| Recording Speed | Date/Time | Fade & Dissolve | Zoom | Focus & White Balance | Viewfinder |
Today's cameras, like the Sony DSR PD-100A seen at the right, are highly sophisticated electronic machines, capable of operating in multiple modes.
Digital cameras tend to be more complex in their operation than analog cameras. Many of their controls are only accessible through an internal menu, rather than through controls on the outside of the camera.
Unfortunately, unless you read the technical manuals which came with your camera -- and few camera owners do -- and understand them thoroughly, many of the features which the salesman who sold your camera touted so highly are features that will hinder your ability to make videos that have a professional look to them.
Here are a few of the most important features with which you should be familiar.
No matter how tempting, never ever record to video tape at any speed other than Standard Play.
Your camera and your VCR will allow you to select Extended Play and Super Long Play, but never take advantage of this feature, unless it's to record a television show that you want to watch at a later time.
Here's why.
Imagine a board that's 60 feet long. Standing on the board are 60 people. Each one has a foot of space.
That board and the people on it represent Standard Play on a MiniDV tape.
Now suppose that we take the same board -- 60 feet long -- and put 120 people on it. We can make them fit, but each person has only six inches of space. Things are pretty well squeezed together, and there's going to be some overlapping.
This situation represents Extended Play -- 2 hours on a 60 minute tape.
The point here is that the board -- the tape -- stays the same length: we just pack more and more information onto it.
Many commercial VCRs can't "read" the crowded information that's been recorded on a tape in Extended or Super Long Play. Those that can often have difficulty in making a good copy. The information is so close together that the VCR can't separate the "people on the board" -- the video information -- into clearly discernable parts. The result is video that looks smeared and streaked. This is especially true of VHS tape, where it's possible to cram 6 hours of information onto a T-120 two hour tape.
Video tapes are very inexpensive. If you're going to record a family outing, vacation, party or other event, be sure you get the best quality image possible.
Buy two tapes and record each in Standard Play, rather than trying to get two hours of video onto a single one hour tape!
Know which control on your camera turns off the date/time feature on your camera. It's probably a menu item. Once this information has been imprinted on your tape, it cannot be removed. The date and time will be on every foot of Cousin Billy's birthday video unless you turn it off before you begin shooting!
Here's a tip within a tip: In the morning, before you start shooting, turn on the date/time feature and shoot the view out the window for 10 seconds. Then turn off the date/time feature for the rest of the day. When you look at your tapes months later, you know what day you were shooting, and where you were. Especially useful if you're on a travel vacation.
VideOccasions' Judy keeps a diary when she travels, so that the video for each day can be coordinated with notes and commentary when she edits her tapes. A GREAT idea!!
If you have any thought of editing the tape which you shoot, do not use the built-in fade and dissolve features in your camera. If you do a fade or dissolve in camera, there is no way to remove this special effect, and no way to recover the images that are lost as these effects are executed.
If you bring tape in to edit, VideOccasions can show you how to accomplish fades and dissolves anywhere you want to create them.
Use your camera's zoom feature sparingly. Most video cameras have a zoom lens, which enables you to go from a wide angle view to a close up at the push of a toggle. Zoom too much and your video will look like you're on a roller coaster, and will make it difficult to watch.
Many cameras have a combination of optical and digital zoom. Our production cameras, for example, have an optical zoom of 12X -- that is, a magnification of 12 times normal. A menu selection allows the camera to zoom from 12X to 24X digitally, and another selection enables a zoom of from 24X to 48X. Most of the digital zoom range is of little use: the picture begins to break up after about 20X, and images look grainy and digitized.
So do some experimentation before you take your camera out to shoot your once-in-a-lifetime trip to Antarctica.
Familiarize yourself with all the features on your camera before you take it out to shoot.
Read about all the automatic features on your camera, especially white balance and focus. Do these also have the potential to be done manually? If so, familiarize yourself with how these features work.
Viewfinder fuzzy and hard to see through? Look for the diopter control on your viewfinder, a focusing mechanism that allows you to adjust the viewfinder for your eyesight. It's probably a little lever on the bottom of the viewfinder.
While you're at it, look at all the icons and writing in the viewfinder. Each is a piece of information vital to the operation of your camera, telling you, for example, that there is no tape in the camera, no battery, how much recording time is left on your tape, and whether there is adequate light for shooting.
The owner's manual which came with your camera probably has a page or two explaining each icon and viewfinder comment. Xerox this page and keep it with you when you go out with your camera. It will be invaluable when "MANUAL FOCUS" or a blinking lightbulb appears in your viewfinder and you can't remember what that means for you.
You can make the most of all the features of your camera by learning when to rely on the camera and when to take control yourself. Your owner's manual provide all the necessary information. Read it, and get the most from your investment.
Revised 2/17/08