Camcorders

Add your own commentary or soundtrack to footage

AE modes are tailor-made for different conditions such as Sports, Sunset, Landscape and Portrait with shutter speed, exposure and focus adjusted automatically. Some camcorders also have manual overrides for extra creative control

Stands for Charged Couple Device: it's the light-sensitive chip in a digital camcorder used to store images. It uses an optical sensor to convert light into electronic signals for high-quality still pictures

The process that shrinks file size, so more data can be stored on a memory card. Compression makes for speedier saving and downloading of footage, and also means it is easier to email them. Because compression results in a small amount of data loss, it’s best to buy a camcorder which takes uncompressed data if you want only the sharpest possible results

This zooms by cropping in-camera: if you'll be zooming a lot, consider a camcorder with a powerful optical zoom (see Optical Zoom below)

Directly connect your camcorder to your PC for picture editing and processing

A fast method of file transfer. Both your camcorder and PC must have FireWire ports in order to transfer footage

With GPS you can geotag clips and stills during your adventures, making it easy to remember where every moment happened

A type of compression used to store high definition video

A device that allows you to attach an external flash unit

Compensates for hand movements causing camera shake or processes the image to help keep the picture steady. A digital image stabiliser provides an adequate amount of stabilisation, while top-of-the-range camcorders use a more sophisticated optical stabilising lens

Essential for situations when auto-focus can't cope, such as shooting through a window, when an image lacks detail or when you want to concentrate on something closer to the lens than the main subject

Many camcorders allow you to film even in total darkness by using infrared light to produce footage taken at night

The file format used to store compressed still images

This is a larger screen for viewing images and choosing settings

Three times longer than standard, e.g. 4 hours of footage on an 80 minute tape

Using macro settings you can get close-up shots in complete clarity

The greater the number of pixels, the better quality imagery you’ll get – more megapixels also means the file size will be larger

Memory sticks, MMC (Multimedia cards), SD (Secure Digital) and SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards are all types of memory card. SDHC cards have a greater storage capacity over regular SD cards. Memory cards offer extra space for footage, and make it easy to transfer images and videos from your camcorder to your computer for editing and sharing

A slot in the camera where you put the memory card

MPEG stands for Moving Pictures Experts Group, and is the file format used to store compressed video

Digital zoom works by enlarging the central 50% of the image, while optical zoom actually moves the camera lens to magnify the image, for high-quality zooming

These can enhance footage to really capture the moment, and can include mirrorball, strobe light, black and white, sepia, slim and stretch modes. They can be seen on the LCD monitor or through the viewfinder as you record, although some effects can be added into the playback or while editing

Many camcorders can now connect with your smartphone or tablet, allowing you to adjust exposure, take snaps and frame shots remotely on their screens

There are 2 types of zoom: optical and digital. See details in this glossary for more details on each