how to transfer camcorder video on the computer with a samsung 33x optical zoom?

Q. i really need to put a video on the computer to send to a family member and i really dont know how any help?..

A. Which "samsung 33x optical zoom"?

Which computer?

MiniDV tape: Connect the camcorder's DV port (not USB) to the computer's firewire port (not USB) with a firewire cable (not USB). Camcorder in "Play/Edit" mode (at the power switch), launch the video editor in the computer and capture or import. Nothing will "show up" on the computer. USB is used only for transferring stills off the memory card. USB-to-firewire cable/converter/adapter things do not work.

Flash memory or hard disc drive based camcorder: Connect the camcorder's USB port to the computer's USB port with a USB cable. In PC or Play mode the camcorder mounts like any other mass storage device (if the correct USB drivers are installed. Sometimes this is not required. Launch the video editor and capture or import. If the flash memory or hard disc drive does show up, copy the video files form the camcorder. If MPG or MTS files, you may need to transcode them to a format your video editor can deal with. We have no way to know what you are using.

DVD based camcorder: Finalize the disc in the camcorder. Take the disc out of the camcorder and put in a drawer loading DVD drive in the computer. Use a DVD ripper to get the video off the DVD into a format your video editor can deal with. Warning: Video quality will be poor. DVD based standard definition camcorders were not designed to have their video edited.

Since you have not provided any detail about your camcorder or computer, there is not much more help we can provide.

If your camcorder uses storage media different from that listed above, please let us know in a new post. Digital 8 tape uses the firewire miniDV tape process. Analog video requires a "capture card" or analog/digital converter...

Original Question

HD Camcorders and High Optical Zooms !?

Q. Can someone give me some idea why camcorders with HD recording capability have optical zooms like 10-15x and there can't be found one with higher optical zooms?
Is there any technical limit on this?

A. The bigger the zoom range the bigger the compormises, so wide angles may become warped looking or the tele end may become soft.

On regular DV camcorders the resolution is usually .08mp (04.MP being used for the image) for HD camcorders it is around 2MP.

So HDV is more critical, you may not see the softness or more likely, colour fringing on an SD camera, but it would show on an HD camera.

Bear in mind the viewing environment as well. Flaws on a 28in screen won't be as obvious as on a 50in HD screen.

Another issue, particularly with consumer cameras is the small sensor, as a lens gets longer it suffers from f-drop (a reduced maximum aperture) the tiny 1/6 and 1/4.5 sensors packed to HD resolution will get diffraction (picture softening) at smaller apertures.

15x is acutally loads and loads anyway. You would need a steady tripod, camera remote and a big pile of sandbags to avoid shake above this. It's also harder to do smooth movements with such a big zoom.

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Camcorder - optical zoom?

Q. I have searched Google but I would still like someone to confirm that the bigger the optical zoom the better, i.e. 40x optical zoom is better than 10x optical zoom.
I was out with my parents today looking at camcorders and the Sony staff member told us that the less the better. Actually, what I think he said was the less optical zoom the better the quality. (Maybe all three of us heard him wrong and he was talking about digital zoom) Does having, say, a 25x rather than a 40x have any advantage in any way?

So, optical zoom is better... the bigger the number? The DCR-SR35E costs �399, has 30 GB, 40x optical zoom. The DCR-SR75E costs �599, has 60 GB, 25x optical zoom. The still pictures have a difference of 200,000 pixels. I'm just wondering why the more expensive one has an inferior optical zoom.

A. Looks like you are having fun out there :)

DCR-SR75E with the 25x optical zoom is the winning choice, due to its lens system.

Do not be tempted by the lower price and the 40x zoom on the other one. Being honest, you will never need the 40x zoom - and when you Do zoom @ 40x, I doubt it will be anything satisfactory.

In real life conditions, we hardly zoom over 3x for landscape and 8x for portraiture.

If your budget is right, go there again with your parents and get the DCR-SR75E !

p.s - you should also try out a few Canon camcorders if they are available there :)

Original Question

Are there any digital cameras and/or camcorders offering optical zoom in video mode?

Q. Hi, anybody knows if there are any digital cameras and/or camcorders offering optical zoom in video mode?

All I've ever had are camcorders and digital cameras that feature only digital zoom when recording video, and the quality of that zooming is lousy; you see the quality difference immediately, when playing back the videos.

If anybody knows, I'd appreciate some suggestions, preferably budget cameras, USB compatible, so I can transfer to my PC.

Thanks a lot in advance for your suggestions.

A. All "real" camcorders have optical zoom and digital zoom.

It sounds like you are using a very low-end flip-like or toy camcorder or a camera that is primarily used for taking stills (and happens to have a "video" feature).

MiniDV tape based camcorders provide the best available video quality - but they use firewire (not USB) to transfer video to your computer. USB is only used for transferring stills from the camcorder's memory card or webstreaming (of the camcorder has either of these features). Adding a firewire port is typically not difficult - and it is pretty cheap.
Canon ZR800, ZR950, Sony DCR-HC52, HC62 and Panasonic PV-GS320 are good, entry-level, examples.

Hard drive and flash based camcorders compress their video a lot, but the quality isn't too bad... Video is transferred using USB. Sony DCR-SR45 and Canon FS10 are examples. They typically cost more than miniDV, but that does not mean the video quality is better - compression of the video information translates into lost data and can result in reduced video quality.

In any case, when you shop for a camcorder, do not use digital zoom as a feature comparison item - because when you bring the camcorder home, your first step is to turn digital zoom off. Use only Optical zoom.

