In this post I would like you to make aware of a couple very important aspects, when it comes to purchasing and operating a new camcorder. You should put these points into consideration now as they can save you a lot of headache later.

  • When it comes to choosing a new camera or camcorder, people are often overwhelmed by the choice of models and features.  The prices for a brand new ‘Point and Shoot’ camera start as low as $100 and can exceed the $500 at the other end of the scale.
    The video capabilities of photo cameras have improved that much over the last couple of years, that you may ask yourself if you need a separate camcorder. On the other hand some camcorders have an integrated flash light and deliver excellent still shots.
    The choice of recording medium of camcorders is straight forward, Hard Disc Drive, Flash Card or both!
    Tape-. and disc camcorder have been discontinued at most retailers. Going into a retail shop or surfing the internet for any camera advice is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. Information is often biased toward the special of the week.
  • At last, you have purchased a new camcorder, the first step towards your goal to produce a video of your upcoming holiday, new family member or any other special event. Even it may not be your first camera, the chances are high, that it records onto a different recording medium as the old one. It might be a change from tape to HDD, Disc to Memory card or any other combination. This fact alone can bring its own challenges, it can be the as simple as archiving and distribution of your videos or software/editing issues. The disc, which is included in the package of your new camera is often just an evaluation version or is limited to very basic functionality and features. In one way or the other you need to buy a full software version of it. If it is the right software for you, or if you can get away with a different free editing program for your purpose, is a whole different story.
  • Finally, everything has been setup. The camera connection to the computer, the software and editing works perfectly. You try something new or differently, there it happens, and your setup doesn’t work properly or not at all! In some case it is not even obvious if it is a camera -, software- or computer problem. The camera retailer sends you to the manufacturer, the camera manufacturer to the editing software distributor and from here the blame goes to the computer hardware. Customers have approached me with this kind of faults, were nobody could give an answer to their problems.
  • Here is another challenge you may face during a video production. -  Camera, or any other hardware failure. Let us say, you are a technician or have knowledge on the subject and started to pull your camera apart in order to rectify the fault. Sometimes it looks so easy on these U-tube repair videos, but suddenly you realise you have a different camera model, or the cause of the symptom is a different one. Anyway, somewhere along the way you got stuck for whatever reason and need a little help to complete your repair. What do you do?

The right and a quick solution to any of the situations above can save you a lot of headache, money and time. In order to complete our services and cater for the issues mentioned above Allcam has launched the CamGuru division as a dedicated give online advice and assistance service.
To find out how CamGuru can help you with:

  • Buying advice and assistance
  • Setup and troubleshoot assistance
  • General camera/camcorder topics
  • DIY Repair assistance

Visit us on http://www.camguru.net