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Buying advice.

Different Camcorders - Short and Concise

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Buying advice

Camcorder
Product group
Camcorder
Items analyzed
85
Date
18. 05. 2012
Data source
QualityZoom
Realtime Analytics
Mini DV Camcorder: the mini DV camcorder is cheap and records directly onto a cassette. Because the transfer onto a computer takes a long time, editing is challenging. The picture quality is often better than with camcorders that record directly onto DVDs or hard drives. DVD Camcorder: if you want to record without a lot of editing, you should use a DVD camcorder. Hard drive: for vacation, this is the ideal unit. You can record many hours without having to mess with cassettes nor DVDs. HDV/AVCHD: for the highest picture quality, the HDV/AVCHD is your best choice. The picture is definitely best on a flat-screen TV or projector with a high resolution, where one can really see the difference over a traditional TV.

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Glossary

Mini DV Camcorder

The most commonly spread digital camcorder is a DV-device which records on MiniDV tape (small magnetic tape format) with an approximate recording span of 60 minutes. This recording method is by no means obsolete, but still offers the best image and sound quality (stereo), because the DV-format, in comparison to compressed MPEG formats, can store great amounts of detail. Therefore it is particularly well suited for video editing and the only format which is used by amateurs and professionals alike. The transmission to the computer however is slightly complicated, because it has to happen in real time. On the other hand the magnetic tapes are also useful for long time archiving.

DVD Camcorder

The DVD-camcorder record on a mini-dvd. The records are stored as data and can easily be transferred onto a computer. Each blank disk offers a maximum of 36 minute of storage space for a recording, however it has to be noted that, not all DVD formats are compatible with their playback devices. In addition these camcorders use the MPEG 2 format, which compress data strongly and thus causes lossy images when confronted with high details or fast movements.

HDV-/AVCHD Camcorder

With this camcorder high resolution pictures (HD) are recorded on MiniDV tapes (HDV) or on a storage card, hard disk or DVD (AVCHD).