Comparison Panasonic AG-AC160 vs Sony HVR-Z5E

The type of primary media used by the camera to store captured video/photo.

— Flash (memory card). One of the most popular types of storages in modern electronics, it is widely used in camcorders of all types (see above). The flash technology itself is notable for its high speed, economical power consumption, reliability and shock resistance (due to the absence of moving parts), as well as the small size and weight of storages with their high capacity. At the same time, such memory is quite expensive. Therefore, camcorders most often use removable flash media in the form of memory cards of various types (see “Memory card support”): this allows the user to choose the best option in terms of price/capacity ratio. Another advantage of plug-in modules is the ability to read data from a memory card on another device — for example, a laptop; this greatly simplifies the exchange of footage. And when the card is full, it is enough to replace it with another one — and you can continue shooting. Note that some cameras also have built-in flash-memory blocks (see "Built-in memory"), but the ability to work with cards is usually provided even in such cases.

— HDD. Built-in hard disk drive — similar to those used for computers. Of course, the size and weight of such discs in camcorders is noticeably smaller, however, all the main features are the same. So, in terms of 1 GB of volume, they are much cheap...er than flash modules (see above), so they are well suited for creating devices with large volumes of internal memory. On the other hand, HDDs are noticeably heavier, they are sensitive to shocks and drops, they work a little slower, and they consume more energy — after all, during operation, the disk must rotate at a constant speed. In addition, such drives are built-in by definition and have all the corresponding disadvantages — in particular, when the memory is full, you will either have to sacrifice some materials or look for an opportunity to copy them somewhere. To compensate for this shortcoming, many "disk" cameras also provide slots for memory cards; but the HDD is still considered the main carrier .

— SSD. SSD solid state drives are similar to the memory cards described above in their main specifications: they are compact, reliable, resistant to shocks and drops, and have high speed. At the same time, the built-in storages usually works faster than a removable card, and its volume can be comparable to the HDD (see above). The main disadvantage of this option is the high price. In addition, all SSDs have a limit on the number of rewriting cycles, and when the resource is running out, the drive may become unwritable. On the other hand, this number can even now amount to tens of thousands of cycles, various tricks are used to increase the service life, and the technology is constantly being improved — there are promising designs in which this drawback has been completely eliminated.

— DVD. The DVD optical discs used in camcorders are smaller than standard discs — a full-size drive would simply not fit into a compact camera. The volume of such media is also reduced, for a conventional single-layer disc it is 1.4 GB. However, mini-DVDs can be read without problems in almost all DVD drives, which is one of the main advantages of such media: you can immediately view a disc from a camera on a computer or even a household DVD player. Also empty DVD are relatively inexpensive. On the other hand, they seriously lose to memory cards in terms of volume and dimensions, and an accidental scratch on the surface can make such a disc unreadable. In addition, most sold blank DVDs are for one time use, while rewritable ones are rarer and more expensive. As a result of all this, this media format is considered obsolete today and is gradually being replaced by more advanced technologies.

— MiniDV (cassette). MiniDV cassettes work on the principle of recording information in digital format on magnetic tape. On the one hand, such media are more bulky than memory cards, and besides, they require the use of complex tape transport mechanisms, which affects the dimensions, price, and power consumption of the cameras themselves. Also working with recorded materials is more difficult — because of the need to rewind the tape to access each individual fragment. At the same time, the recording format provides both good video quality and some advanced features — in particular, it is convenient when rewriting to film. As a result of all this, miniDV cassettes are practically not found among amateur cameras (see "Features"), but they are quite popular in professional models.

The total number of individual photosensitive points (pixels) provided in the design of the sensor (1 megapixel corresponds to a million pixels). This parameter takes into account both those points on which the light falls, and service points that are not directly involved in the construction of the image. Therefore, in modern video cameras, it is more of a reference than practically significant; the actual image quality depends primarily on the number of effective megapixels (see below).

The number of light sensitive pixels directly involved in the construction of the image. These are the dots on which the “image” projected by the lens onto the matrix falls. In addition to them, there are also service pixels that are not illuminated during camera operation — they provide auxiliary information necessary for processing the resulting image. Also, when calculating effective megapixels, the reserve area required for electronic stabilization is usually not taken into account (see "Image Stabilization").

The value of the number of effective pixels for different modes of operation of the camcorder will also be different. For example, when recording video, many cameras use multiple pixels to build a single dot on the image; this is due to the fact that the sensor resolutions significantly exceed those required for video shooting (for example, the Full HD standard technically corresponds to only 2.07 megapixels). As a result, the image quality depends more on the sensor size (see above) than on the resolution. And among sensors of the same size, high resolution allows user to get better colour rendering and higher clarity (however, not always — a lot also depends on the peculiarities of image processing). If we are talking about photography, then more megapixels means a higher resolution of the resulting image, but the quality of such a picture can be relatively low due to the increased noise level and low sensitivity of each individual pixel.

Focal length of a standard video camera lens in terms of a 35 mm full-frame sensor. This parameter is also called the "equivalent focal length" — EFL.

The focal length itself is the distance from the optical centre of the lens (when focus to infinity) to the sensor, at which the sharpest image is obtained on the sensor. It is one of the key characteristics of any lens, because. determines the viewing angles, the degree of approximation and, accordingly, the specifics of the use of optics. At the same time, it is impossible to compare different options in terms of the actual focal length: the laws of physics are such that with different sizes of sensors, the same focal length will give different viewing angles. Therefore, EFL was adopted as a universal characteristic and criterion for comparison. It can be described as the focal length that a 35mm lens with the same viewing angles would have.

