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Photography Techniques and Equipment This forum is for the discussion of technical details of how to take good pictures as well as discuss the equipment used in that pursuit.

Digital video?
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Old 01-09-2006, 12:53 PM   #1
Rich Z
Digital video?

I want to start this off with a question of my own.

More and more I am seeing the need to have a video camera for shots that static images just won't capture properly. I have not looked into anything at all, and want to get a general feel for what is available and it's general potential.

What I would be primarily interested in is something that can create video files for posting on webpages.

Anyone using this technology at the moment?
 
Old 01-09-2006, 01:09 PM   #2
pcar
I just got a Sony MiniDV Handycam a year ago that can capture MPEG to a memory stick, and also has streaming software to take video off the tape and directly to your computer. It is nice, and had a fairly good price point.

This is the closest one that is out now to what I got: link
 
Old 01-09-2006, 01:53 PM   #3
tat2d1
we've got the same thing as pcar, and i think it works well. i also have a program called dazzle that i can use to make files smaller, or i can convert an mpeg to a wmv file or mpeg to realplayer.
 
Old 01-09-2006, 02:22 PM   #4
Joejr14
I think I've got a Canon ZR50MC. I don't use it all that much, but when Spring football at FSU comes I normally bring that to the stadium. It's got a firewire port on it so dubbing from the miniDV tape to my dvd recorder takes no time. I don't have a firewire port on my new computer, or else I'm sure that would work just as well. Obviously it's easy enough to go from the camera to the computer
(i did it with my old one) to make mpegs.
 
Old 01-09-2006, 02:58 PM   #5
zwyatt
I'm not at all sure if any of this pertains to what you are asking but...

I've been working with a professor on campus making digital video of laboratory techniques. The camera is a pretty fancy Panasonic. I haven't had the need to take still shots with it, but that option is available. It just plugs directly into the Mac (ugh) via a firewire port. I edit the video I shoot using Final Cut and can save any videos or clips in a wide variety of different video formats.
 
Old 01-16-2006, 11:41 PM   #6
Rich Z
Well normally from what I have experienced, you never really know what you want with something completely new to you until you start thinking about buying the second one. The first one just teaches you what it is that you really SHOULD have gotten in the first place, but didn't know enough about it to even ask.
 
Old 01-17-2006, 01:40 AM   #7
PssdffJay
Ah ha! Finally a question that i know a lot about! Sweet! I used to sell home electronics and this might be a long post.

First off is the way you want to record the movies. There are a lot of different formats, VHS (really old), vhsc or svhs (going to be outdated fairly soon), 8mm (digital tape), mini dv (digital tape), and mini dvd (completely digital). Dont bother with a vhs cam or vhsc cam as they are really out of date and an analog source. 8mm tape is digital and almost as good as mini dv but not as good. Mini dvds are cool cause you can take it and pop in a dvd drive and it makes uploading a lot easier, but harder with the software issue. They are also fairly expensive and if you dont get a rw disc, they are a one shot use.

Mini dv is my favorite and i believe the best. Digital tape and it is not going to be outdated any time soon. Great quality and sound and compatible with anyother dv camera.

Second is the zoom. Optical good. Digital BAD!!!!! Think of optical zoom as using a pair of binoculars, it is enlarging the image using lenses.

Think of digital zoom as taking an image, digitizing it into lots of pixels and stretching those pixels to make it bigger. But you do get really bad distortion and pixelization which is not good.

So if you see a camera that says 18x optical zoom that is really good! you will get good clear closeups. But usually you will also see something like 4000x digital zoom, don't get fooled, it isn't as good as it sounds, again with the distortion of the image. Try to just get a really good optical zoom and dont worry about the digital zoom.

Also, there are 2 ways to upload the movie off the camera if you dont go with mini dvd. Firewire and usb. You probably know what usb is, but many dont know what firewire is. It is just as fast and really doesnt matter which method you use, but a lot of older computers dont have a firewire port and will need a card installed if it doesnt. But if it is a laptop and doesnt have it you are SOL. So just check to see if your pc has usb or firewire and check the camera before you buy to make sure you are good to go.

Most come with the software to use, but you can also get WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER, and your pc might already have it, for free from windows or download.com. It is a great program, all the editing you want, titles, music, you name it, plus you can save the final movie in different sizes, for instance uploading on the site or email or whatever.

As for the camera itself (brand), it really doesnt matter a whole lot. Usually differs from lcd display size, zoom, in-camera options (not really important), and little stuff. Just try and find one that has somesort of steady shot enabler, and a light on it. If you need night time shots, i found that Sony has the best night shot, almost like night vision goggles. Other than that, the camera is really personal preference.

Umm, i think that that is all i have to say for now, i hope that this helps you out even the slightest bit. Good luck with your new adventure.

Jay
 
Old 01-17-2006, 06:03 PM   #8
PssdffJay
I forgot one more thing, most come with only a one hour battery (with the lcd closed) so I would recomend getting an aditional battery in maybe the 3 hour range cause it sucks when you are wating to get footage and the battery craps out on you and you dont have an ac outlet around!!
 
Old 01-18-2006, 12:36 AM   #9
Rich Z
Thanks for the help, Jay. If you think of any other tips, throw them my way, please.

Oh, any good message boards out there for user feedback and reviews on these devices?
 
Old 01-29-2006, 02:16 PM   #10
Rich Z
What about those mini dvd disks? Are they compatible with all regular full sized DVD players? And I've noticed that some cameras will record in widescreen format. Even saw one that would record sound in 5.1 surround format.

One part of me tells me to buy the cheapest one I can to get my feet wet, but the other side of me tells me to get a more expensive one with as many features as possible so I don't get frustrated by lack of features on the cheaper models. But the higher up in features you go, the more chances of taking a wrong fork in the road.
 

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