Current Video News
Get the Latest DV and Camcorder Industry News from Videomaker's Editors!
Read the latest news on digital camcorders, video editing software, and turnkey editing systems as well as all other big videography news items.
Camcorder Reviews
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JVC GZ-HD3 Everio Camcorder
The JVC GZ-HD3 Everio is a fun to use camcorder that provides very long recording times with high-def resolution. Along with its big brother the HD7, this camcorder employs Constant Bitrate Recording (CBR) and Variable Bitrate Recording (VBR) at 1920 x 1080 pixels. That mode is what JVC, among other manufacturer's are calling "Full HD" recording. However, we'll get into the picture quality later...more
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Canon HG10 AVCHD Camcorder
The HG10 is Canon's first HDD AVCHD camcorder. It is small and well balanced, and it comes with a 1/2.7" CMOS sensor and a host of new features that all add up to great-looking HD video. If you're looking for a camcorder with a great deal of recording capacity, the HG10 is a real contentder...more
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Panasonic AG-HSC1U AVCHD Camcorder
If you are looking for a small, and we mean really small, 3-chip high-def AVCHD camcorder with professional features, then you really have only one choice: the new AG-HSC1 from Panasonic. As it has features like three native 16:9 CCDs and manual adjustment of iris, focus, shutter, white balance and mic input levels, we found ourselves forced to reconsider what really defines a "professional" or "consumer" camcorder...more
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Canon HV20 HDV Camcorder
With so many HD camcorders hitting the market, it may seem to be an overwhelming decision to narrow your choice down to one. Thankfully, Canon has come out with the HV20 HDV camcorder, which may just be the lifeboat you need to stay afloat in a sea of options. The remarkable picture quality, combined with its 24P capability, makes it a truly appealing pick for point-and-shoot consumers...more
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JVC GY-HD200u HDV Camcorder
Manufacturers sometimes like to slap the word "pro" on their camcorders as a way to compensate for less than professional capabilities. Clearly, this is not the case with JVC's recent addition to their professional products line, the GY-HD200u high definition camcorder...more
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Sony HVR-V1U HDV Camcorder
Sony's latest addition to its professional HDV camcorder lineup is the HVR-V1U. This camcorder is packed with a host of features designed for serious amateurs and budding professionals...more
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Canon XH-A1 HDV Camcorder
We had the opportunity to join about 20 journalists and critics at a special Canon event to usher in the XH-A1 and XH-G1 camcorders. We realized just how confident Canon is that these two camcorders will make a huge splash in the market. But, are they for everyone?...more
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Panasonic AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD Camcorder
Panasonic has bypassed making an HDV camcorder and has gone straight for the jugular by introducing its full bandwidth HD camcorder...more
Comparision Shopping
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Video Production Classes and Workshops
If you have questions, it helps to ask an expert in person. In addition to our published video educational resources, we offer video production Workshops, Summits and Conferences. By attending one of our Chico, CA video production workshops, you can learn video editing, lighting, and camcorder techniques while you network with your peers. During the East and West Coast Summit, you can learn digital video editing in a smaller hands-on class using a Sony Laptop with Adobe CS3 Editing Suite. Also available are our Videomaker Conferences which provide 1-2 full days of informative lectures on various video production topics. To find a Videomaker Conference coming to a city near you, see our schedule of upcoming video production events!
Features & Techniques
Creating Characters
Telling a powerful story with video does not require professional actors or people experiencing extraordinary events. But it does hinge on making your characters interesting and believable. So how do you do this? Remember those five Ws from fourth-grade English class? Who, What, Where, When and Why (and we'll slip in How) are back, and we're putting them to work to develop characters that will make your next drama or even documentary one that people remember...
Videomaker's Vidcast
Videomaker Presents has been updated with a more intense Tips section. We're taking more time out in the field and in the studio to bring you the best in video production techniques.
Videomaker Presents is now available in a higher resolution, with download times remaining low. You asked for it, and you got it! See more detailed video by clicking on the Hi-Res button below.
High Resolution
Community
You can connect with people who make video like you do. People that use the same editing software package, have the same camcorder, produce the same type of videos or you can find people that have all three things in common. You can engage in discussions about your favorite genre or about your most admired technique.
Visit the Videomaker Community!
Check out the community forums
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2008-05-09Exporting from computer to S-VHS deck
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2008-05-09Video Capture to Hard Drive
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2008-05-098mm to dvd questions
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2008-05-09Gas
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2008-05-09New camera question
New Video Equipment
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NewTek TriCaster Studio Live Production System
It's been about two years since we got wow'd by Newtek's first studio-in-a-box, the TriCaster. So when we heard about all the improvements packed into this latest version, the TriCaster STUDIO, we made a phone call. What we got was a black box that packs about twice the punch of its TriCaster sibling - at twice the price...more
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SimpleTech Duo Pro Drive 2TB Storage Device by Fabrik
With two terabytes of storage, the SimpleTech Duo Pro Drive by Fabrik fills a key need of multimedia professionals, and video pros in particular. If you've spent any amount of time dealing with multimedia, you know you're talking about big files. Even assembling a simple five-minute YouTube clip can result in several gigabytes of data, from outtakes to audio files, to the actual finished segment itself. And that data needs to be archived once the actual project is finished...more
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Apple Final Cut Express 4 Video Editing Software
The newest incarnation of Apple's mid-level editing tool, Final Cut Express 4, brings with it more features and likeness of Final Cut Pro than ever before. AVCHD support, multi-resolution timelines, advanced keyframing and color correction round out a long list of useful features. Some parts of Final Cut Express have gone missing. While Livetype 2.0 is still bundled with FCE, Soundtrack is no longer included...more
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Corel DVD Copy 6 Plus Conversion Software
Odds are fairly good that within a couple of miles of your home, there's a copy shop that will also pack, mail and ship anything that you want to send out to anyone. That store probably also offers a notary public service and may even offer private mailbox services. Corel (and recently-acquired InterVideo before it) took this analogy and ran with it with DVD Copy 6 Plus-and much like the neighborhood mailing/copy shop (er, the ones with paper copiers), DVD Copy 6 Plus does a whole lot more things than just make copies of DVDs...more