The larger the focal length, the narrower the viewing angle will be and the higher the degree of approximation of the visible scene. Optics with EFL up to 18 mm belongs to the class of ultra wide-angle ("fisheye") and is used primarily to create artistic effects. Distances up to 40 mm correspond to "wide angles", 50 mm gives the same degree of approximation as that of the naked eye, the range of 70-100 mm is considered optimal for portrait shooting, and large values allow the use of optics already as a telephoto lens. Knowing these provisions, one can approximately...evaluate the capabilities of the lens and its suitability for certain tasks; there are more detailed recommendations, they are described in special sources.

Also note that modern video cameras are usually equipped with lenses with a variable focal length (zoom), which allows you to change the degree of approximation and viewing angle; see "Optical Zoom" for details.

Aperture of a standard video camera lens.

This parameter describes how much the lens attenuates the light output. Usually it is written as a ratio between the diameter of the active hole and the focal length of the lens, while the first value is taken as one and denoted as f — for example, f/1.8 or f/5.6. Moreover, the smaller the number in such a record, the higher the aperture ratio: for example, in our example, the first option is “lighter” than the second. Also note that most lenses with a variable focal length (see above) also have a variable aperture — in such cases it is indicated by the range from maximum to minimum (from a smaller number to a larger one).

A high aperture ratio is important primarily when shooting in low light conditions: it allows you to capture an image without “lifting up” the sensor sensitivity and without creating additional artifacts in the form of noise, and in the photo shooting mode, you can also work with shorter shutter speeds (which is useful for dynamic scenes). In addition, the higher the aperture, the lower the depth of field and the easier it is to get a blurry background. Note that for simple everyday tasks this parameter does not play a decisive role, but in professional shooting it can be very significant.

The degree (multiplicity) of image magnification provided by the operation of the lens system in the lens itself, without additional digital processing (see "Digital zoom"). Optical zoom involves changing the focal length (see above): the longer the focal length, the smaller the viewing angle and the larger the objects visible in the frame. And the zoom multiplicity corresponds to the ratio between the maximum and minimum value of this distance. For example, in a 24 – 120 mm system, this parameter will be 120/24 = 5x. However, it is not always appropriate to choose a high zoom camcorder.

The advantage of optical zoom over digital zoom is, first of all, high image quality: regardless of the degree of zoom, the camera uses the entire effective area of the sensor. At the same time, zoom indicators can reach several tens of times, which is more than enough for camcorders of any class. Therefore, this format is the main one today; it is not used only in some models of pocket cameras (see "Features"), where it is not possible to install a large lens with a zoom lens.

For modern models, the value of this parameter at the level of 10 – 12x is considered standard.

The degree (multiplicity) of zoom provided by the camcorders due to software methods, without changing the focal length of the optics (see "Optical zoom"). The key principle of such an zoom is that part of the image from the sensor is "stretched" to the entire frame. This somewhat worsens the “picture” — after all, not all effective pixels take part in its formation; and the higher the zoom, the worse the quality becomes. On the other hand, this method does not depend on the specifications of the lens and works even with the simplest lenses that do not have zoom lenses, and it is much easier to achieve high magnification than with the optical method.

In modern camcorders, there are two options for using digital zoom. So, among pocket devices (see "Features"), it may be the only available option — not all of them are equipped with zoom lenses. And in full-size models, digital zoom usually complements optical zoom and turns on after the lens reaches the limit of its capabilities.

Note that when shooting 3D (see above), this feature may not be available, and in professional models it is often not used at all.

The maximum video resolution that the camera can capture. Resolution is the size of an image in points (pixels); usually it is written in two numbers, which correspond to the number of pixels horizontally and vertically.

The more pixels in the image — the clearer it is, the better you can see small details on it, however, the size of the video files increases accordingly. In addition, it is worth considering that in order to fully view the footage, you will need a screen of the appropriate resolution — otherwise all the advantages of the image will be negated. And this parameter also significantly affects the price of the device.

The smallest maximum resolution found in modern camcorders is about 720x480; the quality of such a "picture" can be compared with analogue television broadcasting. Resolution 1280x720 corresponds to the HD standard, it can be found among inexpensive TVs and monitors, and 1920x1080 (Full HD) is the most popular option among mid-range and top-class video devices. The maximum resolution used in modern consumer electronics (including camcorders) is 4K, 4096x2160; it is typical for the most advanced devices.

The vast majority of cameras are able to work not only with the maximum resolution, but also with several “more modest” options — for those cases where small file volumes are more important than high resolution.

The highest frame rate provided by the camera when shooting video. The minimum frequency for normal viewing is the classic 24 fps used in cinema. At the same time, most modern video cameras are capable of providing up to 50 – 60 fps, and even higher frequencies can be used for the slow motion effect.

In fact, this indicator is important primarily when shooting dynamic scenes. The higher the frame rate, the smoother the fast motion will look in the frame, the less jerky it will be and the more pleasant the overall impression of the image will be. The reverse side of this is an increase in the size of recorded files (all other things being equal). Therefore, the frame rate can be made adjustable so that the operator can choose the best option for a particular situation.