Family Literacy

 From the first consumer camcorders to today’s high end HD Video camera offerings, consumers have more choices then ever before. Many consumer camcorders now boast 3 CCD chips which until recently were only found in professional systems. High Definition or HD is the buzzword today. There are no less then 10 consumer HDV camcorders for sale and about 5 prosumer variants. Prices start just North of $1,000 to about $8,000 for some prosumer models. Professional HD Video Camcorder models by comparison now start near $25,000 and go through the roof from that point.

Part of the reason for the lower cost is demand. Many homes now have HD Televisions, some even have elaborate home theaters. Standard video simply does not look as good on those larger sets. Buying an HD Camcorder however, is not going to be the sole answer to getting those HD sets to shine with your home videos. Keep in mind that as the resolution goes up, so will the annoyance of your footage be when it’s not in precise focus. In other words, as the camcorders get better, and TV sets get better, your flaws in capturing the moments will become much more pronounced.

Before diving into a High Definition Video camcorder, your might want to consider read up on some basics of shooting video. Even taking a short course offered by a local collage or joining a video forum that is dedicated to supporting consumers shoot video is highly recommended.

Once you have some basics down, you will want to practice on non-critical moments (IE not a wedding or birthday that you really want to remember) to test your skills and focus in on a style that you and more importantly, your audience will enjoy. It’s not all that difficult once you know what to do.