Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
WEDDINGS, parties and anything worth remembering will be filmed this year in a revolution spawned by a flood of tiny, advanced and inexpensive camcorders.
Even more camera makers are jumping on to the latest trend in video cameras, with heavyweights Canon and Sony releasing new camcorders that can record sharp video and fit comfortably in your pocket, just as Panasonic, JVC, Samsung and Sanyo have done recently.
But while manufacturers are falling over themselves to produce the technology, experts are warning that consumers need to be educated about the new generation of video cameras before they make the leap from still to moving memories, or from Flickr to YouTube.
Film school
This lack of education is something Canon recognised at its latest launch, with consumer imaging products marketing manager Stuart Poignand revealing the company had probed the market to discover why video cameras were not as popular as their still photo peers.
Mr Poignand said Canon's research found many consumers were simply overwhelmed by video camera options and obstacles.
"We found, and this is a really interesting statistic, 85 per cent of people don't own a video camera," he said.
"Unlike digital still cameras, there are a lot of barriers when it comes to owning a video camera. In the past some consumers have been disappointed with the footage they've taken. Also, what tends to happen after they film events is that they end up with this box of videotapes that is not seen by others.
"And they also know that if they don't edit the footage down they're going to bore everyone."
There are also many different recording formats in the camcorder market, Mr Poignand said, as well as several recording mediums, and little in-store information to help consumers choose the right camera for their needs.
Paul Curtis, executive director of the Photo Imaging Council of Australia, says the barriers to owning a video camera come from several fronts.
Many consumers, he said, might be reticent to invest in a new video camera after being burned by videotape technology in the past.
"I wasn't a big fan of videotape because of the moving parts involved and also the fact that it twists and it stretches, which can lead to problems," he said.
"Also, if you don't use videotapes for a long time, the layers of magnetic oxide interfere with one another and degrade the tape. If a videocassette is left flat rather than standing on its edge, the images on it will decay. That's how we lost a lot of the original TV shows."
Not great news for those wanting to preserve footage of their child's first steps, for example.
Editing footage captured on videotape was also tricky, often involving a complicated double-VCR set-up, an edit controller and a lot of patience.
Flash forward
Mr Curtis claims consumers burned by this old technology will be pleasantly surprised if they try out the latest generation of video cameras.
Flash memory, including Secure Digital (SD) memory cards, are "the most secure form of storage we know of", he said, and will stand the test of time better than videotape and even better than DVDs.
Video from these new cameras can also easily be imported to a computer for editing or plugged directly into a television.
Flash-based cameras also have other significant benefits over their older rivals.
Flash memory has no moving parts, unlike hard drives, making the technology less prone to failure and more able to withstand knocks. The technology is also quicker and uses less battery power than other memory and it takes up far less room than a hard drive, tape deck or DVD recording drive, allowing for far more compact camcorders.
Flash memory is also dropping significantly in price.
"With the way memory card prices are coming down I can see the day when people will keep their video stored on flash cards rather than reusing them," Mr Curtis said.
"They'll just buy more memory cards like we used to buy rolls of film."
New gadgets
The falling prices are also enticing more consumers to try out the new technology.
The Canon Digital Lifestyle Index, prepared by GfK Australia, found that digital camcorder prices fell by a "considerable" 16.9 per cent or $139.29 between the last quarter of 2007 and that of 2006, bringing their average price to just $685.
Mr Curtis said this price drop and increased competition would be sure to entice consumers to the market this year, predicting that Australians will buy more than 400,000 camcorders in 2008.
They will certainly be spoilt for choice, with most camera makers embracing flash technology.
Panasonic recently released a tiny SD camcorder called the S7 ($549) that features a 10x zoom in its tiny, 180g body, as well as a shock- and waterproof SD camcorder called the SW20 ($769).
JVC joined the trend with the colourful Everio G Series range of camcorders ($799) that can record to SD memory cards or a built-in 30GB hard disk drive, and Samsung released three new pint-sized camcorders, two of which record to SDHC memory cards or MMC cards ($1199 and $749).
Sanyo last year released a handheld high-definition camcorder called the HD1000 ($999) and Sony recently joined them, releasing the tiny HDRTG1 Handycam ($1599) which they claim is the smallest full-HD camcorder yet. It features a titanium body, face detection feature, zoom microphone and records images to a Memory Stick.
Sony also launched a second flash-memory camera, the HDRUX20 Handycam ($1599), that can record high-definition footage to a Memory Stick, a built-in 8GB flash memory or an AVCHD DVD disc.
And it's into this increasingly crowded market that Canon will launch its first flash-based video cameras in five days.
Canon's new range will feature three new flash-based cameras, all of which have tiny bodies that will record video to SD and SDHC memory cards. Two of these cameras will also boast a hidden surprise: 16GB of internal flash-based memory.
Canon digital video product manager Tamara Hohnberg says the camcorders' record-breaking internal memories will set the cameras apart from the crowded pack, and let consumers capture hours of video without spending a cent on recording media.
One of the new cameras, for example, can record up to 12 hours of full high-definition video on to its internal flash memory — something that would have taken 23 8cm DVD discs.
"Canon has been good at bringing high-quality goods to market, but often we're not the first to do so," Ms Hohnberg said.
"This is a first for us."
From home to the screen
The Canon HF10 ($1699) tops the new range, and can capture full high-definition video (1080p) as well as 3.1-megapixel still photos. It also features a 12x optical zoom, optical image stabiliser, Instant AutoFocus feature, HDMI connection, built-in light, and a 16GB internal flash memory in its 430g body.
Canon will also launch the FS11 camcorder ($899), with a 16GB built-in flash memory and image stabliser, and the FS100 ($699) that records directly to SDHC memory cards and weighs a tiny 310g.
An editing software package, Pixela ImageMixer 3 SE, will be included with all three cameras, to help consumers edit their videos and take some of the fear out of selecting a software suite.
Elissa Down, writer and director of the recent Australian feature film Black Balloon, believes these new flash-based video cameras will be a boon for documentary makers and home-video enthusiasts alike.
Down, who tested Canon's HF10 during a recent trip to Byron Bay, said the size of the cameras makes them unobtrusive and less likely to startle subjects, while their flash-based memory is easy on batteries and can capture a lot more footage than the average videotape.
"That's great, especially for docos," she said.
"When you're filming and you're getting good stuff you don't want to have to change the tape."
Down said new features like the ability to capture photos and videos simultaneously, and optical image stabilisation that "makes it look like you're not quite so drunk" will also prove handy for many users.
It could, however, mean a lot more drunken Australians feature on YouTube this year.
