High Definition Video Cameras

HD Based Video Cameras

HD Based Video Cameras

HD, or high definition, is creating quite a lot of
interest, due to some very high spirited campaigning
done by the cable networks wanting you to buy HD
boxes to watch HD on television. What you may not
be aware of, is the fact that HD is delivered in
a widescreen format of 16:9 instead of the normal
television format of 4:3.

The average everyday customer has every right to be
confused as to what HD really and truly is, as most
companies involved with it can't agree on one simple
standard. The standard getting the most support
with HD is 1080i, which means a resolution of 1080
interlaced lines or 720 progressive lines. The
television signals in general will give you 525
lines so the increasing quality is dramatic, if
you have the HD gear to watch the video the way it
was meant to be.

Cameras that offer HD are simply the best you can
buy. They are obviously more expensive than digital
cameras, with some models reaching upwards towards
90,000$ and above! These types of cameras are
normally for professionals, as the average working
man would never be able to afford such an expensive
type of HD video camera.

The average HD video cameras will run 800$ and up.
HD cameras offer you the chance to shoot high
definition picures and videos, and send them to
friends or family. You can also save your shoots
to disk or memory card, then take them with you
everywhere you go.

If you've yet to see a HD video camera, you'll
probably find yourself amazed. The zoom offered
with these cameras are amazing, as many can get
above 100X! Shooting up close and personal is
never a problem with HD video cameras.

Finding Your Format

It's quite impossible to choose a camera without
knowing which format best fits your needs. Below,
you'll find many of the most popular formats.

DVCPRO HD
Based on the standard definition of DVCPRO format,
the DVCPRO HD from Panasonic uses a data rate of 120
MBps and intraframe compression, both of which will
provide strong protection from generational loss.

The DVCPRO HD also has supporting cameras and decks
that use FireWire I/O, which is a very important
feature for keeping an eye on your bottom line. The
cost of the equipment is a bit pricey, as it can
cost upwards of 80,000$.

HDCAM
The HDCAM format from Sony is based on DigiBeta and
can record in 24p, 25p, 50i, and even 60i. It
uses a high data rate of 140MBps, which produces a
great looking picture with few glitches. Because
of the very unusual 17:6:6 color sampling scheme,
the color detail is half of DVCPRO HD. The
picture is top of the line, proving to be among the
best available on the market.

HDV
There is quite a bit of buzz surrounding HDV as
the newcomer to the high definition marketplace.
With high compression rates, HDV has enabled
high quality shooting and editing with low cost
tools, including the convenience of high
definition video to Mini DV tape. This has also
helped to open up the HD field to a wide
variety of videographers and producers who
would never have even considered going high
definition otherwise.

The biggest drawback to going the HDV route is
also the greatest strength - high compression.
Both audio and video can suffer dramatically
from too much compression. The audio in theory
isn't up to CD quality, although some users
report that they are perfectly happy with it.

Editing HD Video

Editing HD Video

Working with the video of camcorders such as the Sony
HDR-HC1 can produce a serious business. HD video
contains four times the number of pixels that
standard definition offers, and it's much more
heavily compressed.

Keep in mind that you need a powerful computer with
a lot of memory to deal with the extra data and
compression. Pinnacle for example, recommends a
minimum 512 MB of RAM and a graphics card with 128
MB of RAM for standard resolution video, although
that goes up to a GB of RAM and a 256 MB graphics
card when working with 1080i HD video.

You can find plenty of software available that
supports editing high definition videos. For example,
the latest versions of Pinnacle Studio and Ulead
Media Studio 8 can import and edit files in HDV
format.

Even though the high definition video with these
types of looks great when played back on an HDTV,
at the present time is there is no way store HD
video on a DVD. The only way you can store HD
video for playback is on your PC or the same type
of media you used in your HD camcorder.

There is however, a new generation of high definition
optical media format coming soon. Products that
are based on the HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc formats
are very expensive, and they will remain that way
for the near future.

