Specifications
15
A Digital Video Primer
Optical image stabilization is best. ere are three kinds of image stabilization in handheld
camcorders: optical, digital, and electronic. Optical image stabilization uses a system of motion
detectors and lenses to mechanically reduce the eects of vibration and camera movement.
Electronic and digital image stabilization merely manipulates the digital image and may degrade
video quality. If you plan to record your summer vacation or amateur sports events, optical
image stabilization may not be an important issue for you; but if you want professional quality,
choose optical image stabilization.
Want to override automatic settings? Camera controls such as zoom, focus, audio gain, white
balance, exposure, and shutter speed are likely to be adjusted automatically in most consumer
camcorders. If you want to do more professional work, be sure your camcorder lets you override
automatic mode, so that you can adjust camera controls manually.
What about widescreen? Many camcorders let you toggle between standard 4:3 and widescreen
16:9 modes. If widescreen is important to you, nd a camera that provides anamorphic wide-
screen for a better-quality image (read about anamorphic in the sidebar on this page).
Those little LCD screens are mighty small. If you plan to shoot professional-quality video, you’ll
want a video output to support an external video monitor so you, your crew, and possibly a client
can have a clear review of the tape.
Do you want progressive scan mode? DV camcorders with progressive scan mode are becoming
more popular. If you want to shoot 24P (see the sidebar on 24P on page 4 of this primer), you’ll
need progressive scan capability, but you’ll want to be sure your progressive scan camcorder can
also shoot at a full 29.97 fps. Progressive scan video is better for desktop editing and for delivery
over progressive scan monitors (DTV or computer viewing) because it eliminates interlace arti-
facts. It’s also much better if you plan to capture still images from your video.
What about HD? High-denition video used to be used exclusively by a select group of profes-
sional producers with lots of money to spend. Today, a number of HD camcorders are available
from under U.S. $2,000 to over $10,000, and the prices are sure to drop as the selection increases.
is new breed of HD camcorder uses the HDV format, which uses MPEG-2 compression and
records onto miniDV tapes. For higher quality, a wide variety of HD camcorders are available
using formats such as Pansonic’s DVCPRO HD and Sony’s HDCAM. Before investing in SD, you
should look into HD.
How about audio recording? e DV specication allows for up to four channels of 32 kHz, 12-bit
audio (four mono tracks or two stereo tracks) or two channels of 48 kHz 16-bit audio (better-
than-CD quality). Most camcorders support both of these formats. If you want the best audio,
make sure the camcorder has an audio level meter and the ability to adjust audio levels manually.
You’ll also want a jack so you can plug in high-quality headphones to monitor the audio.
Consumer camcorders use a mini-plug microphone connector like the ones used for headphones
for portable radios. e audio system that uses this type of connector is prone to electrical
interference, so you should avoid running cables longer than 10 feet when using an external
microphone. Mini-plugs and jacks are also easier to break and the connection is not particularly
dependable. Professional camcorders come with low-impedance, balanced-line inputs using XLR
connectors that provide a much better connection and higher audio quality. If you want to use a
professional microphone, you can insert an adapter between the XLR connector on the micro-
phone and camcorder’s mini-jack.
Do you need analog in? Some digital camcorder models let you input an analog video signal, usually
through an S-video connector. e camcorder then digitizes the video, and you can use the IEEE
1394 connector to send the video directly to your computer for editing. With the analog input option,
you can use your camcorder instead of a capture card for analog-to-digital capturing.
WHAT’S ANAMORPHIC
Cameras and camcorders record the images that
comprise lm or video in standard 4:3 aspect ratio. If
your video camcorder has a switch to toggle between
the standard 4:3 and widescreen 16:9 aspect ratios,
it may simply be masking o (that is, letterboxing)
the top and bottom of the image as it records. If that
is the case, then 25% of the available pixels (not to
mention bandwidth) are being squandered on black
bars, meaning that there are fewer pixels available for
the actual image. With only 75% of the available pixels
used for essential information, your video will suer a
loss in resolution.
Anamorphic video, on the other hand, uses all
available pixels to store as much video information as
possible, so your image resolution is as high as pos-
sible. How does it work?
If your camcorder provides anamorphic widescreen
or if you can get an anamorphic adapter, then as the
image is recorded, it is squeezed horizontally to ll
the 4:3 space. When the image is played back on a
widescreen TV, the display device stretches the image
back to normal. The stretching is accomplished in the
display device using nonsquare pixels—pixels that
are actually rectangular. To make post-production
easy, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Eects support
anamorphic aspect ratios.
Shot in 4:3 mode.
Shot in nonanamorphic 16:9 mode, only 75%
of pixels are used
In anamorphic 16:9 mode, all pixels are used; image
is squeezed, but looks right when played back