With growing competition from digital cameras and smartphones, stand-alone camcorders are keen to flaunt their more comfortable handling and advanced stabilisation systems. Plus, sports-oriented models are proving increasingly popular among daredevils looking to post their exploits online.
There might be no such thing as the perfect camcorder but a lot of today's models get pretty close. When choosing the best camcorder for your needs, there are two basic criteria to keep in mind: ease of use and video and audio quality. Here are a few more things to look out for:
- Lens. Most high-end digital cameras, including SLRs, have a set of interchangeable lenses, meaning you can choose the right one for the job, but camcorders only have one lens. That's why it's important to choose a wide-angle lens, opening to at least 35 mm in 24 x 36 mm equivalent, with a smooth zoom and a powerful image stabilisation system like Sony's 'active' Steadycam technology or Canon Power IS.
- Audio. All camcorders have a built-in mic, but some also have a 5.1 directional mic for capturing surround sound. Others even add a line-in for an external mic, which can be real help for interviews. A headphones jack is a great extra too if you want to check the sound levels or play back your video in peace.
- Screen. With viewfinders often painfully small (if they're there at all ...), you'll probably be using the screen both for lining up the perfect shot and playing back your clips. Three inches is an absolute minimum, and you can even go up to 3.5'' to get a decent 500,000-pixel or even 1-Megapixel display.
- Memory. Inside or out? Camcorders either film onto internal memory of anywhere from 16 GB to 120 GB, or onto an (SD) memory card. Models using the former system are ready to use straight out of the box, but with the latter you'll need to supply a card yourself. However, you can use the card with other compatible devices too.
- Lens. Most high-end digital cameras, including SLRs, have a set of interchangeable lenses, meaning you can choose the right one for the job, but camcorders only have one lens. That's why it's important to choose a wide-angle lens, opening to at least 35 mm in 24 x 36 mm equivalent, with a smooth zoom and a powerful image stabilisation system like Sony's 'active' Steadycam technology or Canon Power IS.
- Audio. All camcorders have a built-in mic, but some also have a 5.1 directional mic for capturing surround sound. Others even add a line-in for an external mic, which can be real help for interviews. A headphones jack is a great extra too if you want to check the sound levels or play back your video in peace.
- Screen. With viewfinders often painfully small (if they're there at all ...), you'll probably be using the screen both for lining up the perfect shot and playing back your clips. Three inches is an absolute minimum, and you can even go up to 3.5'' to get a decent 500,000-pixel or even 1-Megapixel display.
- Memory. Inside or out? Camcorders either film onto internal memory of anywhere from 16 GB to 120 GB, or onto an (SD) memory card. Models using the former system are ready to use straight out of the box, but with the latter you'll need to supply a card yourself. However, you can use the card with other compatible devices too.
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