0.4 Video equipment  (Page 2/2)

Analog, digital or high definition

The next two options are tricky in that both styles of cameras can produce a video that can be quickly and easily viewed. The major consideration for us at the university is that we will probably be manipulating the video in some form and need to concern ourselves with the file sizes and ease of editing of the end product.

The standard digital video camera has a built in hard drive for saving video files, and can be downloaded to your computer, and edited with the software application that comes with the camera. Before you decide to produce a video have to have the technology folks come over and load the appropriate application to your university computer and your university laptop. Most digital camera software applications have basic options to cut portions of your video out and allows you to add various video clips to compile a movie. Other rudimentary editing can be done depending on the manufacturer of the camera as some can add titles, transitions and even incorporate a soundtrack to your video file.

The ability to shoot long or multiple video files is only limited to the amount of memory i your camera. Most video cameras also have a memory card slot for additional memory.

The quality of the video output can be dealt with in two ways. The first is to use video settings. All cameras have setting that affect the output of the video. You will need to become familiar with your video camera settings to learn how to adjust the settings. Normally there are 2 or 3 quality settings to consider. I encourage you to consider the end video product and the time you have to produce the video before making your selections. My mode of operation is that I want the best video quality and select the high quality setting before I shoot. I can alter the quality of the video after I have it on the computer and use the software application to compress the video file size after I have the footage filmed. However once I have chosen a low quality setting for my video and filmed my project I can’t improve the quality after the fact.

Standard digital video is easy to use and edit. It also has many options to produce a variety of levels of quality video. You can produce a basic information style video recording as you would with your webcam. In time with practice, familiarity with your camera settings, and practice with your editing software - you can produce a high quality vide file.

The main difference is that the handheld recorder costs more and has a higher learning curve then the FlipVideo or webcam recorder. You will also have to consider the need for more peripheral equipment to accompany the higher priced video camera; such as a tripod, extra batteries, camera bag, cables and even an add-on microphone for better sound quality. So you have some logistical and monetary considerations for a higher priced video camera.

Not choosing the High Definition Video camera is hard to argue with when you’re in the store watching the crystal clear images of happy children romping in the back yard and seeing that the price is not much more than the standard digital camera. So what is the catch? Well, a couple things to think about before throwing down the credit card; the output of the video file is either straight to a DVD or to a computer file that has to be coded only by the video cameras software to interpret. Then the video file sizes are extremely large, to account for the clarity of the image. Currently there are not many editing software programs that are available for the novice to edit, and finally if I am not viewing the video on a high definition set I have lost all the advantages of the high definition video.

So considering there are no high definitions computer screens on campus or for the average citizen are you really going to need a high definition video recorder?