Using a Digital Video Camera Overview

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You just bought yourself a digital video camera. You’ve read all the instructions and can’t want to use it. Knowing that you have in your hand a device that can take video images and keep them for a lifetime has you excited. There is only one problem. The manual that came with your camera was either too technical to understand or wasn’t explanatory enough. So there you have a camera you want to use but not sure how to use it. What now? Using a digital video camera is easier than you may imagine. It really takes just a few hints and tips to get you started. After that some things just come to you. But why use a digital video camera anyway? What is so special about them anyway? Well, people like them because they offer great quality video production and are easy to use. There are several aspects to using digital video cameras and this includes:

• Capturing video: Digital video cameras deliver the best quality images you can get. As a matter of fact, digital video beats out all others when it comes to horizontal resolution, color signal and signal to noise. When capturing video, DV cameras store video in component form. This is how it produces better color than other formats.
• Capturing stills: Digital video cameras have the ability to capture still images in a different way. If their DV camera has a CCD that allows for progressive scan, they can take various images without stopping the camera. The resolution may be lower, but at least the images are captured together.
• Capturing audio: DV cameras offer more than video. They also offer great audio. You can record on two soundtracks for the best sound quality imaginable. The one good thing about audio on your DV camera is you can add, erase, or edit audio without affecting your video.
• Connections: Most DV cameras provide USB hookup to your PC, but FireWire is used most often with DV cameras because of they are capable of transmitting video and audio at high speeds. In some cases it can transmit at the speed of 400 Megabits per second.
• Editing video: An advantage to DV cameras is the ease of editing. Both audio and video are in digital format, and as such they can be quickly transferred over by FireWire. At this time you just load your video and audio editor and take care of business.



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