The Question
I often get asked by educators, “So what digital video camera should I buy for my classroom?” I can see in their eyes that they want me to recommend a model that will be the ultimate solution for their needs — a model that’s jam-packed with cutting edge features and costs next to nothing. That camera, unfortunately, doesn’t exist (yet). But that’s not the problem. The problem is that they asked the wrong question.
More important than what brand of video camera or how cool the latest model looks is what essential features educators should be looking for.
Mini-DV, DVD-R or Hard Disk Cameras?
You have to record your videos onto something, right? Your options for an affordable DV camera right now are cameras that either use Mini-DV tapes, DVD-R or Mini DVD-R discs, or an internal hard disk in the camera.
In my opinion, this is an easy choice. I still recommend using mini-dv tape cameras over the other two options listed above. The tapes are affordable and mini-DV cameras are consistently getting cheaper. That doesn’t mean you’re getting an inferior product either. It just means that as digital video cameras move toward a “tapeless” standard (hard drive cameras) the mini-dv models will become more affordable. Personally, I don’t trust the hard-disk cameras with storing my footage yet. And what happens if you run out of hard drive space? With tape, you always can buy more and keep shooting. You can also archive your footage on those tapes. If you’re just transferring the video files from the hard drive in your camera to the hard drive in your computer, then what happens if there’ s an accident like a hard drive crash? You’ll lose that footage.
The DVD disc cameras, which are pretty much disappearing from the marketplace, were gimmicky from the beginning. Pass on those.
Essential feature to look for in media storage: Mini-DV
Connectivity
Pretty much any video camera you buy these days will have a Firewire (also known as a IEEE 1394 interface) or USB 2.0 port that will allow you to connect your camera to your computer. That’s been the case for at least five years now. That being said, I realize that sometimes the cheapest stuff is called “free”. And when it is free, it’s free for a reason. So if you’re using a camera that doesn’t have a Firewire or USB 2.0, you can still use it, but if you plan on editing that footage on a computer, you’ll need something called a DV Bridge.
Essential feature to look for in connectivity: Firewire or USB 2.0
Sound
Believe it or not, I think that good sound is more important than good image resolution when you’re purchasing a digital video camera. But aren’t we talking about visual literacy here? Sure, but trust me, poor sound quality will ruin a video faster than anything. As viewers, we tend to interpret complex images pretty well, but garbled dialogue or incessant hissing noises will sour the experience quickly. The good news is that I’m not suggesting that you to go comparing the internal microphones of all the cameras out there. What it comes down to is two things: shot selection and whether or not you can afford an external microphone.
It seems pretty basic, but a lot of newbies to video production instantly forget the fact that if you shoot a close up of someone talking you’re going to get good volume from that person, but if you shoot that same person talking from farther away, your audio volume and quality will slip. Even with so-called “zoom microphones” shooting someone speaking from farther away will never match the audio from a close up cleanly. A way around this is to design your speaking lines to be shot all in close ups.
The other option would be to use an external microphone. In an affordable price range, almost any on-board camera in a “classroom-affordable” price range is going to be about the same. But if that camera has a mini-input for an external microphone, I recommend going for it. That is, if you can afford an additional $250-$400 for a decent shotgun microphone. Now, all good shotgun microphones will have XLR inputs and outputs. Cameras in this price range don’t have these connections but you can still use them with the right audio adapter.
Essential feature to look for in sound: An external microphone if you can afford it. If not, be smart about how you shoot your scenes!
Image Quality
The image quality of your classroom camera should be as good as you can afford. Usually the image quality on consumer digital video cameras is measured in CCD’s. 3CCD video cameras used to be rare in this price range, but they’re rolling out more frequently as of late. Standard DV NTSC is an image that runs at approximately 30 frames a second. That’s the same rate as your television set, however, the resolution isn’t quite the same. We’ve all heard about and probably seen HD TV in action, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness. It’s just not essential for classroom instruction. A relatively new format for consumers or “prosumers” is called HDV. Again, if you’re on a budget, you can stick with the affordable choice. Lastly, if a camera has manual control of its focus and iris, you’re looking good too.
Essential feature for image quality: Standard DV NTSC. Nice feature: 3CCD camera.
Price
Obviously, the higher quality of the features, the more expensive the video camera will be. That being said, the cost of obtaining a high-quality camera for your classroom has plummeted. For school use, you really shouldn’t have to spend more than $400 for a video camera. They get cheaper and they get more expensive, but more importantly, now you know what essential features to look for in a digital video camera on a classroom budget.
Bob Jennings is a Producer for AFI K-12 Screen Education.
