional camcorders use the 3ccd sensor array. These type of sensors have generally been better than a single sensor. The advantage of a 3CCD sensor is that with the data from each of the three sensors, you can find out the exact hue, brightness, and saturation of each pixel, you're no longer interpolating (which is estimating). Most of the professional camcorders (above) have 3ccd.
3MOS Imagers: Panasonic for 2010 has released the latest version of this technology called 3MOS to consumer camcorders, which is designed to improve on 3CCD and give better low light performance.

5. ALWAYS LOOK FOR OPTICAL ZOOM and beaware of Digital zom.

6. Manual Features/Zoom - Automatic focusing is standard on all camcorders. However there are times when you may wish to manually focus your camcorder. Examples are low light, macro (closeup), shooting through glass, and indoor shots where automatic focusing is not as effective.

7. Image Stabilization (IS) - Image Stabilization is a technology that reduces the blurry video that you could get in low light, using a zoom lens, or riding in a car. (Sony camcorders call their image stabilization SteadyShot). This technology compensates for any movement of the camcorder you are holding to give you sharp video, even in low light. This is a very valuable and useful feature. Almost all camcorders now have this feature. This also helps when using your zoom out to its full magnification. As you zoom in, any shaking of the camcorder is magnified. Optical (as opposed to digital) stabilization is considered to be best.