Other things to look for in a good camcorder:
Mic-in jack (optional, but very useful)
Some sort of audio manual control (again, optional, but if you think you might be recording loud audio, like bands, this will be a requirement).

DO NOT BUY A DVD BASED CAMCORDER. Their video is terrible - especially for editing or uploading to the web. The discs are a pain and can be unreliable (resulting in list video).

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What features should be considered while buying a digital video recorder or camcorder?

Q. I want to buy one recorder because I am going for a LONG HOLIDAY. Whenever I flip through the magazines looking for a video camera, I notice several specifications like:

Digital Zoom
Optical Zoom
Mega pixel

What features are most important for tourism where we need good zoom, quality, nightmode & much more??

A. I would love to answer this question for you. As a tip from my Rome Vacation it is important to get really good quality to bring back good video for others to enjoy for the future. Take Notes because here is the LIST:

Optical Zoom: Real important because digital zoom is pure bogus.
Hard Drive (HDD): Tapes are VERY hard to work with. With a HDD camcorder you can record for hours.
A Good Brand: JVC, Sony, and Canon are the best. Not Teen-Tech, Vivitar, or Aiptek

These are the KEY FACTORS for looking at camcorders. As an amateur these things stand out the most.

Original Question

Is it possible for a camcorder to have 100x optical zoom? Would it be possible to use even with a tripod?

Q. My cousin has a camcorder with 70x optical zoom and it works fine.
I recently saw one that had 78x optical zoom, it was Panasonic.

Why do people say it wouldn't be possible to have 100x optical zoom?
78x optical zoom isn't that much less than 100x.

A. optical zoom over 20x is not very practical. megazoom is a result of using very tiny CCD imagers. for a 1/4 inch format CCD, the normal focal length is 4mm, 20x is 80mm which is 3 inches a rather reasonable size lens for a plam held camcorder. 100x would be 400mm or 15 inches, that is a lot of glass to hang in front of a 1 inch thick camera. then there is the problem of light gathering. for reasonable pictures in daylight, the lens needs a minimum iris opening of f4. the "f" factor is the ratio of focal length divided by lens diameter. so for 400mm to achieve f4 it would need to be 100mm diameter or 4 inches. But you might realize that the biggest problem is stability, to prevent blur, OIS is usable to 20x. That prevents blur but it does not control bounce or similar unintended movement, that is you will have sharp images of something that is bouncing. Here is where a tripod is needed. Television sports cameras use 40x to 50x lenses from Center field at baseball, or stadium top for football. But that camera is mounted on a $250,000 vibration supression mount, not a simple tripod. The megazoom may be something of value for still digital photos where the effective shutter speed can be increased to get a clear single frame. CCDs are getting down to 1/8th inch size with would reduce the example numbers in half. but then you have to cram the 12 elements used in a normal servo zoom (one that tracks focus) into minimum thickness of 2mm. that is why the flip cameras don't have optical zoom. and the funny thing is, all the sports people want to put "baby death" super fisheye lenses on their cameras, just the opposite of megazoom.

Original Question

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What features should be considered while buying a digital video recorder or camcorder?

Q. I want to buy one recorder because I am going for a LONG HOLIDAY. Whenever I flip through the magazines looking for a video camera, I notice several specifications like:

Digital Zoom
Optical Zoom
Mega pixel

What features are most important for tourism where we need good zoom, quality, nightmode & much more??

A. I would love to answer this question for you. As a tip from my Rome Vacation it is important to get really good quality to bring back good video for others to enjoy for the future. Take Notes because here is the LIST:

Optical Zoom: Real important because digital zoom is pure bogus.
Hard Drive (HDD): Tapes are VERY hard to work with. With a HDD camcorder you can record for hours.
A Good Brand: JVC, Sony, and Canon are the best. Not Teen-Tech, Vivitar, or Aiptek

These are the KEY FACTORS for looking at camcorders. As an amateur these things stand out the most.

Original Question

Is it possible for a camcorder to have 100x optical zoom? Would it be possible to use even with a tripod?

Q. My cousin has a camcorder with 70x optical zoom and it works fine.
I recently saw one that had 78x optical zoom, it was Panasonic.

Why do people say it wouldn't be possible to have 100x optical zoom?
78x optical zoom isn't that much less than 100x.

A. optical zoom over 20x is not very practical. megazoom is a result of using very tiny CCD imagers. for a 1/4 inch format CCD, the normal focal length is 4mm, 20x is 80mm which is 3 inches a rather reasonable size lens for a plam held camcorder. 100x would be 400mm or 15 inches, that is a lot of glass to hang in front of a 1 inch thick camera. then there is the problem of light gathering. for reasonable pictures in daylight, the lens needs a minimum iris opening of f4. the "f" factor is the ratio of focal length divided by lens diameter. so for 400mm to achieve f4 it would need to be 100mm diameter or 4 inches. But you might realize that the biggest problem is stability, to prevent blur, OIS is usable to 20x. That prevents blur but it does not control bounce or similar unintended movement, that is you will have sharp images of something that is bouncing. Here is where a tripod is needed. Television sports cameras use 40x to 50x lenses from Center field at baseball, or stadium top for football. But that camera is mounted on a $250,000 vibration supression mount, not a simple tripod. The megazoom may be something of value for still digital photos where the effective shutter speed can be increased to get a clear single frame. CCDs are getting down to 1/8th inch size with would reduce the example numbers in half. but then you have to cram the 12 elements used in a normal servo zoom (one that tracks focus) into minimum thickness of 2mm. that is why the flip cameras don't have optical zoom. and the funny thing is, all the sports people want to put "baby death" super fisheye lenses on their cameras, just the opposite of megazoom.

Original Question

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