Advice on camcorders
How much optical zoom do you need?
The most logical answer is that the further you're away from the object you want to record, the more optical zoom you'll need. Up to 12x optical zoom is enough for basic recording, like a close-up from your child on their birthday. Are you in the back of the audience during a musical and do you want to capture the children on stage? You'll need between 12x and 35x optical zoom. For recording objects from a large distance, like friends on top of the mountain, you'll need at least 35x optical zoom. The disadvantage is that the more you zoom in, the less stable your footage will be. That's why we recommend you to use a tripod while recording. When you zoom in far, you'll also lose light and sharpness. Keep in mind that the image quality decreases when you zoom in during situations with little ambient light.
How do you record stable images?
Almost all camcorders have a type of image stabilization. This stabilization prevents blurry and shaky images by compensating for unintentional movement. Optical image stabilization ensures sharp images, because the lens moves along. The lens hovers in the camera, in a manner of speaking. That's how it absorbs all the impact and movement. Digital image stabilization happens after the footage has been recorded, which means the result will be less sharp and stable.
What type of memory card do you need?
On average, 1 gigabyte offers space for 5 minutes of HD recording. You do have to take into account the influence of the frame rate and resolution. A video in Full HD will take up more space on your memory card than a video in a lower resolution. In addition to the number of GB, the speed class of your memory card is important. Pay particular attention to the minimum speed class mentioned in the specifications of the camcorder. This is either 2, 4, 6, or 10. This number indicates the maximum number of MBs per second with which the memory card writes the video recordings. A video in higher resolution and with a higher frame rate will therefore require a higher class memory card. We recommend at least a Class 6 memory card for recording in HD, and a Class 10 memory card for Full HD.
Which expansion options are there?
You can connect an extra microphone to a camcorder with an external microphone jack for better and more focused sound.
Some camcorders have a hot shoe, also known as a cold shoe. This is an attachment point that you can use to connect a video light or microphone. A hot shoe connects to the camcorder so the accessory will be controlled by the camera. Your accessory doesn't need its own power supply. A cold shoe doesn't connect to the camcorder, so accessories do require their own power supply.
Most camcorders have a tripod connection. When you attach the camcorder to a tripod, you can be part of your own video or capture an extra stable image.
