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It's just a few weeks before Black Friday and many are now scouring through the dozens of sales flyers that keep on coming to their mailboxes. Others might be doing their search on the web looking for great deals on the biggest sales day of the year. With Christmas around the corner and the long holiday season ahead, many will be looking for video cameras to capture precious moments with family and friends. There are very cheap pocket cameras now available in the market and some are even priced at less than $ 100. But why bother buy one that may cost thousands of dollars?
The cost of professional camcorder now is not as prohibitive as it was several years ago. These days, you can find high-end camcorders with professional features at reasonable prices. The video quality of these camcorders is a lot better than most consumer camcorders and comparable if not better to broadcast cameras. There are also some consumer cameras available in the market that can be tweaked to simulate professional-type cameras. This class of cameras is better known as prosumer (professional + consumer) camcorders and price may start from $ 2,000. Now may be the right time to consider upgrading to a professional-type camcorder.
Let's look at some of the features you have to check when you plan to buy a professional camcorder. The first and maybe the most important feature is it should be capable of HD or high definition. There are still less expensive SD or standard definition camcorders available but to be future proof, better consider HD. Almost all new video gears available now are in HD, from source to display. Most HD camcorders can anyway also shoot in SD mode, so it will not be a problem if you still need SD.
The next important feature of a professional camcorder is optical zoom. The camera should be able to physically zoom to an object rather than just electronically zoom, which produces pixelized images. At the same time, it should also have a focus ring to manually control the camera focus. It would be very hard to control focus through a button or a dial. Another important pro feature is manual exposure or the camera should have the capability to manually adjust iris and shutter speed. This is very important in making the camera work properly in different lighting conditions. The last but not the least is the camera should have stereo mic or line inputs, preferably XLR (type of professional audio socket). There should also be available audio level controls, either through the menu or volume knobs on the camera body.
Let us now take a look on some professional or prosumer camcorders available in the market today and their prices. You will are On Chances get better deals from the listed prices come Black Friday 2010 .
Canon XL-H1A 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder with 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III
Price: $ 5,799.95
Sony HVR-Z7U CMOS HDV Professional Video Camcorder w / 12x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 5,499.00
Canon XH A1S 3CCD HDV High-Definition Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 3,795.00
Sony HDR-FX1 3-CCD HDV High Definition Camcorder w / 12x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 4,699.95
Sony HVR-V1U 3-CMOS 1080i Professional HDV Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 3,193.95
Sony HDR-FX1000 CMOS High Definition MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w / 20x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 3,099.99
Panasonic Pro AG-HVX200A 3CCD P2 / DVCPRO 1080i High Definition Camcorder with 13x Optical Zoom (16GB P2 Included)
Price: $ 3,499.99
Canon XH-A1S 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder with 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III
Price: $ 3,399.00
Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder w / 13x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 3,197.00
Sony Professional HVR-A1U CMOS High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 2,169.95
Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 1,999.99
Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder with 10.6MP Stills and 12x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 1,995.00
Sony HVR-HD1000U MiniDV 1080i High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Price: $ 1,574.00
You may already be planning your camping trip at your favorite store's parking lot this Balck Friday but buying online could be a better option. Doorbuster deals are not always the cheapest and trying to be the first on the door is some times dangerous. Try checking deals online. It's less hassle and may even give you the best deal for your dream professional camcorder.
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Source by Scott Offord
