Digital Digital Cameras and Camcorders
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"Still" Cameras

This is a dream come true for church communications, especially for those who want to add photos to church bulletins, newsletters, flyers, posters, brochures and announcements. Media Ministry websites especially will find their digital camera is a great tool for connecting with members, reaching nonmembers, and giving an idea of what their ministry is about.

Are you ready to make that dream a reality for your church too? Just make sure you get your money's worth. Digital cameras may look similar, with similar features, yet their cost will vary significantly. The biggest difference between good and average is the digital quality. This is simply the number of pixels (or MegaPixels) a camera uses to create photos.

The more MegaPixels, the higher the resolution and clarity will be. Resolution also determines how big you can print and how much you can crop your pictures. If you have at least 3 MegaPixels or more, you'll be able to print out a high quality 8 x 10 photo worth framing.

It's EASY! Digital cameras connect to your computer via USB (or IEEE 1394 "firewire"). Once connected, your computer recognizes the camera's memory card as a "drive" where you can move and copy your pictures, insert them into a document, preserve them to a disc, or create slideshows of recent church events like Vacation Bible School or Summer Youth Camp. Most digital cameras even include a CD-ROM of picture-editing software, a memory card, and all the cables you need to get connected.

Features, Features, and More Features!
What do you look for in your digital camera? This depends greatly on what you need it to do. Some cameras are the easy point-and-shoot variety, while others include all the advantages of high-end features found in professional models. Below are several features you may find along with an explanation of what you can do with them.

What are MegaPixels?
Each camera uses a certain number of pixels to create an image. This is referred to as MegaPixels and is the biggest difference between good or average digital quality. The more MegaPixels, the higher the resolution and clarity will be. Resolution also determines how big you can print and how much you can crop your pictures. Images with higher resolution also take up more storage, but the quality is well worth it! If you have at least 3 MegaPixels or more, you'll be able to print out a high quality 8 x 10 photo worth framing.

Optical and Digital Zoom
Optical zoom helps you bring subjects visually closer or move them farther away for wide shots of the entire scene. It does this by magnifying the size of an image by adjusting the lens. Unlike digital zoom, optical zoom enlarges your subject without sacrificing resolution.

Digital zoom simulates a telephoto lens making your subject appear larger and closer through electronic enlargement. It simply enlarges the information resulting in the loss of surrounding pixels and resolution.

Hot Shoe or Built-in Flash
A hot shoe terminal is a clip on the top of the camera that lets you attach an external flash. It provides an electrical link that synchronizes your flash with the camera's shutter.

A built-in flash usually includes several modes to choose from, depending on the scene. Most have selectable modes for auto (for low light conditions), manual, and red eye reduction.

Special Scene Modes
For great pictures in almost any setting, most cameras include this to ensure there's an optimal shooting for almost every situation. This includes anywhere from bright days at the beach to night scenes, portraits, landscapes, and even snow. This way, you can choose the mode that best fits the conditions you're shooting in.

Auto-Focus
Most digital cameras have a built-in system that automatically focuses on your subject. Pressing the shutter release button halfway down activates auto-focus. It will focus either in the selected auto focus area or on the subject that's in the center of your viewfinder.

Multi-Point Focus
This allows you to evaluate and identify multiple points within the frame and allows you to focus on your subject, not the background. Cameras with this feature usually have anywhere from 3 to 5-Area multi-point focus.

MPEG Movies with audio (a.k.a. QuickTime™ Mode)
Some digital cameras can record a short segment of video in a format called MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group). This MPEG standard allows a short movie, usually with audio, to be placed on the storage media. The time may be limited from a few seconds to a few minutes and the resolution is usually reduced. Also, the frame rate is slower due to the large amount of data storage needed for full a 30 fps (frames per second) frame rate. However, MPEG movies are a great addition for presentations through a computer and multimedia projector.

Storage and Memory Sticks
Digital still cameras differ from digital camcorders in the amount of data stored and the medium to which it is stored. A digital camera stores single "frames" or pictures to chip or RAM (Random Access Memory) instead of videotapes. Some digital still cameras have a built-in floppy drive system that allows the imaging to be stored to this magnetic memory and then removed for insertion into a computer. The amount of pictures on the storage media depends on the resolution used. The higher the resolution, the fewer pictures you are able to store.

In addition to floppy disks as storage media, cameras can also use either built-in or removable memory "cards" or "sticks" that have Megabytes of RAM on them. These can be interfaced to the computer by means of adapters. Most laptop computers have a universal interface called a PCMCIA, or Personal Computer Memory Card Interface Adapter. Several adapters are available for the different cards being used. Many digital still cameras also have a nice feature of a composite video output jack to allow the images to be viewed on a television or recorded to a VCR or DVD.

