what-camcorder

The skilled videographer can take some cracking footage with even the most basic equipment. However, if you are looking to purchase a new camera, there are some factors you might like to consider.........

What Format?
There are a variety of formats available and they all give their own particular feel to a film. The six main formats are 8mm, VHS-C, Hi8, S-VHS-C, Digital 8, DV.

Most amateur filmmakers won’t pitch their equipment below these, but other formats can give a special feel, especially in the fiction or animation fields. Wildlife video however, does not allow for the kind of controlled conditions essential for low-end formats and we really need as much help as we can get to cope with low light levels and camera-to-subject proximity. The quality of lower band formats drops off dramatically once you start to copy on to VHS tape in your video recorder (VCR), in terms of both sound and picture. Because you are starting with low quality originally, subsequent copies can be very poor. Digital quality is by far the best both in terms of picture and sound.

If budget is a major factor, you can help yourself in regard to quality by always using a tripod and shooting in optimum light levels. There are low-band cameras with large zooms under Ł300. There is also the possibility of buying a converter later which you screw in front of the lense. These are a very useful add on for all cameras in the wildlife filming field as they magnify your picture several times (depending on the size of the converter). However, they are not cheap and cameras don’t all use the same size, so consider this if you are likely to be trading up in the near future. It is worth remembering too that trade-in values for non-digital equipment have fallen dramatically since the price of digital equipment has become more accessible: now available for as little as Ł460 if you shop around. Your budget obviously has a large part to play, but there is no doubt that the digital format gives far clearer pictures, better colour saturation and accuracy, and handles low light levels amazingly well.

If you already have a fair bit of footage on 8mm or hi8 you might consider going for Sony’s digital8 range of cameras. Your new footage can be filmed digitally, but such cameras will play back 8mm and hi8 tapes also. There is an added advantage that they will use hi8 tapes for recording and, as they record digitally, will use fairly cheap tape (but beware shedding problems with very cheap tape). A note of caution though, one of the digital8 models does not have backwards compatibility, so check this if it is an important factor.

The Power Struggle
Batteries don’t carry the same’ wow-factor’ as many other features, and so are usually pretty low on your friendly neighbourhood camera salesman’s priority list. It is a subject, however, that has to be high on the wildlife photographer’s agenda. For us, it’s often necessary to set up on a particular site and wait, camera switched on and at the ready. Even relatively static subjects such as plants require a lot of switched-on work: moving bits of rubbish, unwanted stalks of grass etc., adjusting depth of field, not to mention dealing with rapidly changing light levels. Tools such as zooms and monitors/screens gobble up energy rapidly. All this coupled with the fact that most fields and woods are inconveniently bereft of mains sockets. Camcorders running on low capacity batteries then can mean you buying, and carrying, a high number of batteries. Many of the lower end batteries also require the extra inconvenience of needing to be discharged totally to avoid memory problems, so you might also require an additional battery discharger to prevent life-shortening over a number of rechargings. The relatively new InfoLitheum or high stamina batteries avoid this memory problem and can be constantly topped up. They are also high capacity, some providing up to 10 hours-plus in optimum conditions (although you could normally realistically expect to half that at least, allowing for real-life demands and extra zoom or screen use). However, InfoLitheum batteries are expensive and most of us would expect to take at least two mid-capacity batteries to allow for a backup should one fail. It is typical to get a 90-100 minute battery when you buy a camera using such a battery system. I can’t express the importance of checking what kind of batteries a potential camera requires if you are to avoid expensive and inconvenient mistakes.

The Zoom Boom
Wild creatures, by their very nature, do not respond to direction awfully well: you have to grab what shots are on offer, and the make or break element is usually ‘how close can you get?’ A high power zoom then is a very useful aid to getting close ups.

Check carefully though what ratio between optical and digital zoom is on offer. Digital zoom has the advantage of getting you closer, but at the price of sharpness. Most writers on the subject will say that digital zooms are virtually useless: this may be true for those who are used to shooting in conditions they can control, but the wildlife videographer’s needs are slightly different. I would personally prefer a slightly blurred image of a rare species or situation, than none at all. For me then, a digital zoom is a very useful tool until Madam Lottery allows me to purchase the mega optical zoom I would rather go for. Some cameras require you to use the menu to access the digital zoom, whereas some simply follow on after the full extent of optical. Accessing a menu obviously takes time so look out for this one.