subject: Digital Video Camcorders [print this page] Digital video camcorders are relatively small handheld camera recorders used for domestic purposes. They are light and mostly used by travelers, outdoor and indoor functions, parties or even to capture some memorable times. They have simple yet powerful features that provide good image quality. Various electronic companies have come up with digital camcorders as their response to the competitive market. This is in a bid to offer the best they can in order to win the confidence of the consumer.
Digital camcorders come in a variety of features that may get anyone spoilt for choice. The most basic is the optical or digital zoom feature. These function to bring images closer to the lens. Optical zoom gives the best results with far objects. Digital zooms will produce pixilated images when enhanced to a certain degree, reducing the image quality.
Another feature that you should consider is the image stabilizer. This reduces the trouble of having shaky hands while taking a video or being in a turbulent environment. Digital camcorders may consist of either an optical stabilizer or an electronic stabilizer.
Optical stabilizers are more effective and mostly found in expensive digital camcorders whereas the electronic stabilizer is available in many average cost digital camcorders. Image stabilizers have a disadvantage of producing lower quality images when switched on. However, technology has made the electronic stabilizer come close to the image quality exhibited by those with optical stabilizers.
Digital video camcorders should have viewfinders and LCD screens that enable you to actually see what they are recording. These screens should display color images although there are those that have a black & white screens. The normal size for the screens ranges from 2 - 4 inches depending on the make of digital camcorders. The viewfinders come in handy especially when there is bright sunlight causing glare on the screen.
Some digital camcorders produce video quality determined by image sensors known as Charged - Coupled - Device (CCD). It works by generating pixels from light. There are both one and three CCD digital camcorders, with the former providing brighter colors but at a more expensive price.
Digital camcorders have a white balance varying component that automatically adjusts according to lighting differences to give a more natural image. Some have the manual control button or knob that adjusts the colors being recorded in cases where there are mixed sources of light e.g. from a bulb and the sun at the same time.
Accessories such as microphones can be mounted on digital video camcorders. These digital camcorders must therefore have a feature in their structure that enables such attachments. External microphones have the advantage of enhancing the sound that digital camcorders receive and also giving a quality audio output. Moreover, headphone jacks can be plugged in digital camcorders that have this added feature to aid in monitoring the sound recorded by the digital video camcorders.
Digital video cameras that have optional manual sound control are better than the fully automatic sound control digital camcorder. This is because automatic sound control does not quite get rid of the background noise and produces bad quality sound. All these features are important when considering the kind of a digital video camera suitable for any occasion.