Direct Digital Interface of Digital Still Cameras
Digital cameras can also deliver their picture to a computer via USB (Universal Serial Bus) or DVI (Digital Visual Interface). Once connected, your computer recognizes your camera's memory card as a "drive" allowing you to access your images.

Digital Camcorder Types
MiniDV (Digital)-the most common type of digital camcorder, records using the standard DV format. This format is highly preferred for broadcast-quality video and it also has high audio and still image quality. MiniDV tapes are about 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape and offer various lengths.

Digital8-This is an 8mm format providing the ability to record several hours on a single tape. Many Digital8 models can still view tapes from your old 8mm or Hi-8 (Hi-8 is a high resolution version of 8mm with increased 400 lines, higher luminance bandwidth and better color). However, some newer models are not backward compatible. These camcorders can be a bit bigger and heavier, but they are an affordable way to get started with digital video.

DVD (Digital)-DVD camcorders record video to 3" DVD discs, using a compressed MPEG2 format. There are two disc formats-
DVD-RAM and DVD-R/RW. DVD-RAM/R are require a DVD player with RAM playback or a PC with a DVD-RAM drive, but can record up to 120 minutes, and let you record and erase hundreds of times. The DVD-R/RW format offers better compatibility with DVD players and PC DVD drives, but let you record only once.

Compact VHS or VHS-C (Analog)-This media format is really just a smaller-size VHS tape, yet with the shortest available recording time (40 minutes) and the lowest resolution of analog formats. To play your tape in any VCR, these camcorders usually include a cassette adapter. They can also be connected to a VCR or TV via AV cables and then be copied directly onto a regular VHS.

Full-Size VHS-Full-size VHS camcorders for the consumer market are no longer being manufactured, however, there are professional or used units that may be available. They use regular VHS tapes, just like those used for VCR and due to this size, these camcorders must be shoulder mounted.

SVHS-C- Same as VHS-C except that the resolution is higher at 400 lines (60% higher than VHS or VHS-C). The tape can be played back by the camcorder or in S-VHS VCR (using the supplied adapter). These camcorders can play/record standard VHS-C, however, a regular VHS-C camcorder cannot play SVHS-C.

8mm and Hi-8 (Analog)-This format offers better sound and video resolution than VHS-C, 8nn and Hi-8 camcorders are more compact due to the smaller tape format. is the same as 8mm except that the resolution is about 60% higher at 400 lines. Once again, there is no adapter to play these tapes in a regular VCR, however, all Hi-8 camcorders can play and record in the regular 8mm format. Regular 8mm camcorders cannot play recorded Hi-8 tapes. 8mm and Hi-8 tapes have recording times from 120 minutes (SP) or 240 minutes (LP).

Flash Memory-This small, removable media is available on some camcorders to store video, images and even music. Some camcorders only use it for capturing digital pictures. The models using only flash memory are very small, great for travel or events where normally carrying a camcorder around would be a nuisance. With this media, transferring video or pictures to a PC equipped with a card slot is simple.

Micro Drive Media- This extremely small removable media stores high resolution images or video files. Some even work with a Compact Flash Type II slot for compatibility with many digital cameras and MP3 players. They are PCMCIA compatible for use with many laptops or handheld PCs. The storage capacities available range anywhere starting from 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, to 6GB.

Digital Still Camera in a Camcorder
Some camcorders, both analog and digital, have the capability of taking a still picture. The most popular way to record a still image is to "capture" it while recording video. When you take a "snapshot," the image on the camera's CCD (Charged Coupled Device) is frozen. This data is stored either to some on-board storage media like a memory card or RAM. Camcorders can also sometimes use a method where the image on the CCD is frozen, and then sent to the tape for several seconds of recording. After the picture is stored on videotape, the CCD picks up the live action again.

Interfacing with Computers
Because digital video camcorders already have their recorded information in a format the computer readily understands, they work great with computers. There are two major considerations to take in account when transferring digital information:
1. The method of transfer
2. Storage considerations

The new standard for digital data transfer is called IEEE 1394. This is also referred to as "firewire" and "i-link," which are trademark names.

IEEE 1394 simply means that is the 1394th regulation standard of the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers. This standard sets down the rules for the data transfer technology.

Basically, the data is sent from one device to the other in a rapid "bit stream" of information. Both devices you are connecting must have an IEEE 1394 "port" or connection to make this work. Computers can be upgraded by adding a "firewire" card to a PC. Many laptops come with the port installed. Various programs exist to allow the user to manipulate the data once it's stored in the computer. Some digital camcorders will allow data manipulation and editing on-board the camera.

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