Digital Video Cam or Camcorder...What's the difference?
 

Alex's birthday is coming up...He only wants one thing

He wants something that he can create videos with to upload to youtube.

I know that Ferretchucker and some of you other guys do this...So, what do you use exactly?

I'm not even sure what I need to buy.

It needs to be simple to use and durable with decent quality video and a USB cable to easily upload data into the comp...Preferably with AVI files rather than MOV, but Dustin says they can be converted either way (would just like to skip conversion and keep it as simple as possible)...Also something that easily records for at LEAST 20 minutes or more at a time.

Mine is a mini DV camera. It records to miniature tapes that can be put into larger casings that fit into VHS's, or it can connect to the computer.

It does this with a firewire. Kinda like a USB slot but it has to be fitted to your computer. It's a pretty simple job. And make sure you have a good wire. With that, I just use windows Movie Maker to "Capture Video". It does this by having it set to "play" and then it rewinds the tape and you tell it when to play. It records whatever it sees, just like a VHS recording from the TV.

I don't know if you knew about that. But one thing is certain, if he wants to upload to youtube, be sure to ask if the camera connects to computers. Many don't. Mine is a JVC GR-D720. It has 28x optical zoom and pretty good picture quality.

Thanks for the information...He has Windows Movie Maker and he uses it quite a bit...He makes animated videos (frame by frame) and uploads those to youtube.

So, maybe just about any kind of camcorder or digicam with audio/video capabilities and a USB cable would work, since he's using WMM anyway...Is that correct?

A digital video cam and a camcorder are the exact same thing, just a different term.

I would go to best buy, they should be able to help you. Tell them you want to record video and be able to upload it to your computer.

I also wouldn't buy the cheapest there as you get what you pay for and you don't want something with crappy picture and sound. Also, I would suggest getting a tripod.

Thanks, I was actually confused about that

I'm afraid if I ask at the store, they'll try to convince me to buy the most expensive thing they have, most likely with features that he would never need...So, I figured it would be better to ask you guys...Seriously, this is something that I know nothing about.

Thanks for the suggestions :)

Cool. I'd love to see them, what's his youtube account?


And remember, it's not a USB Cable, it's a firewire. There are differences in shape, and as I said, for a fire wire, you will need to have the post installed to your computer. But with that, yes, it should work fine.

Ok, thanks again :)

Sending you a PM with his account info

Good idea. ;)

Hi, just saw this.

You can either buy a dedicated digital video camera or a digital camera that shoots movies also (most point and shoot cameras do this, but the quality varies widely as does the length of time and quality that they shoot).

It sounds like length of time matters, but quality won't be all that important if it is only for Youtube.

However, you will get a better result if you use a digitial video camera (camcorder, DV cam, whatever you want to call it).

Video cameras can shoot to a variety of different media. Most popular are: DV tapes, Solid state memory cards (eg SD cards), hard disks, and DVDs.

Don't get one that shoots to DVD's as you will want to edit it if you are thinking of making clips for youtube.

Hard disks I think are the next least useful, as you are stuck with the size of the hard drive it is installed with. You have to transfer to your computer before you can erase the drive and start again (or you lose your stuff). This is a pain if you are shooting and didn't realise that you only had a certain amount of storage left (read: not enough!).

So go for either a DV tape camcorder, or one that shoots to memory cards. This way, the storage media are removable, and you can just pop another one in if you run out before you thought you would.

Now, you can either get standard definition, or high def camcorders. For Youtube you really don't need high def. But if you also want to make high def movies for your high def TV then you may want to consider this.

As Ferret so wisely pointed out, you want one with a firewire connection rather than just USB, because it has higher practical bandwidth than USB (even though USB has higher nominal bandwidth). So you won't have a problem with potential dropped frames.

And for the love of your god or goddess, fuck Windows Movie Maker off and get some decent software. Adobe Premiere Elements is cheap enough (under $100) and easy enough to use. And you might actually be happy with the results. :)

My wife's shoots to DVD/Mini DVD/or SD card, as long as you use RWs and don't finalize the disc you can edit the files, put them back on the DVD, or just save them to a file and post them online.