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By CI Staff, October 19, 2009 9:05 pm

Before you jump right in and purchase a digital video camera, take a little bit of time to get to know the ins and outs of the video cameras.  You may find that if you jump straight in right now without some background knowledge, some of the information may seem overwhelming.  No worries, a few moments spent trying to get to know the technology, the lingo and most importantly the benefits will help you narrow down your choice to the digital video camera you need, and you can minimize the possibility of ending up paying for extra features you won’t be using.

One of the things you are going to run into is the term codec.  This term refers to code/decode, which is a necessary process that allow digital video cameras to compress and store video, as well as retrieve, uncompress and disply video.

Before we approach the topic of codecs, let us get acquainted with digital video resolutions.  You will likely encounter these resolutions if you were to shop for digital video cameras today.  Don’t worry about interlaced or progressive at this time.

DV is standard definition, though much higher than VHS, used in MiniDV, interlaced scan.
720p is high definition in progressive scan.
1080i is high definition, interlaced scan.
1080p is high definition in progressive scan.

There are several digital video formats which are employed today.  Note that video technology, and specifically digital video formats change frequently as hardware components (those things in your video camera, computer, video players) become increasingly sophisticated and are able to handle more data at a higher rate.

MPEG-1 (352×240 resolution) stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. It’s the grand daddy of them all, and the first approved codec used for video CD and the popular audio format MP3.

MPEG-2 (480×480 compression) is mostly utilized in broadcast television video and audio, as well as for DVDs, though it has seen its better days and should be on its way out in the very near future.

MPEG-4/H.264 (also called AVC) is a new format that is increasingly being employed in high-definition recording as well as on HD media such as Blu-Ray DVD.

QuickTime was developed by Apple Computer and widely used on the web as well for streaming video and audio.  At one point it was a me-too standard, but has recently adapted to the changing market and is now a popular technology again.

Audio Video Interleave (AVI) is Microsoft’s ubiquitous codec. But it is heading the way of the dinosaurs and has been superseded by Microsoft’s other technology, WMV, to handle higher definition.

Windows Media Video (WMV) is Microsoft’s codec and a variation of MPEG-4.  It has been used on many levels of compression to accomodate varying distribution channels such as the Internet all the way up to high definition.

Real Video/Audio, version 10, developed by Real Networks and requiring a downloadable RealPlayer, has been used for Internet applications primarily.

Analog video, such as those on VHS technology, may be converted to digital using analog-to-digital converters, which capture the video stream from the VHS tapes and convert them to digital.  Note that despite the conversion to digital, the video will not necessarily display better; the fact is, the digital video resolution will be no better than that of the VHS resolution.  The analog-to-digital converter cannot manufacture resolution that wasn’t there to begin with.

Connections: Firewire and USB

To transfer your video from the digital video camera to your computer for editing, or a media burner for recording, you will need to use a cable to facilitate the data transfer.  Most, if not all digital video cameras today utilize either Firewire or USB2 as the means to getting the data transfered to and from your digital video camera.  Firewire is sometimes referred to by geeks as IEEE 1394, which is the standards board reference for the technology that Apple popularized as Firewire. Sony prefers to call it iLink.  But they’re all the same darn thing.  USB2 is a technology developed by Intel, and though it has a slower throughput than Firewire, increasingly manufacturers are discovering that it is plenty fast enough to move digital video, particularly if the video is highly compressed.

Well, that’s it for now.  In our next post, we will discuss digital video formats in greater detail, and you will be that much readier to navigate the digital video camera market.

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By CI Staff, October 9, 2009 9:02 am

Price will most likely dictate the type of digital video camera that you’ll end up buying. If money were no object, we could purchase the latest and greatest and smallest and whatever else -est that would end up costing us an arm and a leg. But given that cost is very tangible for most people, it’s important that we select the right camera that is going to do what we want it to do with respect to our film projects and not fall into the trap of buying a camera that is sporting the latest this and that for a premium price.

There are several informal classifications of digital video cameras starting with the consumer model. The cameras in this category are often priced under $1000 and are designed primarily for casual use. You’ll typically find these cameras being lugged around by Joe and Jane Citizen during special events such as birthday parties, graduations, soccer games, family get-togethers and other events.

A step up from the consumer model is the so-called Pro super model. Often priced several thousand dollars more than a consumer model, equipments in this category offer all the basic consumer model features, and expand upon that by including many features normally found only on expensive professional models.

At the top of the heap are the professional models. These are not equipment that the average person would be carrying around; in fact, equipments in this class often times costmore than 10 times the average of consumer models.  In fact, it would not be uncommon to find professional digital video cameras in the six figure range.  These cameras are typically used to produce feature films and professional television shows.

Recent advances in digital technology have made it possible to produce feature films using prosumer cameras whose output can later be scaled to 35mm film for distribution to theaters.  HDV prosumer cameras are becoming increasingly available and may soon be the entry-level camera, superseding consumer models.  Most event videographers such as those shooting weddings and sporting events now utilize HDV cameras.

