Digital Home Video Offers Creative Options, for a Price

Wouldn’t it be great if you could import home videos into your own PC and edit them quickly and efficiently, deleting all of those blurry bits along the way?

And wouldn’t it be cool if you could incorporate nifty transitions and customized text and scene-setting audio into all of your home movies? Take heart, Spielberg wannabes, digital camcorders and some digital-editing software allow you do all that and then some.

Digital camcorders aren’t for everyone--for starters, they’re pricey--but they offer several advantages over their analog cousins. The color resolution is three times greater than a traditional camcorder, which results in crisper pictures and more vivid colors.

And because the images you shoot are digitized, it’s a whole lot easier and faster to edit out the dull moments. The software bundles vary from camera to camera, but a package such as the one offered by JVC is typical. It has full-featured video capture, photo album, and video and photo-editing programs. And it’s easy to transfer the digitized video onto CD-RW disks or other media so your masterpieces will be as easy to edit 10 years from now as they are today--no more piles of dusty VHS tapes that never get viewed.

Before you rush out to your nearest electronics store, where all of the camcorders we review can be found, keep in mind this is an expensive hobby. Prices for consumer digital camcorders run from $650 to several thousand dollars. We reviewed four cams that cost less than $1,200.

These digital camcorders include a variety of special effects that you won’t find in most traditional analog camcorders--sepia tones and snappy transitions between scenes, for example. But the coolest function is image stabilization, which reduces the “shaky hand” syndrome that’s so common in most analog-generated movies.

Here’s how we ranked them, from best to worst:

Sony HandyCam

If you want to switch from a traditional video camera to a digital model, the HandyCam (model DCR-TRV310, $1,099) is perfect because it gives you the best of both worlds. The camcorder plays back traditional analog 8mm camcorder tapes, but the device also uses blank 8mm tapes to record digital images--a great perk if you already have lots of 8mm tapes around the house. You can even use the HandyCam to digitally record analog tapes from your VCR.

We also love the HandyCam’s NightShot, a cool feature that lets you film in complete darkness using infrared light. Other compelling elements include a 3 1/2-inch LCD screen--bigger than the screens on the other camcorders we reviewed--an optical zoom that can magnify things 20 times (20x), and a huge array of shooting and exposure options. With the HandyCam, you can recast your picture in pastel tones, leaving a trail behind objects that move in your sight.

The trade-off for all these features is the camcorder’s size. Because of the larger 8mm tapes (the rest of the camcorders we reviewed use smaller Mini-DV tapes) and the built-in features, the Sony HandyCam is the size of a traditional camcorder and weighs about 2 pounds. Still, a great set of features makes it worth the weight.

Panasonic Digital Palmcorder

This tiny camcorder (model PV-DV910, $1,099), the size of a paperback book and weighing less than 1 1/2 pounds, could fit in a purse. What’s more, its simple menus and warnings for problems--such as moisture inside the camera and recording heads that need cleaning--make it as easy to use as it is to carry.

The Palmcorder’s small size doesn’t mean a dearth of features, however. The digital camcorder includes an 18x optical zoom, four shooting effects, including sepia tones and shots that look like film negatives, and a useful bookmark search that fast-forwards the tape to the first blank portion so you don’t record over your previous cinematic masterpieces.

Panasonic keeps its camcorder’s figure svelte by breaking out a few features into snap-on accessories--the filming light and the jacks for connecting the cam to your TV or VCR--a small price to pay for the convenience of a palm-size digital camcorder. The Palmcorder also earns high points for its image-stabilization capability (the best of the four reviewed here) and the LCD’s bright, realistic color reproduction.

JVC Digital CyberCam

JVC’s CyberCam (model GR-DVF31, $1,199) is a solid, basic digital camcorder from a company with a good name in traditional analog video. It doesn’t have the size advantage or the high-end features of some other cameras, but it would be a safe choice for a conservative shopper.

The JVC model features average color reproduction, but it does deliver crisp pictures and good highlights and shadows. The camera’s impressive list of features--all built-in--includes a 16x optical zoom and a light that comes on automatically when shooting at night or in a darkened room. Plus, there are nine shooting effects such as black and white and “strobe,” which creates the effect of an old flickering film. Other noteworthy features include 12 dissolve options for scene transition, and six different options for snapshots, ranging from framed traditional photos to photo-booth-style multiple images on a single screen.

The CyberCam offers enough features and sufficient image quality to jump-start the budding visionaries in your home. Plus, more experienced videographers will appreciate being able to set the controls manually.

Sharp Digital ViewCam

Sharp’s camera (model VL-SD20, $999) is the least expensive unit we tested, and unfortunately, you get what you pay for. First, the ViewCam is the only camcorder in this group without a battery-saving viewfinder. The LCD screen, instead of folding closed against the camcorder when not in use (as with the other cameras in this roundup), is permanently perched on the outside of the camera. This design not only makes the display especially prone to smudging from fingerprints, it places the screen at risk for damage.

As for quality, the ViewCam’s LCD images and recorded sound are not as crisp as those on the other models. On the other hand, it handles extreme close-ups better than the others do: You can film sharp pictures mere inches from a subject. Its basic shooting effects work well, but its 10x optical zoom doesn’t compete with the other models we reviewed.

If you’re willing to spend $1,000 on a digital camcorder, you should consider doling out a few more bucks and opting for one of the other units in this group.