Camcorder Buying Guide

The new camcorders range at Jessops features all the best bits of movie-capture technology, making it even easier to shoot footage good enough to show on your high definition TV!.. test ...

Sanyo has incorporated Full High Definition on all of its new models, teamed with a minimum of 10 megapixels for amazing photos too. Meanwhile, Canon and Sony have turned image know-how into smart technologies that can virtually 'see in the dark' adding brilliant features such as built in video lights, tracking face detection, plus intelligent Auto modes to identify a scene and select the best settings. With so much for such great-value prices, there's never been a better time for 'Action'.

New camcorders generally boast bigger sensors than the average digital camera, meaning they can capture sharper footage. In fact, a good camcorder can rival the resolution of some TV broadcasts. And whereas many digital cameras use the MPEG4 format, which compresses the file at the expense of quality to squeeze around 30 minutes of footage to a gigabyte (1GB) of memory, camcorders with a hard drive can save up to 45 hours of high definition footage onto a massive 60GB memory stash.

In terms of zoom, camcorder's larger lenses can offer up to 60x magnification to bring distant subjects super-close without the need for a telephoto lens, and supported by image stabilisers, professional results are put within easier reach.

Today's camcorder tend to record to two types of memory - internal Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or removable (Flash) memory card - while some do both. The big benefit of HDD is that storage capacities can be huge, meaning many hours of footage can be recorded. For those wanting a smaller, lighter camcorder with fast footage downloaded to a computer for sharing and editing, Flash Memory is the ideal choice.

Look out for Sony's clutch of new High Definition technologies if you want your films to have the professional edge. An advanced Exmor R CMOS Sensor improves light sensitivity to give brilliant quality footage even in dull or dark conditions, while the high-speed BIONZ processor handles stacks of high resolution data from the CMOS sensor with ease, and supports smart shooting features like tracking detection.

Canon is helping everyday moviemakers create amazing live works of art with its lightning-speed CMOS sensor technology, offering resolutions to match those of the latest Full HD television sets. Teamed with Canon's HD video lens and its ultra-powerful DV II processor, on their High Definition models, video footage is sharper and crystal clear in all lights, while photo stills appear deeper and reveal stnningly vibrant colours.

Finally, many camcorders offer in-house editing and film related functions and features that compact cameras and SLRs simply don't have space for.

What to look out for

Full High Definition
High definition uses more lines and pixels to make up each frame of the footage, offering more true-to-life images when played back on a high definition TV. Full high definition is captured in 1920 x 1080 pixels for five times more detail than standard definition camcorders.

Intelligent Auto
Identifies the type of scene in the frame and selects the best shooting mode for higher quality footage. These can include face, beach, snow and sports recongnition, plus low light and anti-shake adjustment.

Wideangle
A wideangle lens camcorder fits more in the frame. Ideal for those beautiful scenic shots and groups of people.

Video light and flash
Whether you're filming or shooting still photos, add extra light to a subject to improve the quality of a recording and high light facial expressions, colours bring detail out from dark shadows.

Built-in flash
Built-in flash helps camcorders with a camera function to achieve brilliant results when natural light is limited.

Zoom
Zoom allows you to get closer to the action when you're filming from a fixed point, such as the sidelines of a sports match. High zoom is ideal for use with a tripod when capturing action or wildlife.

24MPS recording
24 mps recording uses as much of the image data as it can to provide sharp detail, smooth motion and beautiful colours. The incredible quality imaging is therefore great for capturing fast-paced action.

Touchscreen LCD
The camcorder's functions and settings can be controlled easily by touching different options on the LCD screen.

LCD screen
All of our camcorders have LCD displays ranging from 2.5" to 3" - big enough to view the detail of your footage. Most also offer widescreen to display the full aspect of what's being captured. Vari-angle flip out screens make viewing even easier.

Memory card
Memory card camcorders record to a removable digital card, available in various gigabyte (GB) sizes to increase the quantity of footage that can be captured. High definition camcorders will require a high speed memory card.

Hard drive and internal memory
Hard drive camcorders offer long recording times with an average capacity of 80GB which offers up to 60 hours of recording. Some Memory Stick camcorders also now include a small amount of internal memory.

Megapixels
Selected camcorders can also take photos, and a simple way to measure the quality of this image capture is in megapixels. Those with 10 megapixel resolution (10MP) can offer similar quality to a good compact digital camera.

Face detection
Camcorders with face detection look out for faces when taking photos, fine-tuning the focus, exposure and colour balance for perfect portraits.

Pre REC mode
In Canons Pre REC mode, the camcorder starts recording three seconds before pressing the Record button and adds this to the beginning of the clip to ensure crucial moments aren't missed.

Microphone input
A feature on selected camcorders that enables an external microphone to be used for a more precise sound quality. Ideal for interview use.

Optical image stabilisation
Wobbly images caused by unsteady hands are a common cause of disappointing results. Optical stabilisation produces steadier, easier-to-watch footage without compromising image quality.

Face detection
Searches for faces within the frame and optimises exposure and colour balance for flattering footage of people. Tracking face detection can apply these settings to a person on the move.