Quick take: what to look for in a video camera

My intention was to post a full length and comprehensive article regarding what the average consumer should look for in a new video camera and what our recommendations for features and such are, but time is getting away from me and it may be a while before I can post the article I intend. So here a quick and dirty list without getting too technical.

Media format: mini-dv tape, mini-dvd, flash-drive, or hard-drive. While each has its benefits, the average consumer will be better suited with a mini-dv tape camera. Mini-dvd, while very appealing, cannot be viewed in other player unless the disc is "finalized" among other downsides. Hard-drive based cameras are complete overkill for the average consumer and not cost-effective. Flash drive cameras are also overkill and media is very expensive. Unless you plan to edit your video yourself, it makes absolutely no sense to me to spend money on those types of cameras.

Standard Definition vs. High-Def. Standard definition is just fine for home movies. Home video high-def is still in its infancy and is hard to work with in terms of editing. Most consumers do not know and care about the difference beween AVCHD (a popular Sony format) and other formats of high-def and unless you want to spend thousands of dollars getting yourself educated and in new equipment and software to edit, its better to just stick with standard definition. 720P, 720I, 1080I? Too much for most people.

Aspect Ratio. Most televisions today are still 4:3, tv's of tomorrow are 16:9. Purchase a camera that can switch between the two and you'll be happy.

Optical vs. Digital Zoom. Don't let a salesman talk you into a camera with 200x zoom. More than likely that is digital zoom-a feature that creates horrific images. Simply put, optical zoom moves the lenses to clearly magnify an image, digital zoom electronically magnifies it. Purchase a camera that has the highest optical zoom and turn off any digital zoom feature the camera may possess.

Brand. I cannot recommend any brand over another. I will tell you, however, that our professional cameras are one brand, while our family camera is another. We love them both. You need to find a camera that best suites your needs, regardless of brand, and carries a warranty worthy of the price that you are paying.

I hope that this helps you in your decision.

Chris.

Baby Audrey

Audrey is one of the cutest babies that we have ever known. She is so full of life, so curious, it was very easy to get some great pictures of her. I actually took these photos a couple of months ago, but it seems as I'm on a roll with the blog today and just wanted to share these photographs. I look forward to taking more photographs of her (and her family) in the months and years to come.

Gabe - Class of 2008

Gabe was a great sport! With less than 1 week to go before graduation, we were a little rushed but still able to snap some wonderful photographs of him. Everyone was worried about the rain, but we managed to dodge the showers and get prints back to him and his family before the ceremony and their graduation party. Congratulations, Gabe, and best wishes for a bright future.

Price is not the only consideration!

Too many times, the only question that is asked of us is “how much?” How much does it cost to transfer my videotape to DVD? How much does it cost to transfer my family film to DVD? How much does it cost to videotape our wedding? How much does it cost too….well, you fill in the blank.

We here at McKenna Video Services are very conscience and sensitive to price-we make some of our decisions based on price too. Decisions like where do we go to get the best price on a particular box of cereal. Or maybe what particular store is that coupon redeemable at. Or even where we get our next tank of gas (with some exception since cheap gas can actually damage a car engine). But we certainly do not shop price when it comes to unique or important items.

Such is the case with transferring video tape or 8mm film to DVD. While McKenna Video is certainly not the most expensive video services company, we admit that we are not the least expensive (there are lots of fly-by-night, discount, and online companies). Having said that, there are questions to ask when trusting your treasured memories to the hands of others.

Here is a list of considerations to factor in when determining where to send your media:

• Quality, both in terms of the DVD media and in terms of the process (be sure to ask what the process is and if there is an intelligible answer);
• Timeliness: how long will the transfer take;
• Location: where is the transfer being completed (FYI-McKenna Video does not send your tapes and films to Mexico like our competitors do);
• Loss Rate: what is the loss and error rates with the companies that you are considering;
• Do I get my original media back;
• Can we edit, move reels around, place custom titles, add a soundtrack, voiceover or other audio content, can I custom author a DVD?

Of course, there are many other factors that you personally might consider important, but in terms of actually completing the transfer these should be highest on your list. Be sure to look beyond the lowest price when determining who to trust your precious memories to. Remember the old adage “you get what you pay for?” The same is very true with video services.

God’s blessings.

Chris.

Disc labels - leave paper for documents

Have you ever taken a disc (CD or DVD) out of its player and noticed how warm, even hot, the disc might be? This is due to the speed at which the disc is spinning inside the player and the fact that there are lasers being beamed that the disc trying to read the contents.

Because of the heat that can be generated, it is advisable to not use paper labels to identify the contents of a disc. The heat generated by a spinning disc can cause the glue on a paper label to become less adhesive and come off the disc while in the player. Yes, there are some great programs to help you design some very cool labels, but consider how cool those labels will be if the adhesive on the label breaks down while the disc is being played and gums up your player.

If those labels come off while playing, not only will you lose the disc but you will also lose the player that is being used. If the player is a $30 DVD player, maybe that is not so much of a loss, but what if that player is a $1000 computer? Is it worth the risk? No.

Our recommendation is to use a felt marker to label your discs, or use direct-print discs in conjunction with an ink-jet printer designed for printing discs. The felt marker may not be as pretty as creating a label, but the risk to disc and player is zero. Direct-print discs and a dedicated ink-jet printer, while a more expensive method initially, can still provide those great looking discs also with no risk.

Both Epson (http://www.epson.com/) and Hewlett-Packard (http://www.hp.com/) make some affordable consumer level printers to help you achieve some very good results.

All of God’s blessing on you this week.

Chris

Tips for videotaping sports

We have compiled a list of tips that we offer to anyone who is serious about videotaping sports. These tips are very helpful to parents who want good quality footage of their children playing or to someone who just likes sports. It takes practice but is well worth the effort.

• Use a tripod! This is the one thing, above all else, that helps create good footage. If a tripod is not available, try using something else to steady the camera. As an alternative, hold the camera close to your body and lean against a wall, fence, etc. Shaky footage is very distracting and hard to watch. If your athlete is college bound, shaky footage could eliminate your athlete from consideration or mean the difference between a full-ride scholarship to a Division 1 school or walking on at the community college.
• Turn off digital zoom. Digital zoom magnifies an image electronically, rather than using the lenses to bring an image closer. Digital zoom creates “pixilation” and degrades the quality of the video.
• Make sure your battery is charged and you have a backup battery fully charged and ready to use should the primary battery fail.
• Use a new, unused videotape. Label the tape prior to inserting it into the camera and don’t use it for other purposes. And don't rewind the tape in-between plays to see what you captured-wait until you get home. You could miss the next play or in a rush to get taping again accidentally erase something that is meaningful.
• Establish a medium shot before moving to close-ups. A medium shot is one that encompasses the playing area and relevant players. Close-ups are great but when used too much or at the wrong time important details of the play-details that highlight your athletes performance-can be missed. In videotaping college-bound athletes, note that college coaches like to be able to make out the number on a jersey so don’t completely zoom out.
• Set camera high enough to be able to capture the playing surface but in an area where obstructions will not occur (i.e., people seated 3 rows down not staying seated, light poles, team mascot, etc.).

We hope that these tips are useful and helpful in creating the best footage possible.

Happy shooting and God's blessings!

Chris.