Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Camcorder Video Tips - Settings For the Best Video camera Footage

What's the difference in between a video that looks skilled and something that screams "amateur"? You may think that filming method and editing style will be the main considerations. However the easiest strategy to instantly enhance the quality of your property video lies in your camcorder settings and how you pick to employ them.

Tally Light

Try an experiment: press the record button on your own camcorder. Then turn the camcorder around therefore it is facing you. Observe that little red light? This is whats called the tally light. One thing about this tiny red light makes a lot of people incredibly self-conscious if they're being filmed!

Fortunately, just about any camcorder includes the option of turning the tally light off. Your subjects will probably be far far more comfortable and relaxed without having that red light glaring. Recall, the less obtrusive you are as a videographer, the more organic your footage will probably be. Eliminating the tally light is an important step in this direction.

Date and Time Stamp

The date and time stamp can be a setting that records the present date and time at the end of the video picture. On analog video cameras, for instance those making use of VHS-C and 8mm video tape formats, the date and time stamp is permanently burned to the picture. (In comparison, a digital camcorder records time and date details on a separate, removable video track.)

Many individuals like to use the date and time stamp as it makes it less complicated to help keep track of whenever a video was shot. But a permanent stamp looks horrible, regardless if you are watching raw footage or even a cautiously edited movie. Turn the stamp off, and mark the tape label with the date rather.

Digital Zoom

All camcorders provide an optical zoom, the industry physical function with the lens. Nonetheless, quite a few camera manufacturers also advertise a "digital zoom," which seemingly presents zoom lengths far beyond the capabilities of the optical zoom.


Digital zoom is just a software package in the camcorder that interpolates existing pixels so that you can enlarge the image. As such, digital zoom is nothing a lot more than marketing hype, considering that the image it creates is fake. And moreover, a digitally-zoomed image looks terribly pixilated.

Thus, usually make certain that the digital zoom setting in your camcorder is turned off. "Off" is normally the default setting, nevertheless it doesn't hurt to check. In case you really need to zoom closer compared to optical lens permits, move your feet instead.

The Built-In Microphone

Many camcorders have top-notch lenses, most only use a tiny, low-power microphone. Thankfully, most video cameras likewise incorporate an audio input, which enables you to attach another microphone and gain much better sound.

A shotgun microphone, which mounts on the camcorder's accessory shoe, is the best solution for consumer camcorders. This kind of microphone can produce a world of difference in your audio. Just remember that shotgun mikes are really directional. They're great for boosting a single, stable audio source, for instance bands playing on a stage or a speaker giving a presentation. But they're much less useful for capturing well-rounded audio inside a roomful of folks.

Special Effects

Within the 1990s, manufacturers began releasing camcorders that could shoot in negative, sepia tones, psychedelic colors, and many other unusual effects. Today's video cameras have these same special effects and more. Sadly, if you are using these settings while you are filming, your video is stuck that way...forever.

Conversely, should you shoot video typically, it is simple to add special effects in any video editing plan. Your application can also get a lot more effects selections than your camcorder delivers. So shoot without the special effects--you'll be glad you probably did!

Recording Excellent

Every video camera has got the choice of recording video inside a high-quality mode (SP or XP) and lower-quality modes (typically known as LP or EP). SP and XP constantly supply the best picture quality. Nevertheless, quite a few amateur videographers usually switch to a lower-quality recording mode in order to fit more footage over a tape or Flash memory.

This is a mistake. LP, EP, and other alike modes record video at considerably poorer quality. If you utilize them, you may regret your decision once you make your video in the future. Furthermore, video recorded on tape at LP or EP speeds is tougher to convert to DVD because it is harder to track and demands more complicated compression.

Purchase a couple of extra video tapes or maybe more Flash memory, and employ the highest-quality setting on your own video camera. Several additional bucks allocated to an extra tape or card is far much better than an entire blurry or pixilated video.

Establishing a camcorder and operating it properly is half the battle to making watchable video. Take the above suggestions into consideration, and you will be properly in front of most amateur videographers!

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