HD-DVD players were announced a while back that
they will cost $500 and up, and will be available
very soon. You'll also need one of the new HD-DVD
drives to write to the disc, which will cost as
much again. You can expect the same story with the
Blu-ray disc, as both the recorders and the players
are going to be expensive for a while to come.

There is one other option as well. There is a
DVD player from KISS, the DP-600, which can play
back high definition files that have been compressed
to Microsoft's Windows Media 9 format. This can
at least provide a stop gap until the price of the
HD-DVD and Blue-ray disc players and writes come
down to an affordable price.

You can always play back the recorded video you
have through the camcorder itself, although you
shouldn't expect to be able to write it out on a
disc with the current available equipment and
preserve its quality. If you wait it out, the new
generation of available media will be everything
you need for your HD video.

Controls And Features

The central part of a DV camcorder is the CCD, or
Charge Coupled Device. This sensor creates a video
picture by recording the light intensity to recognize
an image or shape, along with the color levels to
reproduce a full color picture.

There are several tape based DV camcorders that have
both color eyepiece viewfinders and a flip out TFT
LCD screen to view the action as well as the previous
recorded footage. Most tape-less models however,
only offer the TFT screen to preview your captured
video and to view while you make a recording.

When you need to get closer to the action, a zoom
lens can be a great feature. Don't get swayed by
the digital zoom figure however; as no matter how
large it may be, you should always base your final
decision on the optical zoom.

The optical zoom will give you a true indication of
the video image, where digital zooms interpolate the
available pixels to zoom in on an image. Optical
zooms will normally range around the 10X mark, with
digital zooms ranging from 100X and above.

The auto focusing systems are great as well, although
manual focus options can be ideal for low light or
when focusing on a subject against a landscape. Being
available on most video cameras, the manual focus
control can be found as either a ring on the lens
or as a dual button system on the body.

Most video cameras these days will provide a tilting
feature in the camera itself, although this feature
should be avoided unless you don't intend to edit
the video on a computer. The title effects on
many cameras are quite limited and cannot be
removed afterwards.

Almost all new high definition video cameras will
use a rechargeable Li-ion battery, even though a
spare battery might be useful as the batteries are
unique to each camcorder maker and normally each
model.

Most of the latest cameras allow you to capture
digital still images onto a removable flash memory
card. The most popular media is SD or MMC, but
Sony and Samsung cameras often capture to a memory
stick.

If your video camera doesn't offer still image
capabilities, you can always perform a capture of
the screen in your editing program. Always remember
that the image resolution when capturing a still
this way will always be 640X480, which is actually
less than 1 MB, or Mega Byte.

Canon XLH1

On September 18 of 2005, Canon broke new ground in
the digital video camera industry, announcing the
XL H1, which was Canon's first DVC featuring high
definition. Originally developed based on the needs
of professional and enthusiast videographers, the
XL H1 retains the operability of Canon's very popular
XL2 while increasing the professional function and
supporting high definition recording.

The flagship DVC for the company of Canon, the XL H1
is ideal for use all across the spectrum of
professional content making, from film and television
production to filming weddings. The XL H1 also
comes equipped with a HD 20X zoom video lens, the XL
5.4-108 mm L IS II, which contributes to Canon's
development aim of delivering the highest possible
quality of recording available today.

As Canon's first HD video camera, the XL H1 camcorder
and 20X HD video zoom lens will provide broadcasters
with a low budget 1080i resolution option for ENG,
documentary or even reality television productions.

Film makes will also fall for the extensive Cine
controls and 24 frame rate option the XL H1
has to offer. Canon's custom jackpack features
include uncompressed digital HD-SDI output for
seamless integration into broadcast studios or high
quality image transfer to non linear editing systems.

The genlock feature will allow movie sets to
easily synchronize camera settings across multiple
camcorders and SMPTE time codes will allow for
streamlined tape and edit management.

The XL H1 also offers three 1/3 inch 1.67 megapixel
interlaced CCDs that capture images at 1080i
resolution. It also features selectable frame
rates of 50i and 25F, so capturing fast motion and
just about everything else is possible with the
XL H1.