Find the best video camera for yourself.
There are many different brands of video cameras available for the home consumer, with Sony, JVC and Canon being some of the top manufacturers. Although the main features are relatively the same, you may find that some design specifications are better on one camera than on another. Although it is important to go with what camera feels comfortable in your hands, it is also important to know your options when selecting a new video camera.
Instructions
1. Look at the video quality of the different cameras. All three brands provide both standard-definition video cameras and high-definition video cameras (up to 1080 lines of horizontal resolution).
2. Check out where the cameras save the recording data to. While JVC only produces video cameras that save to either a hard disk or memory card, both Sony and Canon produce miniDV cameras as well. A miniDV camera records the content onto a small, digital video tape. Although recording onto a hard drive is nice, when recording a small amount of data, you may want a video tape-based camera while on vacation. This ensures you do not run out of room on the camera without having access to a computer to import the content.
3. Inspect where the microphone is placed on the video camera. JVC video cameras have the recording microphone directly under the lens. This is a prime location for the microphone as it records everything directly in front of the camera. Sony, on the other hand, has the microphone built into the top of the camera. This is more likely to pick up sounds the camera operating is making. Canon video cameras have the microphone off to the side of the lens. This forces the camera to record more audio from one side of the camera lens than the other.
4. Check to see if the video camera provides optional attachments. Smaller cameras from the three providers do not have any lens or microphone attachments (such as the smaller plug-n-play video cameras advertised to connect directly into a computer for uploading purposes). Larger video cameras with a built-in hard drive or miniDV tape deck have the ability to attach different lenses (such as macro and fish-eye) and shotgun microphones for improved sound recording.
Tags: video cameras, video camera, Sony Canon, cameras have, hard drive, lens This, video cameras have
