How to Navigate Digital Video Formats
Digital video can be a hard thing to get right; especially when you're dealing with multiple offerings that all use the same size tapes. Understanding the various digital cassettes is the first step toward understanding video.
What Are the Differences?
Digital camcorders generally use one of two sizes of tape: 8 mm and 6 mm. The 8 mm size is only for Sony and is an outgrowth of the analog Hi8 infrastructure. At this point the D8 option is better reserved for those people who are already fully invested in Hi8 and want to take advantage of the incremental move to DV. The smaller 6 mm size is the one multiple systems including MiniDV, DVCAM, and DVCPRO use. Each DV format is slightly different, although they all use the same cassette and encoding method:
- MiniDV: Initially developed for home camcorder users, these tapes use a 10-micron track pitch and tape speed of 18.81 mm/sec.
- DVCAM: This more robust format uses a 15-micron track pitch and tape speed of 28.215 mm/sec.
- DVCPRO: Shifting to metal oxide tape allowed a move to 18-micron pitch and a corresponding speed increase to 33.82 mm/sec.
What Can a DVCAM Camcorder Do?
A Sony DVCAM Camcorder like the DSR-PD150 provides a lot of benefits to the user, including backwards compatibility with standard MiniDV tapes. Developed for the professional market, the format and camcorder bring a lot of advantages to the home user as well, including many features that are not always found on consumer camcorders:
- Optics: The DSR-PD150 features a non-removable lens with 12x optical zoom, and 48x digital zoom. It also features a lens hood as well as mounts for additional lenses should you wish to change the focal length or add a wide-angle adapter.
- Audio: Where most consumer models feature unbalanced mic inputs, this camera provides balanced XLR inputs for professional-grade recording.
- Recording: While the viewfinder is black and white, the camera itself records in full color with over 500 lines of video resolution.
Using DVCAM
One advantage of moving up to a professional camcorder is that you not only generally get superior optics, but also additional features that you may not find on a consumer Handycam. For example, the PD150 can double as an edit deck, thanks to the ability to set edit points right in the camera. It also offers a number of digital effects, including sepia tone. This is a great step up for many hobby videographers as it provides all they need in a camcorder with the benefits of a more robust recording that enables higher picture quality in the final output.