On Tue, 2005-05-10 at 13:26 +0200, Erik Johansson wrote: > Hi I'm buying a camera now and will probably spend somewhere above > $700, I would really like to bring it to debconf to let you guys shoot > video. But I need help choosing a good camera. Any pointers? This is a difficult question to answer. It's difficult to tell what makes an $800 camera better than a $400 camera, but here are a few things you might look for: 1) A camera with 3 CCDs generally has better color than a 1 CCD camera. Don't go by the megapixel nonsense printed on the camera. Those numbers generally refer to still images, not video. Some of the review sites will tell you how many pixels are really used for video. 2) Many DV cameras have trouble in low light. The image becomes grainy and colorless. When you're reading reviews pay particular attention to low light performance. 3) Top loading of tapes is a nice bonus. Most DV camera are bottom loading, meaning that you have to remove the camera from the tripod each time you change the tape. It's a major PITA if you're filming something lengthy. 4) How easy is it to use the manual focus and zoom controls? If you're filming a projection screen or in low light, auto-focus will have trouble and you'll want to use manual. 5) Nightshot, digital effect, etc... Personally, I don't use any of these features, but you might find them useful. 6) Is it compatible with Kino/dvgrab? I don't know of any website that tracks camera compatibility, but I have one camera that doesn't work well with Kino and it's a hassle to work around the problems. You might search the Kino forums for the model you decide on. 7) A remote control is another nice feature. Each time you touch the camera while it's filming on a tripod the video will shake slightly. Hope that helps. John
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