Pocket HD Camcorders Buying Guide

Movies, TV, and even YouTube have gone high-def. So why are you still shooting standard-definition video? Join the HD revolution
Pocket camcorders were invented with parents in mind something quick and easy to use to capture those rare moments when the children are being  well behaved and cute as can be :).

The idea behind pocket HD camcorders is to let you capture HD video quickly and easily anytime, anywhere. These palm-size devices are extremely easy to use; there aren’t many settings to worry about, and you don’t need any special software to transfer videos to your computer. Since they shoot video in MPEG-4 format, all you have to do is drag and drop the files onto your desktop or plug the camera right into your HDTV to view your movies.

The best pocket camcorders combine the ease of a point-and-click camera with the crisp quality of video that you want to watch and share with friends. Today such video is all over the place, especially the Web, because it can be shot and uploaded in a matter of minutes.

The past few years have seen a new type of camcorder come onto the market, this new class of “YouTube” camcorders has emerged to satisfy those who want something other than a cell phone or a point-and-shoot camera to capture Web-quality video, and don’t need the overkill of an expensive, complicated video camera. And most important of all they want it in High Definition.

These days, it seems like the entire world is in HD. Shooting your video in high definition can capture a moment in a way that standard video simply can’t. The resulting footage is sharper, faster-moving, and just plain better looking—especially when you view it on an HDTV. Starting at less than £150, one of these tiny devices will help you capture and share high-definition video.

You need only connect the camera to your computer via an integrated USB arm to have your video online or stored safely on a computer  in minutes. What’s more, because these camcorders use built in flash memory, there are no tapes to deal with!

Pocket camcorders, like the Flip from Pure Digital, Kodak’s Zi8 are all the rage these days. They’re very compact, extremely easy to use and the video is easily transferred to the computer and Web. They’re inexpensive, too, usually falling below £150. These benefits have motivated a fair number of shoppers to opt for pocket models.

You don’t want to plunge blindly into the the camcorder market without a sense of what’s going on. Here are several things you’ll need to keep in mind to help narrow your choices.

 LCD

Many modern camcorders a LCD  you use to view your video.

Storage

Pocket camcorders store their data on flash memory chips or removable memory cards (and some cameras use multiple media). These cameras use the AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) format—a high-definition format that uses the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec. The larger the storage then the more recording time you get.

when the flash drive gets full, and if the camcorder doesn’t offer a removable storage option (a media card, for instance), you must either delete some of the data on the drive or connect the camcorder to a computer and archive the video. Pocket camcorders act like USB key drives—connect one to your PC or Mac, and it will appear on the desktop as a removable hard drive. These cameras normally store video as H.264 MPEG-4 files.

Resolution and frame rate

When looking at HD camcorders, you’ll see a variety of numbers followed by an i or a p—1,080i and 720p, for example. These figures indicate the HD video mode: the number of horizontal pixels and the display format. Specifically, 1,080 video offers a resolution of 1,920 (vertical) by 1,080 (horizontal) pixels; 720 video offers 1,280 (vertical) by 720 (horizontal) pixels.

The i and p stand for interlaced and progressive, respectively. Traditional video is made up of odd and even lines (or fields). With interlaced video, each video frame is displayed in alternate fields, horizontal lines that are painted on the screen from top to bottom. So in the case of 1,080i, the 540 odd fields of one-pixel rows are displayed first, followed by the 540 even rows. Progressive video (often called Full High Definition Video by manufacturers) draws every line, from top to bottom, in one pass.

The goal is to produce 30 frames per second (or damn close to it). Camcorders that shoot 1080i do this by shooting 59.94 interlaced, odd and even frames per second. This is termed 60i. 1080p camcorders shoot 30 (30p) progressive frames per second.

You’re less likely to notice the difference between interlaced and progressive video on a television because TVs are designed to account for interlaced video—they either support interlacing natively (standard-definition TVs) or include deinterlacing circuitry (HDTVs) that converts interlaced video to progressive video. Computer monitors, which are progressive-scan devices, don’t include deinterlacing, which is why interlaced video can look jagged on them.

For this reason, it’s important to consider where your video will eventually appear. If that’s a TV, either interlaced or progressive video will do. If your video is likelier to appear on computer screens, progressive is the better choice.

Pocket camcorders,  shoot in 720p but some models do 1080p. 

Bit rate

Bit rate describes the amount of information stored in a unit of time. AVCHD, which uses the H.264 encoder, maxes out at 24 Mbps. The higher the bit rate, the better the video should look.

You can’t compare the bit rates of different encoders, as each encoder has its own way of processing video. For example, H.264 is a more efficient encoder than MPEG-2, so it produces better-looking video at lower bit rates. When comparing camcorders, you should compare the bit rates.

Media transfer

Today’s camcorders routinely transfer data via a USB 2.0 connection. This is good news for most people as most modern PC’s and Mac’s will offer a USB 2.0 port (or 6). A push of a button usually releases the connector so it’s ready to plug into a USB 2.0 port. For cameras that use removable media (Kodak Zi8)—an SD card, for example—you can optionally eject the media from the camera and plug it into a card reader attached to your PC.

Inputs and outputs In addition to a USB port, HD camcorders can include a HDMI port for connecting the camera to an HDTV or an HD receiver. You might also find a microphone and headphone port.

Still capture

While having the ability to capture still images is nice, it’s not these cameras’ strongest feature and therefore shouldn’t be a major factor in your buying decision. Most of today’s point-and-shoot cameras will produce better-looking pictures than a camcorder. The good thing is you can manually take a screen grab of a scene from a movie you make and then print/edit/store it as you see fit meaning you have a great choice of still images you can select by going through the movie frame by frame.

Any questions then just get in touch.

The DE Support Team