DVCAM

DVCAM is a low cost digital tape format that can be used for many types of TV and video production. It is ideally suited to TV News, documentarys and corporate productions. It is a high quality format good enough for broadcast television and is used by many TV regions for news. One of the formats main advantages is that the footage can be easily and cheaply transferred to a computer for editing. Sony's XDCAM system also uses the same codec to encode standard definition video which is then stored on a removable disk.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding this format because many people use the term "DVCAM" in reference to the many small "palmcorder" type cameras that are based on consumer models. These "palmcorder" units do produce reasonable quality images but are very different to the true professional "full size" DVCAM camcorders that are also available. DVCAM is a format, not a type of camera. For example if you needed a specific type of car you would not go out and buy or hire a "Ford", you could end up with a Ka or an Explorer, two very different cars, so be careful if you hire a "DVCAM" because you just don't know what you are going to get, instead specify the type of camera you need i.e. a palmcorder or full size unit. A couple of examples are given below.

Sony Z1E

A small compact camcorder based on a consumer model. features 3 CCD imaging devices and has a dedicated wide angle lens adapter. Can shoot in various modes including HDV, DVCAM and DV both 16:9 and 4:3. Ideal for discreet filming, very portable. Maximum tape length 60 mins. Picture quality compared to Digital Betacam 9 out off 10.

Sony DSR-570

Full Size professional camera. Can shoot in both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. Takes industry standard interchangeable lenses and batteries. Has 3 CCD's but these are larger than the ones on the PD100 giving significantly improved picture quality. Can be used for multi-camera shoots. The camera setup is fully user programmable and the camera has a wide range of auto and manual presets and controls. Maximum tape length 184mins. Picture quality compared to Digital Betacam 9 out of 10, in most cases it is very hard to tell the difference. The DVCAM format records less colour information than Digibeta, so the fine detail in for example a grass field may be lost, however tests that I have conducted indicate that unless the DVCAM and Digibeta are compared side by side on the same monitor most people including TV engineers can't tell which is which.