How to Choose a Camera

Choosing a camera can be a confusing task considering all the different formats and resolutions available. Here are a few tips to get you headed in the right direction in choosing a camera that will meet your needs without going overboard.

Let’s first talk about standard definition verses high definition cameras. Think about what your final use for the video will be. If you are shooting for a web site then a standard definition camera will work just fine. Web sites do not benefit from high definition video. Also, if you will be shooting in a low light situation a standard definition camera might be the right choice because it will not create as much noise in the image as a high definition camera will.

For projects delivered on DVD, you have to think about who you are making the DVD for to better determine the type of camera to choose. For event video work, where the final product might be ten or twenty DVDs for family and friends, standard definition is the way to go. For a corporate video piece, where the video could be repurposed for a trade show booth or will be archived for future use, high definition video is an important consideration. Corporate videos typically have a larger budget than event videos and can warrant the added expense of a higher quality video image.

If your project justifies high definition video then you should consider HDV (usually tape) compared to DVCPro 100 (usually P2 cards) and the benefits of each. HDV, usually being tape, gives you a comfortable workflow for postproduction and if your client wants to take the tape after the shoot, you can just hand it over. DVC Pro100, recorded to P2 data cards, gives you a faster workflow for post production (no more shuttling tape, etc…) and offers a larger bandwidth for color information. The larger bandwidth is especially important for chroma key projects where color information is used to cut a key for the compositing.

This is of course a very brief discussion of what to think about when choosing a camera. However, these points should get you to think about the real reason you want a particular camera. Finally, think long and hard about audio inputs and time code features. A camera that has XLR connectors will allow professional grade microphones to be used without an adaptor. No audio connector on a camera at all means that you are stuck with the cheap camera mic and that’s just no good. If you are going to be editing multiple tapes, time code that you can set and control will make all the difference in your sanity during postproduction.