How digital camcorders work
The first camcorder was invented by Jerome Lemelson in 1980. And
since that time the first bulky analog video camcorders have
evolved into the modern digital camcorder, so small they can fit
in the palm of your hand, and so clear they rival even
professional broadcast video cameras.
Consumers have been using camcorders since early 1980s. Since
then they have gotten better and cheaper, with prices starting
at only a few hundred dollars, making DV camcorders affordable
for anyone. Shooting home videos is fun, everyone loves filming
their families during special events. From your kids birthday,
your son's soccer game, to the family trip to Mexico, but how
exactly do video cameras work?
Digital video cameras convert analog video into a digital
format. Digital video camcorders take the analog
information in the video camera and then translate it into bytes
of data. Digital video is converted from moving images to a
stream of zeroes and ones. The digital video camcorder records
the bytes of digital information onto one of three items, a hard
disk, a dv tape, or a DVD. From there you have the ability to
transfer the video to your computer. You can then edit the
video, email it to friends and family or even add the video to a
website.
The digital video process begins at the lens in the camcorder.
The lens stores and then focuses light from the video that you
are capturing onto the image sensor located behind it. Because
the Charge- Coupled Devices (CCDs) used by camcorders are
capable only of measuring the amplitude of the light hitting the
photodiodes on their surfaces, a system of filters is required
to establish just what color that light is.
Another part of the camcorder, that plays an important role is
the viewfinder. Originally view finders where black and white,
as time progressed viewfinders have evolved into color LCD
screens. This is a necessary part of the camcorder, it lets you
see what you are filming. Newer models of viewfinders even let
you add effects to your video via an LCD touch screen while you
are filming.
Newer DV camcorders can not only shoot high definition video (up
to 720 lines) but models such as the Sony hdr-fx1 hdv camcorder, Canon xl2 and the Canon zr200 mini dv camcorder even
offer digital still image capabilities. You can snap crystal
clear images with resolutions up to 1024 x 768, perfect for
family photos. Need to email your videos to friends and family
across the globe, no problem. With the MPEG feature you can even
email short video clips to any one with an email address!
Grandparents in Europe can see your daughters birthday 4 minutes
after you have filmed it in the U.S.A!
Even though current digital video camcorders come in a range of
sizes and shapes, the techniques used to convert moving pictures
hasn't evolved much. But the styles of digital camcorders have
evolved. You can find digital video camcorders come in all
types, from dvd camcorders to mini dv camcorders. As technology changes video is
not restrained to digital video cameras. cell phones now have
the capability to shoot video and email the clips instantly
anywhere in the world. It's hard to predict how far video
technology can go, the sky seems to be the limit.