Everyone has their own definition of best and what may be the best for someone else may not be necessarily the best for you. Well that said who would not want the best camcorder for their needs. It means you will have a better relationship with your camcorder and it will serve your needs better. The best camcorder for you will however depend on your needs, once your needs are defined it can be easy to get the best. To make sure that you end up with the best, there are critical factors that you have to consider when shopping for one. They may include:
Resolution
The resolution of a camcorder is what defines the clarity and detail in the footage. It is normally measured in pixels and the higher the number of pixels the camcorder has the better the resolution it has. Initially, resolution was either standard definition or high definition (HD). Now it’s mostly between HD and 4 K resolutions which is very high resolution. Most HD would be between 720p to 1080p while 4k is 4000p. 4K is very high end in quality over HD but the downside however is that you will need either a 4k screen or a big monitor in order to enjoy the high quality. If you watch 4k on a regular screen it will give you a HD footage which will not feel very different.
Sensor size
Sensor size is what determines the quality of the video. Sensors vary among camcorders but mostly larger sensors are needed for high resolution. If you are comparing two camcorders with the same resolution, going for the larger sensor is always better. Sensors are also used in capturing light when shooting especially in low light areas. Larger sensors can be able to capture more light as compared to small sensors. You should however note that sensors for cameras and camcorder differ in that sensors for camcorders are usually relatively smaller.
Bit Rate
If you are doing a comparison of two cameras that has the same sensor and resolution. Then you have to check the bit rate. Higher bit rates can give a higher quality for large files. Higher bit rates will however fill your memory card faster hence you will have to get an additional large and fast SD card unless the camcorder has a large internal memory.
Image stabilization
Image stabilization is what helps to prevent a shaky footage. Different camcorders have different measures that they use to achieve image stabilization.
Conclusion
Finding the best camcorder is clearly simple and easy as long as you know what to look out for. You will however do a vast research and comparisons to get the best value for money. Sony has many great camcorders such as the Sony hvr-v1u. Since Sony as a brand has been the pioneer of camcorders, you are assured of a good camcorder. When shopping for a camcorder it is also important to read the reviews of the product as it gives you a preview of what to expect.