See Video Guide

There are several formats available in the world of digital consumer camcorders. In general, each type of cassette or disc is made to record video using a particular standard. For example, MiniDV cassettes record video using the popular DV standard or high-definition HDV, while some discs save MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 video. The type of format used influences the design and the feature set of the camera, in addition to affecting what you can do with the video once it’s shot. Many camcorders use a flash memory card in addition to the main recording media to save still shots and Web-quality video clips.

MiniDV

MiniDV cassette

Most consumer digital camcorders use MiniDV cassettes, which record DV-format video. The DV standard produces high-quality footage that is superior to video recorded by consumer analog camcorders and can deliver more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution, depending on camcorder quality. Consumer and semipro camcorders that capture high-definition footage record HDV-format video on MiniDV cassettes.
Best for: Budget buyer; trendsetter; home and vacation moviemaker; independent filmmaker; business videographer.

Supporting manufacturers: Canon; Hitachi; JVC; Panasonic; Samsung; Sony.
Digital8
The Digital8 format records high-quality DV-format video on analog 8mm and Hi8 cassettes as well as dedicated Digital8 tapes. Like MiniDV cameras, Digital8 models can deliver more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution, depending on camcorder quality.

Mini DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DVD-RAM
Mini DVD-RW or DVD-RAM
Mini-DVD camcorders record high-quality MPEG-2 footage directly to a mini DVD-R or DVD-RAM and can deliver more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution, depending on camcorder quality.

Best for: Trendsetter; home and vacation moviemaker; business videographer.

Built-in hard drive
Hitachi Microdrive

With camcorders that use built-in hard drives, you can record high-quality MPEG-2 footage and deliver more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution, depending on camcorder quality.

Best for: Trendsetter; home and vacation moviemaker; business videographer.

Memory cards (SDHC, Memory Stick)

SD card

Cameras use these types of memory to achieve an ultracompact design. Because they record highly compressed video, they’re best suited for gadget lovers who want to use their footage mainly on Web sites and in e-mail. Camcorders that record MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 to memory cards may be picky about the cards you use since those encoding schemes require the ability to write to the card more quickly than most standard cards can handle.

In addition, most cassette-based camcorders incorporate an SD/MMC, MicroSD or Memory Stick slot for the purpose of storing still images and MPEG-1 or MPEG-4 video clips. Camcorders save photographs in the compressed JPEG format. For e-mailing and posting on the Web, MPEG-1 and MPEG-4 formats are best. Like Webcams, some camcorders can stream video in these formats directly to the Web.

What digital camcorder accessories should I buy?

If you buy a cassette-based camcorder, you’ll probably be able to drop a tape in your camcorder and start recording as soon as you open the box and charge the battery. But before you can download the video to your computer for editing, you’ll have to make sure your PC and software have the right connectivity. Many tape-based models and all tapeless models support downloading via USB 2.0, but you should verify that your operating system and hardware support it. Furthermore, though all models have a USB 2.0 port, some still restrict its use to downloading strictly from the memory card. You’ll need to make sure your model really does use it for video. Otherwise, you’ll need a FireWire connection. In that case, you’ll definitely need to buy a FireWire cable (very few models bundle them), but you might also need to add an internal card to your PC.

Essentials

Options