What's a good, sturdy, camcorder that shoots in HD?
Many friends are dreaming to get a camcorder that won't break easily and has good HD quality. Here tech you how to choose a right camcorder just like a professional camcorder specialist.
Recording file format: Most camcorders save video to flash drives or another form of onboard storage, using the AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) format.
The AVCHD format isn't as "lossy" as standard MPEG-4, restoring the original video to much of its original clarity and sharpness after compression and decompression. However, you need a powerful computer to handle the complex decompression process. Your PC should have at least a 2GB multicore processor with 4GB of RAM for smooth (or at least not too painful) AVCHD file editing
Screen: The camcorder's LCD screen lets you see more easily what you're recording and lets you watch playback previews. Obviously, the bigger and higher-resolution it is, the better, but a bright, big screen will take a toll on your battery life.
Be careful when considering a camcorder's screen: Some don't work well in bright sunlight, an environment where you'll often use the device. It's more important than ever to choose wisely, because camcorder makers have dropped the viewfinder off of most of their consumer-level models, leaving the LCD screen as your only viewing option.
Lens: Beyond the realm of pocket camcorders, every camcorder comes with a zoom lens that lets you get closer to your subject. Camcorder manufacturers don't always distinguish clearly between digital and optical zoom. The spec for maximum optical zoom is the more interesting figure: It gives the maximum zoom that the camcorder can achieve by moving its lens elements. Most modern camcorders have at least a 10X optical zoom, which should be more than adequate for general purposes.
Image stabilization: All camcorders perform one of two types of image stabilization--optical or electronic--to reduce jittery video caused by shaky hands. With optical stabilization, the camcorder's lens mechanism moves to compensate for external movement. With electronic image stabilization, the image captured by the lens "floats" on the sensor, and the camcorder uses internal circuitry after the image has been captured to interpret the video. Optical stabilization usually provides better results; in the past it tended to appear on more-expensive camcorders, but these days some moderately priced models have it too.
And the last, Batteries, Still photography and Low-light modes are also the factors you should take into consideration.
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