For starters, don’t feel like you have to shell out big bucks to get into the HDV camera playground.  choose a video camera that you can comfortably afford at this time. Keep in mind that the current generation of video cameras are light years ahead of what you would have bought a year or two ago.  Resist the temptation to go out and purchase the latest digital video camera with all the latest whizbang features.

In All likelihood an entry-level consumer digital video camera that you purchase today will be capable of producing almost professional looking results. Unless you plan on screening your creation to the likes of Steven Spielberg, more than likely the average viewer will be more than happy with the result of your creation using your consumer level digital video camera.

There is almost a direct correlation between features and price so you may want to filter out on price in order to ensure that you stay within budget. Once you have determined that price range, then you can examine all the cameras in that range and closely investigate their specifications. In a subsequent post, we will be discussing digital video camera specifications in order to help you make a more informed choice.

Most digital video camera shoppers stick with midrange products unless they have a very specific professional need which would warrant the move up to the highest quality video cameras on the market today.  Manufacturers have done a good job of integrating commonly used professional features into their prosumer models, which benefits consumers who take their video creation quite seriously.  The advancement of technology each and every year is enabling the manufacturers to continue offering top end features into their prosumer product lines.

You may recall the movie “The Blair Witch Project” which was produced using prosumer cameras with a budget of about $10,000.  The creators were the first to digitally market their product. The movie produced hundreds of millions with a worldwide distribution, despite the humble equipment used in its creation.

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By CI Staff, October 3, 2009 5:58 pm

An artist cannot produce a masterpiece without the tools that he needs to apply his craft. Likewise, a movie maker (professional or hobbyist) cannot produce film to be viewed without a camera. Fortunately technology has come a long way in terms of making digital cameras available to professional and budding filmmakers alike.

It wasn’t that long ago that movie makers had little choice but to work with physical film. The arrival of digital technology in the film making space has enabled practically everyone to produce their own movie. Now whether this is good or bad (just visit YouTube and make up your own mind) is subject to debate, which we will not get into that in this article. The point is that anyone, regardless of ability or budget, now has the capability to execute on cinematic ideas cheaper and faster than ever before. The tools available to today’s digital moviemaker is not only impressive but also increasingly easy to learn.

So what is it about digital technology that makes the process of filmmaking so much easier for today’s creatively impulsive citizen? Perhaps two of the most important features of digital technology vis-à-vis film are cost and ease of use.  when you shoot footage on a digital camera you are able to download the entire footage onto your computer where you can then view it, edit it, add in some effects and then decide upon the method of delivery. You can create a video file to be uploaded to your personal website or to YouTube or even e-mailed to friends and family. You can also burn the video file into a CD which can then be viewed by friends and family using the appropriate viewer. Another option is to burn it to DVD or in the case of high definition, BluRay, and your eager viewers can just pop it into their media player to view it.

Today’s personal computers are supplied with software that makes this entire process pain free and in fact absolute fun. For example on any Apple Computer, you can go from digital camera to digital video in a matter of minutes, complete with all postproduction work.  Other than the cost of the camera this whole process pretty much costs nothing. Well, there is this thing called opportunity cost but this is not an economics blog so we’re not going to talk about that here. Point is, it was easy, you had fun, and you didn’t spend any money in doing so, assuming you already have a digital video camera.

If you have to create your footage on film, the first thing you’re going to run into is the lack of ability to immediately preview your work. You going to have to go on faith that the scene you just shot is perfect.  You’re not going to be able to validate a scene until after the film has been processed in a lab.  Only then will you be able to make the determination.  As you can imagine, processing film is not going to be a free affair.  And every time you make a mistake with film, it is going to cost you not only in time, but also in real money as film, once developed, cannot be reused.  Digital film, on the other hand (or other digital storage medium used by your digital video camera) may be reused many times over.

In short, the cost associated with film is a barrier to all but serious movie creators, so an alternative must be used, and that alternative is digital video.  In addition to the significantly lower cost, there is also the matter of speed with which movies can be shot, edited and delivered using digital technology.

When we mention film here, we are not referring to the technology employed in the 80s, 90s and early turn of the century.  Remember those?  They were collectively called camcorders and are neither film nor digital film in the sense that we use those terms here.  Their format is analog and the captured footage cannot be readily edited unless first converted to digital.

Today, you just never know where the next interesting movie or film clip is going to come from.  The ability to record footage has been made near-ubiquitous by hand held devices such as the phone.  Anyone with an iPhone can even perform a rudimentary cut and paste of video right on their phone.  Once done, they can share it with the world.  It’s not an exaggeration when people claim that the world can view an event they experienced in a matter of minutes.

Alright, you’re a budding filmmaker and you want to get started in this new age of digital video production, whether for personal or professional purposes.  What do you do, in terms of equipment?  Well, you are going to need the right tool for the right job.  In a subsequent article, we will discuss the process of selecting the right digital video camera for you.  Depending on your needs, you may have to invest a bit of money, so you want to ensure that you’re getting what your need.  We’ll cover that next time…