What do you need to know to buy a camera?

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Facing the DV market where new products emerge one after another, it is not easy to choose a satisfactory digital camera. In a sense, choosing DV is more confusing to consumers than choosing digital cameras. Although the main DV brands on the market are Sony, Canon, Panasonic, JVC, Hitachi, Toshiba and the only non-Japanese Samsung, the variety of models and series really makes people feel a little dazzled. In addition, the innovation of DV storage format also makes the DV market more "chaotic" in the eyes of ordinary users. Although MiniDV format is the absolute mainstream in the market at present, it is widely optimistic to replace DV tape with micro hard disk. As long as the cost can be continuously reduced, the hard disk storage mode has incomparable advantages over tape, and it is not impossible to replace it. JVC is the main manufacturer of hard disk DV, and Toshiba also joined the melee with its leading micro-hard disk development technology. In addition, DVD digital camera and Sony's exclusive MicroMV format have also gained a firm foothold in the market, while D8 format, which has become the past, is still struggling in the market. How to choose the most suitable DV among many products has become the most concerned issue for DV consumers. We summarized the nine most important factors when purchasing DV for users' reference.

1, high pixel ≠ high video quality

The development of DV imaging components has entered the era of megapixels. At present, mainstream products use high-quality CCD with at least 800,000 pixels, and a few high-end products even reach an astonishing 4 million pixels! Users are often confused by the advertisements of manufacturers or merchants and the slogan "xxx megapixels" on the packaging when purchasing, remember! These slogans are manufacturers' marketing strategies, so buying these high-pixel CCD products naturally requires higher prices. In fact, the only advantage of this megapixel is that it can make DV shoot still pictures that are not inferior to ordinary digital cameras, and it has little effect on improving the quality of dynamic video. Therefore, users pay more for high-pixel DV, in fact, in order to buy the digital camera function of DV, which is suitable for those products that want to have both functions at the same time. For users who want to shoot high-quality dynamic video, they should pay more attention to the size of CCD area used in DV, because the area of CCD is far more important than its pixel value in dynamic video.

2. Know the purpose of your DV.

Different manufacturers and models of DV have different shooting quality due to different time and place used by users. Some models are suitable for indoor use, others can have better picture quality when shooting outdoors, and the shooting quality in low light is very different. In addition, the appearance of DV is dazzling, and compact products are easier to carry, while some products pay more attention to ergonomic design and have better operating feel. Although the fuselage is slightly larger, it is more suitable for users to use for a long time. Therefore, savvy users should first know what their main uses are when buying DV. We suggest that users can list several possible uses before purchasing DV, and decide what kind of appearance and CCD products they want according to these uses and the image quality they want to achieve.

3. Pay attention to the shooting quality in low light.

This is a key problem that users often don't consider, but manufacturers try to avoid it. What kind of environment is weak light? The illuminance parameter to measure brightness is puzzling, but users can understand the importance of low-light shooting ability as long as they know that our usual indoor lighting conditions belong to low-light environment for DV. Some DV pictures can almost be described as horror when shooting indoors, so users can't ignore this when purchasing. Because the lighting problem is difficult to understand, and the manufacturer's promotional materials and even instructions are not mentioned, users can refer to the experience summary of other DV users from the forums or media about DV. The new debut forum account of the largest digital photography community in China is directly logged in, and the maximum uploading space is 100M every day!

4. Don't be fooled by advertisements.

DV manufacturers often put eye-catching slogans on the outer packaging and fuselage of their products, and these slogans often confuse users' ideas about DV. In addition to the "xxx megapixels" mentioned above, digital zoom is another major event. Many DVs are marked with a digital zoom value of more than 200 times, and a few products even reach an exaggerated 500 times. In fact, after using digital zoom, the shooting picture is seriously distorted and has no practical value at all. Therefore, wise users should not be confused by these exaggerated advertising words when buying, and try not to turn on digital zoom when using.

5.DV cannot replace DC, and vice versa.

As mentioned above, a digital camera with megapixel CCD imaging can take good still pictures, but its image quality is not comparable to that of the ordinary 3 megapixel digital camera on the market at present. Some users really want DV to have good static shooting ability, and they can take care of both when they go out or travel without bringing two machines. On the contrary, at present, many digital cameras have the function of shooting short films, but the shooting quality is immediately dwarfed in front of DV. Because of the different shooting emphases, DV and DC both use the same components, and the shooting mechanism is similar, but it is impossible to replace each other with the current technical limitations. It is undeniable that the static shooting quality of some high-end DVs on the market is comparable to that of ordinary digital cameras, but most of these products are above 1 10,000 yuan, so users can calculate an account like this. In terms of static picture quality, such a DV is equivalent to an ordinary 3-megapixel DC, while the dynamic picture quality is not much higher than that of an ordinary 800,000-pixel DV. At present, you can buy a mainstream DV with 800,000 pixels and a DC with 300 pixels for only 5,000 ~ 6,000 yuan, and although the two machines are a little inconvenient to carry, they are more flexible to use, not to mention that many DCs are very small.

6. Try it before deciding whether to buy it.

To tell the truth, buying a DV is not a small expense for the majority of users, so it is natural to have sufficient experience before purchasing a machine. At present, many large electrical appliance stores have dv for users to try out, so consumers can get in touch with the models they want to buy, and personal experience will help them make the right decision.

7. Pay attention to quality assurance and buy a camera bag and tripod.

As a high-end electronic consumer product, quality assurance service is also a problem that consumers must pay attention to. The internal structure of DV machine is complex, and the smaller and smaller shape makes the machine more precise. When you are away from home, having a high-quality camera bag is not only convenient to carry, but also can protect your favorite machine. Users who have had DV shooting experience know that the stability of the camera body is very important to the picture, and shaking is often inevitable when shooting by hand. Severe shaking will make users dizzy when watching the playback video. Holding hands for a long time is also a reason for the picture jitter, so we suggest that qualified users had better buy a tripod. At present, most tripods on the market are common in DC and DV, which has high use value.

8. Carefully compare different brands and models.

After determining their own requirements for DV use and budget, consumers will find that there are many models in the market that meet their requirements, and it is difficult to choose. There are still great differences between different brands of DV in the same grade in all aspects. It is helpful for users to read more DV evaluation articles of Pacific Computer Network, especially the horizontal comparison between brands.

9. Use your own DV correctly

After purchasing DV, users should not only have correct and good use methods, but also pay attention to the accumulation of DV shooting skills and experience. Different from other consumer electronic products, the use of DV is more complicated and professional, and it is not easy for users who have just purchased the machine to master it completely. They need to gradually accumulate experience in use, and it is also a shortcut to learn from other users' experience in DV related forums. In addition, with the accumulation of experience and the maturity of shooting skills and technology, users can start to consider buying some accessories that are helpful for shooting.

Finally, I wish you the right camera.