Mini DV Digital Camcorder

The trip deserved a mini dv digital camcorder and nothing else would do. The man's wife had dreamed of going to Ireland and visiting distant relatives and seeing the village of ancestry for as long as the woman could remember, and her husband was determined to preserve the memories on the finest quality format offered. The problem was that the cost of the trip was already beyond their budget, so buying this extra luxury would take some real research before the purchase was made, and the man only had ten days. This purchase was going to be a surprise for the man's spouse, and would only be revealed at the airport before take-off. Already the man was getting excited about being able to chronicle the whole trip in living, breathing digital quality. The first place to start would be the online DVD camcorder reviews available at many websites.

MiniDV camcorders record on compact cassettes, which are pretty pricey and hold about 60 to 90 minutes of footage. The video format has 500 lines of resolution which is astounding, and can be easily transferred to a personal computer. DV camcorders can be extremely lightweight and compact -- many are about the size of a paperback novel. Another interesting feature is the ability to capture still pictures, just as a digital camera does. The husband thought long and hard about getting a larger model that could offer more filming time on each tape, but the size was very important to him, especially in trying to get it to the airport without his spouse knowing about the special gift. The man's wife had gone out and bought a twenty dollar over the counter camera and was very happy that she had the foresight to do so, but this gift would probably bring her years of memories that the woman could not now imagine.

As the husband began to look online at various DVD camcorder reviews to find more information on a mini dv digital camcorder, the man discovered a number of issues to be considered. One of the most important questions to be answered was, "How important is editing after filming?" The format supported by mini DVD is not an easily edited format, so it is more in line with a "point and shoot then walk away" philosophy. Would there be any need for the couple to come home and want to cut out some of the footage shot in Ireland that was not very interesting and in reality put together a sort of documentary or travelogue of the trip that could be shared with friends? After all, this couple had lived through some very, very boring slide shows that had been thrust upon them many years ago. Although the couple did not own a computer, the husband thought that a good friend would be willing to help with the editing project.

Reading DVD camcorder reviews on line helped the man understand more issues that would have to be considered. When contemplating a mini dv digital camcorder, does the film device have what is known as optical image stabilizing capability? This is circuitry that aids in minimizing a camera that is shaking during filming. And with the camera being so small, weighing less than two pounds, any movement could bring large negative effects to the final product. The husband had been diagnosed just several months before with the beginning stages of Parkinson's disease, and already begun to feel tiny tremors in his hands at inconsistent times. The man definitely wanted this circuitry in the mini dv digital camcorder he would purchase. There were other considerations as well.

The DVD camcorder reviews from various professional sources spoke about various camcorders having varying levels of low light capabilities. This translated to how high quality was the image the video camera produced indoors. This particular consideration was also very important to the husband because there would be many museums visited on the trip as well as overnight stays at some Irish castles. The man began developing the list of wants for the film device soon to be purchased and this low light capability would also be on the list. Finally, the man looked at audio quality and learned that any built in microphone to any camcorder does not possess the quality that an external and separate microphone can provide. In other words, will doing all this filming become more of a production and require someone holding perhaps a wireless microphone near the conversation in order to get an acceptable quality of conversation? The husband thought that this trip was also for him and consequently did not want to spend every moment filming and worrying about a separate microphone.

The husband continued to mull over all the considerations and finally chose a mini dv digital camcorder that was under five hundred dollars and had the capabilities for which he had sought. He looked up the camcorder in one of the DVD camcorder reviews and found that he had made a very good choice as far as the critics were concerned. While the man's wife was busy loading a bag in the overhead stowage compartment, he pulled the present out of a small carry on and began filming the love of his life. Shocked but extremely pleased, the woman began turning red and acting quite shy, but by the second day in Dublin, the lady was doing an Irish jig for the camera. There's a ham in every crowd. "Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies?" (Proverbs 31:10)

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