The SDR Camcorder

This is the age of truly mobile and light recording devices. In keeping with this, a number of the leaders in electronics, Sony and Panasonic offer top of the line camcorders for reasonable prices. The newest SD camcorders start at $268. The SD in a SDR camcorder represents the term standard definition video. It however has a storage device called also a SD, offered in the newest camcorders and can store images in 2 gigabyte and 4 gigabyte capacities. The producers of the storage device are scheduling the release of a 5-gigabyte SD after July 28, 2006. The SD is essentially a circuit card form of a flash card or memory stick. The solid-state storage of data through these devices provides a safe means of capturing data. The destructive power of heat can distort and even destroy data captured on electromagnetic disk or film. The SD stores images in the Secure Digital High Capacity, or SD 2.0 card format. These new devices continue to revolutionize the information age; they can store larger amounts of information in a relatively small physical space. This is a plus for anyone using a computer based electronic device. These new camcorders offer a 10 or 20-power optical zoom with a digital zoom ability of 100 to 200 times the captured image size. Most of these camcorders can function as precision single shot cameras with excellent resolution.



The SDR camcorder has no viewfinder as in the older models but a flat screen LCD image viewer.

The optical system focuses the light from an image on to the photographic integrated circuit through a prism. The prism separates the light into three separate colors onto a designated CMOS or a CCD. These CCDs process light in the blue spectrum, the green spectrum and the red spectrum. Camcorders initially receive incident light waves in shades of grey. The CCD or CMOS processes the particular shade of grey and a specific color is assigned to it. A picture is created in an image frame, which is scanned. When it is scanned, it is converted into a binary digital code. The process for motion pictures is very fast, some frames may even be interpolated in order to make the movie appear smooth. Most recent camcorders use the MPEG2 format to record imagery. Images are converted to digital information after the imager processes the electrical energy created by the CCD or CMOS image sensor. The newest camcorders have a popup flash for taking still shots. Those still photos may not have the depth or resolution found in professional digital cameras but their adequate for recording favorite vacation memories.