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New Wave of Digital Video Cameras
January 9, 2008
Has your library entered the world of high definition video yet? I find myself in the position of needing to purchase a new digital video camera for work, and at a perfect time of year given all the new models being announced at CES. The new trend seems to be a move away from tape-based cameras to cameras that record on to built in hard drives or flash memory. While I am sure we are all unspeakably sad about not having to swap out tapes anymore, the real question is what we will do with the extra minutes we will save with recording times of 5 to 20 hours on these new hard drive cameras. Right now, I am looking at offerings from JVC and Canon, but here are a couple of things to watch for:
- Now, more than ever, you have to make sure that the camera will be fully compatible with your computer. Remember, with no tape you are going to be hooking directly to your computer to download from the camera.
- Make sure there is an external microphone jack. You can pick up a wireless microphone for karaoke machines for about $20, but you can't use it unless your camera has a microphone input. No seriously, read the specs carefully. I am needing to buy a new camera because I didn't read carefully enough and bought the wrong model. Imagine my surprise a few months after the purchase when I tried to plug in a microphone. (Sorry taxpayers, but we are still using it and will be loaning it with our podcasting lab!)
- High definition is the way of the future. Even if you don't have any high definition TVs, buy the camera and grow in to it. Besides, when working with digital, it is easier to record at a high quality and then compress to a desired size rather than try to blow up low quality video.
Posted by Chris Harris on January 9, 2008 | Comments (1)
