Camcorder Madness
by Jane Odin
If you’re thinking about getting a video camera there’s a bunch of things to consider before plunking down big bucks or small bucks for that matter. There are some raging problems with the overall performance of the newest cameras in terms of both file uploads and high definition downloads. The images in the camera may be great but if you can’t do anything with them - so what.
First of all there’s little point in having a High Definition (HD) camcorder unless you want to view video clips on a HDTV or computer screen period. Currently the technology isn’t advanced enough to run HD on YouTube or on any other web site. YouTube compresses the video into standard definition. And forget about trying to email HD. Even a brief clip will be monstrously enormous – much too large to travel by email. These are just a few of the problems with the newest cameras.
The average videographer wants to put clips on YouTube. In which case look for a camera that is YouTube ready. Otherwise you might run into problems with incompatible formats and codexs. When YouTube has too much to deal with in terms of conversions the upload time can go into hours. It can become complicated particularly with the very newest AVCHD formats. Complicated means things don’t work the way they are supposed to work and the “experts” are giving contradictory advice.
A camera that does not come “bundled with software” may be preferred - if such a camera exists. I haven’t found one yet. According to a Canon rep all the newest Canons come bundled (burdened) with either Pixola or Corel software. Find out the overall intention of the software in the camera under consideration. For example Pixola told me their software doesn’t support uploads to YouTube or the web. She also stated the software would not be compatible with a separate video editing program such as Adobe Elements 7.
Interesting! The outside of the Adobe Premiere Elements 7 box says the program handles the AVCHD formats which are identified on the Elements CD as .m2ts, .mts and .m2t. My camera is stated to use .mts but Elements would not touch it. The message of incompatibility kept popping up when I tried to move the Canon HG 20 clip into the software. And yes, I tried every way possible to accomplish this task
I researched the problem online. This “expert” advice said success with AVCHD formats called for additional hardware and software to enable codex conversions. And it’s noted that hard-drive cameras have problems with altitude above 6000 feet and temperature extremes. They also feel an Apple computer is perferred to accomplish all the conversions. It was all too, too much for me so I returned the camera.
Research the various bundled software that comes with camcorders. I couldn’t find a good review and many said the camera could not be used successfully with other editing programs such as Adobe Elements. Also check out how the software functions in PC formats such as XP and Vista. Of course, if rough looking, unedited footage is cool then you’re in business….as you will learn from reviews of bundled software.
On the other hand if you are looking for a camcorder with optical image stabilization, optical zoom, night viewing, easy YouTube upload and available to external editing software GOOD LUCK! Should you know of such a rarity - be sure and let us know. I’ll be waiting to hear from a camcorder-techie before I purchase another camera. That is for certain!
It would be a good idea for the industry to create standard formats on all camcorders for uploading into YouTube, editing programs and various websites . Other technologies have accomplished this feat or one would need different driving instructions for every auto made etc. Whatever the case it sure would be great if all camcorders had easy access to YouTube. In the meantime it’s an important consideration in the purchase of a camcorder.
Tags: camcorder madness, file uploads, high definition downloads, images, newest cameras, overall performance
August 9th, 2009 at 2:46 am
Thanks for the information…what a racket.