How to Comparison Shop for a Camcorder

With the stunning array of choices in the digital camcorder world today, comparison shopping has gone from a good idea to a necessity. You might get the best combination of price, features and quality by walking into a store and buying the first camcorder that you see, but most likely you'll need to spend some time researching and comparing.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Internet connection
• computer

1. Get online and visit the technology sites for performance ratings and reviews. You can also get consumer reviews from most of the major shopping sites, along with merchant reviews.

2. Check the CCD (charge-coupled device) size on the camcorder. The bigger this chip is, the better the video quality. Higher-end models have three of these devices to record each color separately.

3. Test the audio quality. While the on-board microphone will not be the best option for capturing sound, you should consider the built-in microphone as an emergency back-up.

4. Use the LCD viewfinder in sunlight. Some screens have a tendency to wash out in strong light. If possible, get a camcorder with both a LCD screen and a separate viewfinder.

5. Consider the recording media. Right now, miniDV is widely available and cheap. However, SD and other flash media recorders are making a serious run at the top spot in the market.

6. Determine the camcorder's upgrade potential. Sometimes the only real difference between two similarly priced camcorders is that one of them can be made better after the purchase.

7. Count the available input and output jacks. The more connectivity you have the better. Look for, at a minimum, a headphone jack, an external microphone jack and an IEEE 1394 jack, otherwise known as a FireWire jack.

8. Compare prices across models and merchants. Look for a significant upgrade in performance without a major jump in price.

Tips & Warnings

• Another option for getting expert opinions really cheap: browse A/V magazines at the local magazine rack.

• If you have a wide-screen TV, check out camcorder models that film in 16-by-9 aspect ratio. This setting delivers a full size image to your screen, instead of bracketing the picture with black bars.

• Can the camcorder take still pictures? Currently, camcorders do not compete well with a digital camera, but this aspect of the overall performance can be a tie-breaker.

• Read the fine print. Manufacturer claims of performance are best taken with a grain of salt.