DV Stars: Hello, Hollywood!

The latest digital camcorders make spectacular video more affordable and portable than ever.

Bryan Hastings is a freelance writer and cameraman. Richard Baguley is a senior associate editor and Alan Stafford a senior editor for PC World.

Features Comparison: The Big, the Small, and the Expensive

With the new breed of digital camcorders, making your own movies has never been cheaper or easier, so it's next stop, Sundance. Whether you are filming an independent movie, a sales meeting, or a family barbecue, these new camcorders make shooting your video as simple as writing an Oscar acceptance speech. And it's easy to copy that digital video to your PC, where you can edit it and then burn it to DVD to send to your friends, colleagues, or family.

One of the fastest-changing areas in digital video is storage. Although most of the camcorders we review here use the widely available MiniDV tapes, two of the models use other storage types: The Sony DCR-DVD300 records video to an 8-centimeter mini-DVD disc that can be played in most computer DVD drives and most DVD players, while the diminutive Sony DCR-IP1 uses tiny MicroMV tapes.

We tested nine models costing between $350 and $1000, including everything from entry-level models to semi-professional units. The PC World Test Center put them through their paces, testing battery life and video quality for indoor, outdoor, and low-light indoor settings.

All of the units shot good-quality video in outdoor and well-lit indoor venues: The variations we saw in our video tests on the 30-inch LCD TV we used were noticeable when we looked at videos side by side. We rated the Panasonic PV-DV953 as having the best, most accurate video overall; colors were vivid and lifelike and the motion of the video was smooth and realistic.

Our battery-life tests revealed that all of the camcorders were adequate for casual shooting, although we recommend investing in higher-capacity or spare batteries. We tested the units recording to media with the LCD screens on, and they all lasted at least an hour. The PV-DV953 took the top spot with a battery life of over 2 hours, owing to the high-capacity 1600MAh battery that Panasonic includes; all of the other models came with an 800MAh or smaller battery. Want to make your unit's batteries last longer? Use the viewfinder instead of the LCD panel where possible. The only two models we reviewed that won't let you do this are the Sony DCR-IP1, which doesn't have a viewfinder, and the Sony DCR-HC20, which you must control through the on-screen touch menu.

These camcorders vary greatly in design and ease of use, and especially in how comfortable they are to hold and operate. Panasonic's PV-DV953, while heavy, was a pleasure to record with; but its lighter sibling, the PV-DV73, was uncomfortable to hold for long stretches and had an awkward menu-key placement.

Vendors often quote the digital zoom that their cams offer; this feature is not ideal because it enlarges a part of the image, often producing horribly grainy video. Use the optical zoom instead.

All camcorders offer the same basic features (including automatic point-and shoot modes, exposure presets, and manual controls), but advanced features can vary widely. For instance, while the cams all come with low-light shooting modes, their implementations range from basic to deluxe. Canon's ZR80 deals with low-light shooting only one way: by slowing down the shutter speed to capture more light. On the other hand, Panasonic's PV-DV73 offers three low-light modes: a slow-shutter-speed mode, an assisted mode that uses a powerful white lamp for low-light shooting, and a mode using an infrared light, which the camcorder can see but the human eye can't. This last mode lets you shoot video where discretion is desired, such as when recording deer in your backyard after dark without alerting or spooking them.

We were surprised by the lack of a microphone jack on many of the camcorders. Sound quality can make or break a video production, so it's surprising that only Sony's DCR-HC20 and the two Panasonic models offer the ability to connect an external microphone that picks up better sound than the built-in ones.

Tips for the Digital Camcorder Shopper

As with many expensive electronic devices, some digital camcorders come with a baffling array of features. We assembled a list of tips to help you choose your new business tool/toy:

Get a Grip: When you shop for a camcorder, make sure you slip your hand into its strap, tighten it up, and "wear" it. You'll be surprised at the differences between them--you'll balk at some and bond with others. You'll usually know within a few minutes whether a cam works for you.

It's in the Card: If you want to take still images, make sure the camcorder accepts a memory card. With budget camcorders, watch out for still-shot claims: A few models save "still shots" to tape only. It's a poor solution--all you get is a several-second clip of the same low-res video frame.

A Cam With a View: Pay special attention to the viewfinder. A good viewfinder can help you extend your battery life, because it draws less power than the larger LCD screen. Is the viewfinder image crisp? Is it in color instead of black and white? If it is in black and white, is the image at least in high resolution? Does the viewfinder tilt up for more viewing flexibility? The better the viewfinder, the more you'll use it instead of the power-hungry LCD screen.

