Digital Video Camera

When buying a digital video camera, there are as many to choose from as there are still cameras, and the buyer's own experience will probably be the most reliable source for choosing which brand to buy. If his experience with a certain brand of still photographic equipment has been good, it's a safe bet that the digital movie camera by the same company will be reliable as well. Where the experience has not been so good, there are a number of reliable resources to be consulted. The experience of a trusted friend will likely be reliable, or talking to an expert in the field. A professional photographer or the salesman at a camera specialty shop will be able to answer the questions of an inexperienced person.

Consumer guide magazines will have information about the features of different models and their cost. Books on photography will give the amateur the help he needs to make his videos capture the images that family and friends will enjoy watching for years to come. Good equipment and expertise make all the difference. A good digital video camera plus a photographer who knows how to get the best results from that equipment will result in memorable recordings of important events. Even a good photographer can't do very well with a low quality camera.

For the person who cannot afford a digital movie camera (or camcorder) that is in the bracket a professional would use, there is still an opportunity to get good equipment, so looking over the information about as many different models as possible, and trying the camera out before purchasing, will ensure success. Actually handling the digital video camera will determine whether a buyer will be comfortable handling it, and if the controls are easily understood. Like a film camera, a digital camera receives varying density of light through the lens. In a film camcorder the lens focuses the light from outside onto film that reacts to that light, thus recording the scene. The lens of a camcorder serves the same purpose, but instead of recording the image on film, the light shines into a small semiconductor image sensor. This sensor, a charge-coupled device (CCD) measures light with a half-inch panel of 300,000 to 500,000 tiny light sensitive diodes called photosites.

Each photosite measures the amount of light that hits a particular point, and translates this information into electrical charges: A brighter image is represented by a higher electrical charge, and a darker image is represented by a lower electrical charge, thus producing a video picture by recording light intensity. During playback, this information directs the intensity of a television's electron beam as it passes over the screen. Of course, measuring light intensity only gives a black and white image. To create a color image, a digital video camera has to detect not only the total light levels, but also the levels of each color of light. Since it's possible to produce a full spectrum of colors by combining the three colors red, green, and blue, the digital movie camera actually only needs to measure the levels of these three colors to be able to reproduce a full-color picture. Light is necessary for vision, whether for our eyes, or a camcorder, but when Christians think of light, it is often the light of faith that comes to mind. "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." (Matthew 4:16)

Of course, understanding all the inner workings of the camcorder isn't really necessary to use the controls properly and get good pictures, but many people are interested in the technicalities, so this information can be found on some websites as well as in books. The above is a condensed version, so the technically inclined will want to pursue those avenues for even more information. For the rest, some comparison shopping is the route to finding the right digital movie camera to preserve the memories of family holidays, vacations, and special occasions for posterity.

It is possible to get evaluations of any digital video camera by editors of photography or camera magazines, either in their publications or online. This is a good way to see in writing what each camcorders strong points and drawbacks are, before buying, so that something unexpected doesn't arise during use. Every model has some pluses and minuses, so one can choose which minuses are acceptable. The average buyer will want some guarantee of good pictures in the circumstances where he will be taking those pictures without too much prior pushing buttons or turning dials. The old "point and shoot" cameras are pretty much the standard by which current versions are measured by nonprofessionals. Even those vary in price and quality, so it pays to see what's available in digital movie cameras before purchasing one of them.

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