46% off Olympus PEN E-PL1

Sound Advice: Using a digital camera as a camcorder

31.12.69

Q Are there any cameras that work equally well as a camcorder and as a digital camera?

--D.O., San Francisco

A Some digital SLRs and interchangeable-lens cameras can produce video footage that rivals professional motion picture equipment costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. In fact, there are now multiple manufacturers offering grip equipment and optics for high-end digital SLRs so they can be used by cinematographers as professional moviemaking tools. Even some of the lowest-priced interchangeable-lens cameras are capable of incredible-looking footage. When Olympus introduced its PEN E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds camera it produced a high-definition television commercial, using the camera itself. You can see it at http://tinyurl.com/2bvqxxa and you would never guess it was made with such an inexpensive camera. (As for inexpensive, more on that later.)

Though these digital cameras can produce amazing video quality, to get the most out of them requires a lot of skill. Most zoom lenses for these cameras have rotating manual zoom rings and unless the camera is mounted on a tripod, zooming while recording is likely to cause shuddering and jerky images. To get sharp footage you must be very careful when choosing focus points and some cameras, such as the Olympus E-PL1 mentioned above, have kit lenses that do not autofocus silently, leading to a clicking sound in your movies when recording a moving subject. This makes manual focusing a must and it is very difficult at times. There are other issues as well but suffice it to say for most consumers it is far easier to use a dedicated camcorder. If I handed the average person my digital camcorder and my digital SLR (set to movie mode), I can pretty much guarantee he or she would be a lot happier using the camcorder and the footage would look better, too.