Are all camcorders created equal?

Nick Niehaus · #1 (**permalink**) 05-03-2004, 05:37 AM

I'm taking a video production class in school, in which we learn the fundamentals of making video and then, (who would have guessed...) we make videos at school. Being a total nerd, I already knew my way around video and camcorders so I just took the class to get an easy A (aren't I so evil?).

The cameras we use at school are actually pretty nice (Sony DCR-TRV3

. Due to time constraints, I need to shoot some of the video I'm making at home on my miniDV Panasonic GS-50S. I'd like to know if all miniDV cameras have the same video quality. I'd hate to have some scenes in my video at a noticeable higher level of quality than others because I switched from a low-end Panasonic model to a high-end Sony model.

purejammy · #2 (**permalink**) 05-03-2004, 06:54 AM

Not all cameras are created equal.

In the case of the two cameras you mention the Panasonic has a resolution of around 800K where as the Sony has a resolution of 1Mb. In theory then the Sony will have the superior picture.

Will this result in a noticeable difference in your final movie. Hard to say as there are so many variables (types of shot taken, exposure, etc) and of course the final output medium may have a say.

My guess would be that transfer to a standard DVD with shooting conditions being equal for both cameras, then the difference should not be too bad.

Having said that perhaps some other contributors have more experience in this area.

Nick Niehaus · #3 (**permalink**) 05-03-2004, 10:04 PM

So, am I right in assuming digital camcorders have different resolutions just like digital still cameras?

purejammy · #4 (**permalink**) 05-04-2004, 06:13 PM

Absolutely spot on. Usually the resolution is directly related to the size of CCD (or CCDs) on the camera. So therefore the bigger the CCD then the higher the resolution. Although I issue caution as too many other factors (including the lense, the camera's electronics and shooting conditions) all contribute to overall quality.

Alan Mills · #5 (**permalink**) 05-04-2004, 07:24 PM

Cameras may have different resolutions but by the time you export your movie from Premiere (or whatever) the result will be standard TV resolution surely. i.e. the end result will be the same. As long as they are both at least equal to TV res then you should be fine I reckon.