BootsnAll Travel Community

So I bought a new digital camcorder (Canon Elura 50) and in less than perfect lighting situations, ie: anything not in perfect daylight, the picture seems pretty grainy. For example, it is evening, my living room main light is on and I am filming in there but when I view it back on my TV, the picture is grainy.

Is this a digital camcorder thing or just my camcorder type? I have it set to auto focus but you think it will still look nice...

Please help! I may just take it back but I need to know if anyone has any info on this.

Unfortunately, I believe the "grain" is inevitable. However, it may be more pronounced in a less expensive camera like the Elura 50.

The pricier cameras have a CCD, a "charged coupler device", a chip made specifically for processing light into color, thus less grain. On the low end, a single CCD camera uses one chip to process all three colors (Red, Green, and Blue), the higher end ones have 3 CCDs - one chip for each color.

It all depends on your budget whether or not you should return the camera. Another option is to get a mountable light.

Here's some info on CCDs:
http://www.photolab.co.nz/digital.html

Hope this helps.

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

It actually has 3 CCDs....so it is just the quality of digital then?

Yes. Try to find better lighting, or look into those Sony camcorders that have night vision on them, if nocturnal videography is your main focus.

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

I ended up taking it back....I wasn't completely feeling 100% about the purchase, and considering I spent as much as I did, it should feel better. So, for now I just have a regular ole camera. We'll see what happens in the months to come.

I'm also debating whether or not to bring a camcorder on an upcoming RTW... I mean, I'm a video editor, and I'm sort of known now for my videos...it'd be a shame not to do a video around the world.

Only all I'm seeing is that bringing a camcorder might be more headaches than I bargained for. What to do, what to do...

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

I don't know!! Camcorder God, please send us an answer! haha Maybe in the form of the perfect travel camcorder with amazing picture and battery life that's cheap.. I friggin stress about this too much. I just think it would be so cool to have videos of your trip instead of the usual pictures.

If you are interested in videos Dewb, I just uploaded one I finished editing about my trip to Oz...

www.theglobaltrip.com/videos

(Requires Flash 6)

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

Nice, very nice Do you just put your stuff to your computer using a firewire or are Macs different than PC that way?

Yes, Firewire. miniDV was created with the intent of using the IEEE1394 format, which is simply branded by the respective manufacturer...i.e. Apple calls it FireWire, Sony calls it iLink.

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

Impressive stuff eeyartee! Now I am going to have to get a digital video camera to go with my mac.

So what tour did you take of Antarctica?

With my budget, I took the 10-day "classic Antarctica" trip with Quark Expeditions. AWESOME trip...I recommend it to all.

Contrary to what I thought, it wasn't a cruise full of retired American couples with the time and money to go...there was a substantial young backpacker crowd aboard as well.

You can book easily at:
www.expeditiontrips.com

(If you do, tell Kristy that Erik Trinidad referred you.)

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

Dewbie,

About the graininess...if you look at the nighttime skyscraper shot of Sydney, or the shot of the tower in Cairns, you'll see a lot of graininess... These shots were actually too dark and I upped the gamma in Final Cut Pro. Raising the Gamma raises the black levels, and its in these shots that prove that night=grain.

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

I came across this thread while searching for info on camcorders. (Yes, I will try to stuff more unnecessary gadgets into my backpack.) It seems the grainy picture in low light is something you just have to deal with unless you spend lots of money for a high-end camcorder.

Anyway, I checked out Erik's website. I just loved the slideshows and videos. I'd love to see them at full resolution. They give me ideas for things to do when I go on my trip.

jamileblog.blogspot.com

The grainess of the photo is a function of the ISO setting of the camera.

ISO determines how sensitive the CCD is to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive it is to light, but the more grainy it is. It is the same thing as film speed.

If your camera does all its setting automatically, it will automatically increase the ISO in low light conditions. Higher ISO means shorter exposure times, which is necessary if you want to get a non blurry photo holding the camera in your hands.

You can check to see if you can manually reduce the ISO setting on the camera. If possible, set it at 100 or 200. This will decrease the graininess of the photos, but it will also decrease the sensitivity to light. You will probably need a tripod or a beanbag to steady the camera if you take photos at night.

There really is no way around this tradeoff.