Sound Advice: Professional videographers know that audio is 50 percent of a video production. So check to see if your potential purchase comes with an external microphone jack. Oddly, many camcorders--even a few pricier ones--don't offer this. No internal microphone can measure up to even a halfway decent shotgun or lavalier mike. Some of the vendors (such as Canon and Panasonic) offer external microphones as extra-cost accessories that are far superior to the built-in ones.

Remote Possibilities: Don't sell short the humble remote control. Even when you're standing at the camera, it's often easier to use the remote to surf menus and operate controls than it is to use the cam's onboard buttons and dials. And it's especially useful for low-light shoots, when even the slightest movement of the camera can cause the video to blur. All of the camcorders we reviewed come with wireless remotes similar to the ones you use with your TV. However, the Panasonic PV-DV953 goes one step further by using a wired remote that includes a microphone--useful if you want to add narration to your videotape.

From Tape to DVD: Do you have tapes you want to copy to DVD, but don't want to shell out extra money for a converter? Then make sure your digital camcorder has an analog-to-digital pass-through function. Such cams can simultaneously take the analog video from your VCR or old analog camcorder, digitize it, and send it to your PC through the FireWire port. With the appropriate software (such as Ulead's DVD Movie Factory 2), you can then write this video out to DVD. See our article "Put It On DVD" for more details.

Best Cams

Panasonic's PV-DV953 (left). Sony's DCR-HC20 (right).

For those who want value more than features, Sony's $450 DCR-HC20 (right) is a light, uncluttered camcorder that provides you with the basics (like a decent zoom lens and a comfortable hand grip) and is extremely easy to use. For people who want better-looking video and more control, and who don't mind paying more, Panasonic's $950 PV-DV953 (left) provides excellent video quality, long battery life, and a set of advanced features to make shooting video easier.

Shooting Video Without Tape?

The Fisher FVD-C1 (left) and Panasonic SV-AV100 (right).

There's a new generation of camcorders in town. Instead of recording on videotape, these camcorders store video on SD flash memory cards. However, our experience with two of these pricey newcomers showed that the age of videotape isn't over yet.

We informally tested two camcorders that store video on SD cards: the $800 Fisher FVD-C1 Pocket CameraCorder and the $700 Panasonic SV-AV100. Both come with a 512MB SD card that can hold up to an hour of video and are smaller than any of the videotape counterparts we reviewed, measuring just over 1 inch thick, 4 inches high, and 3 inches wide, and weighing around 6 ounces.

In our trials, both the FVD-C1 and the SV-AV100 produced reasonably good video, but neither model's output was nearly as good as the video produced by even the cheapest tape camcorder. Compression artifacts produced blocky, occasionally jerky video. SD media cards aren't cheap, either. Expect to pay around $200 for an extra 512MB SD card; by comparison, a MiniDV tape that holds 90 minutes of video costs around $10. So while tapeless camcorders are certainly interesting devices, tape-based camcorders still triumph on both video quality and cost.

Richard Baguley

Camcorders for Video and Stills

The world's gone mad for things that multitask--motor oils that lubricate and protect, shampoos that clean and condition, even refrigerators that let you surf the Web. Many such products are mediocre at one task or the other; for example, camcorders usually take poor still images. However, newer camcorders from Panasonic and Samsung take surprisingly good shots. Panasonic's PV-DV953 uses three CCDs to capture both video and 3-megapixel still images; Samsung's SCD5000 uses a 0.68-megapixel CCD for video and a separate 4.1-megapixel CCD for stills. Another bright spot: The PV-DV953's 10X zoom lens lets you take phenomenal close-ups. Plus, the Panasonic's 3.5-inch LCD dwarfs that of any digicam.

Overall, though, even these models don't perform as well as comparable digital still cameras. The Panasonic's shots were fairly sharp, but colors were a bit off. The Samsung's shots had better color and were sharper. But neither camcorder's images stacked up to those of the 3.2-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 3700 (a Best Buy last month).

The Samsung SCD5000 has two lenses: one for video, one for still images (inset).

Both of these camcorders are big and heavy, and they relegate photo functions to secondary buttons and hard-to-locate menus. To take a photo with the PV-DV953, you have to switch to camera mode and press a tiny button on the top of the body. With the SCD5000, you must rotate a portion of the camcorder's body 180 degrees to put it into still-image mode.

In a pinch, photo capabilities are nice to have in a camcorder, but it's still best to keep the pudding away from the peas--and separate your picture taking from your video recording.

Alan Stafford

Get More Info on Digital Video

Want more information about shooting digital video, editing your movies, and recording your videos onto DVD? Here are some helpful articles on PCWorld.com:

Convert Your Videotapes to DVD

Fast-Lane DVD Burning

Good-Bye, VHS; Hello, DVD

Put It On DVD