Ask the Teaboy

Q: Video Cameras - where are we heading?

A: We often get asked where we're headed in regards to video cameras. Customers like to know they're somewhat future-proofed, and while technology can be a little unpredictable, here's some thoughts from the Teaboy's crystal ball that might help.

Currently, the majority of video cameras in the NZ market are still recording to tape. Various formats are available - including Mini-DV (the current favourite), Digital 8, and still some Hi 8. It is now hard to get hold of the old 8mm VHS/VHSC cameras.

The reason the industry has stuck with tape is economy vs. storage capacity. The most common current format by far is Mini-DV. Tapes range in price from $10-$20, and have a storage capacity of 15 gigabytes - compared to the new DVD cameras which use a smaller-than-usual 8cm DVD disk with only a 1.7 gigabtye capacity.

As you can see, dollars per gigabyte tape is really very hard to beat! It also has a proven track record with regards to reliability/archivalness, and robustness. Where DVD would appear to be the logical successor to Mini-DV, the above mentioned issue of storage capacity and size of media has really limited its success to date. Additionally, to get a reasonable amount of recording time onto an 8cm DVD disc, the manufacturers design the cameras to compress the video - which means you're losing a certain amount of quality. Given that as a general rule we don't like going backwards, this limits its appeal in a professional sense, although will still prove popular with consumers due to its ease of use, random disk access, ease of editing - and being able to drop it straight into a computer or DVD player.

Canon MV730i - one of our most popular Mini-DV units. It can even save a lo-res digital still photo to SD card.

For those customers wanting the best of both worlds, we would normally recommend Mini-DV for highest image quality, and then getting a DVD recorder (many options around $600 at present) and burning straight from your camera to full-size DVD disks for everyday playback - thus extending the life of your original 'master' Mini-DV disk and yet giving you all the convenience of DVD at the same time. The cost of full size DVD media is also significantly less than the smaller 8cm DVD disks, thus making this the overall cheaper and highest quality option.

As the formats have improved over the years, going from 240 horizontal lines for VHS to over 500 for Mini-DV, storage capacities have had to increase in order to cope. The next generation of high definition pro cameras have just started to appear, and will place even greater demands on storage capacity. The 'Holy Grail' video solution at this stage would appear to be solid state flash media, such as Compact Flash, SD, & Memory Sticks. Especially now as capacities have escalated up to readily available 4 gigabyte sizes. These have no moving parts, great data stability, low power consumption - all of which would seem to add up to the ultimate combination for video recording.

Some models such as Panasonic's SD have already become available, although most are offering only mediocre video performance - compromised due to the cost of media and wanting to keep recording times at a reasonable length. This technology, however, looks very promising as media prices continue to tumble and capacity reaches even greater heights. How soon this new technology gets fast enough and affordable enough to be as popular as the current Mini-DV cameras remains to be seen. It would appear Mini-DV will be the best bet for a little while yet.

--ooOoo--