Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kiddirts]

Will all digital cameras I buy here in say, Yongsan, be able to work and be able to upload pics onto computers back home? Maybe a dumb question, but help me out thanks!

[ulsanchris]

i would say yes.
have you done any research into digital cameras.

[jaebea]

Kiddirts, this is not a dumb question, and is one of the most common quesstion asked to camera retailers.

Logic states, if powerpoints and voltage are different between Korea and back home, surely there is some difference between sensitive equipment such as cameras and computers in Korea and the US/Canada/UK/Australia/NZ.

Luckily this isn't the case. Most digital cameras will have a universal interface, either via USB or Firewire, to connect to your computer. If you have a USB port on a computer at home (99% of PC computers bought in the last 3 years will), then it will be compatible, no matter where you bought the camera.

Feel free to ask any more questions you might have.

jae.

[Dalton]

I'm planning on buying a digital camcorder in seoul. What features should I be looking at? What differentiates the cheap from the expensive? I'd prefer it to not be obselete junk in a couple of years.

[jaebea]

Digital camcorders, should be looking at certain features.

The quality of the lens: Carl Zeiss is good, and standard on Sonys.

Resolution of the video: The minimum you want is 300K pixels (that's about 640x480 resolution). Many newer cameras do 1 megapixel (1 million total pixels), and although it sounds flashy, there's no need to go overboard unless you play to burn videos to DVD or watch them on your new HDTV.

Recording medium: MiniDV is popular as a standard, Digital-8 is on the decline, but great for the price. MicroMV is the new one from Sony I believe, which supports the higher resolutions I was talking about.

Connectivity: Does it have Firewire support? It most CERTAINLY should. I'm not sure if USB2 is popular on DV's, and it should also have an AV or S-Video out so you can plug it into most TV's without too much trouble.

Zoom: Optical zoom and digital zoom. Very important. The difference is that optical zoom is created by a physical change between the lens and the CCD (what "records" the image). Digital zoom is created by zooming into the pixels which has been recorded digitally. Optical zoom will range from 10x to about 20x, if I remember correctly, whereas digital zoom will go into the hundreds (100x to 700x). Resolution comes into play, because the higher the resolution, the better the picture will look when digitally zoomed. That is, a 300K pixel movie zoomed in at 500x will look much worse than a 1 million pixel movie zoomed in at 500x. You'll notice blurriness, jagged edges, and washed out colours at high zoom on low resolution.

Ergonomics: Very personal and no rules here. How does it fit in your hand? Can you reach the controls easily? Does the camera take a while to "load up" before you can start recording, making you miss that magic moment on film? Are the controls intuitive? Is the LCD clear and bright, even under full sunlight? Will certain controls be blocked if you are using cables or extra batteries?

Extras: Warranties, service, availability of extras like batteries, lenses, covers, tripods, etc.

I hope this covers the basics, feel free to ask more questions. I can't recommend any, since your application and personal profile will determine what camera you get. Sony, Panasonic, and JVC make very good DV's.

There are other brands, and as long as you stick to the big names, you can't really go wrong. Great digital still cameras do not translate into great DV performance, but the Canon DV's are recommended too.

jae.

[Dalton]

That was great. Thanks. More than I hoped for really. Full of info I had never considered. I am thinking of burning to DVD's. Beer.

[ulsanchris]

One question you should ask yourself is; how much do you intend to use it? iF not very much go for a cheaper model. IF you plan to use it a lot go for the more expensice one.
I have a sony dcr pc 115. It has the carl zeiss lens and takes 1.5 mega pixel stills. At the time it took the highest resolution stills. Which is one of the main reasons i bought it. 1.5 mega pixels don't produce very good quality pictures though.
One thing you should look at is lines of resolution when you buy. Mine is either 520 or 530, can't remember which but that is very high. Close to about the best of handicam if not the best. AT least at the time i bought it which was a couple of years ago now.
There are a couple things that i am unhappy about with it.
1. the placement of the microphone. It is located on top and towards the back of the camera. If I use the eye piece and there is very little background noise then the mic will pick up my breathing. Which is not very enjoyable to hear while you play back the tape. (hint: find a camera with a mic placed toward the front)
2. I'm not that crazy about the automatic exposure settings. It seems as if it over exposes everything. NOt sure if this is in all sonys or just my model. adjusting manualy is a pain.
3. I'm not crazy about the ergonomics. I've heard canon has the best, and is the most user friendly. (personally i would either go with a sony or canon). I find it doesn't sit very steadily in my hand. Other models i've held since i bought it seem to feel better balanced and steadier.
There are a few more but i won't get into them.
the quality of the video is good.
One thing to keep in mind is what kind of accessories you can get for your camera. Filters, lenses, microphones, flashes.
With sony you can get wide angle conversion lenses (i have one), a telephoto lens (x2), several different filters (i bought a cheap uv filter to protect the lens, I would reccomend you do the same), and a couple of different microphones. As well as flashes and a lamp. I'm not sure what other manufacturers offer.
Also look at the price of things like memory cards, spare batteries and the cassettes. The mini dvs aren't that expensive, but the micro ones are very expensive. In Australia one guy told me he paid over 40 dollars for one. They are getting cheaper as time goes on though.
If you plan on taking stills get a digi cam that takes at least 2 mega pixels. Sony has a couple that can do that. The newest version of the Dcr pc-115 ( think it is called the dcr pc-130) takes 3 megapixels. However it has some of hte same design faults mine does.
I think samsung has one that takes up to 4 megapixels. It has two different lenses and you swivel them around. Looks like it could be easy to break.
Don't even look at digital zoom, just look at optical. digital just blows up the image and is quickly distorted. I never use it. Its there to lure suckers into thinking that it is a good camera.
thats about all i can think about
Do a lot of research on the net. Find sites that have reviews. From there figure out what kind of camera you want and then go to the store, see if you like the feel.

[Dalton]

Thanks for more excellent advice. Microphone placement is one of those little details. Digital zoom does sound like a sales spitch.

I want to film things like a class or the street. Put it on DVD for memories (to watch on big TV) and take stills from the 'film' to e-mail home. I also would like to print some up like a good photo. I had a camcorder but it was trashed when I lent it out. My favorite tape was just letting the camera run while I waited for my party to catch up on a Bridgetown, Barbados street. For me that really captured the feeling of being there. I don't want to hear my own breathing over or with other sounds.

I gather I'm talking mid to high end or scaling back a bit on my wants.