I recently purchased a video camera. As I continued my journey into the consumer dizzying electronics world I realized the choices are mind numbing, thus it would be easy to fall prey to impulse buying. These are just a few of the questions I asked myself during the process of buying a camera.
- What am I going to use it for?
- Who is my audience?
- Where will I primarily use it.. indoor, outdoors, or both?
- What kind of video camera do I really need?
- Do I want a camera which uses tape or has a hard drive to store the video?
- What is the difference?
- Is it practical to buy an HD (High Definition) camera?
- What will it take to produce a quality dvd to share with friends and family?
- How much do I really want to spend and how much am I willing to spend?
After a significant amount of research and reading hundreds of owner reviews I chose the highly rated Sony DCR-HC96 standard definition Mini DV tape camera. Here is the reasons which lead me to my final choice.
- Excellent low light ability.
- High quality video.
- Large CCD chip which makes the above possible.
- Mini DV tape has better image quality than hard drive cameras.
- Easier and less expensive to produce a DVD in standard definition.
- Blu-Ray burners are still expensive.
- HD camera are still improving and I do not want to invest the amount of money it would take to get a quality HD camera at this time.
- I got a great deal online and the Sony DCR-HC96 with the accessories of wide angle lens attachment, lens filter, wireless external bluetooth mic, battery, and film cost less the an HD camera.
Those are a few of my reasons for making the purchase I made. Did I make the right decision? Currently I am in Hawaii for two weeks and thus far the video I have taken has been excellent. The wireless mic has been wonderful for capturing dialog on the windy coastline and the wide angle lens has made the scenes stunning. I am definitely happy with my choice.
I can see where HD is appealing, but for now I am not ready to make the investment I need to make to produce quality HD home movies. With that said, I do look forward to the upgrade in the future.
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