Focus On Camcorders -- Before Your Old Video Camera Dies At The Worst Possible Moment, Take A Look At The Upgrade Choices Made Available Within The Past 5 Years

So there I was, wearily holding my camcorder while taping my daughter's elementary-school graduation. I worried that the jiggling of my tired arm would ruin everything. I prayed that the battery wouldn't die again after only a few minutes of taping. And I battled to force the automatic exposure circuits to see my daughter in a dark area surrounded by light-filled windows.

Then I realized something. Although I upgrade my computer gear continuously, I haven't upgraded my camcorder in five years. Maybe I needed a newer, higher-tech '90s camcorder that could capture family memories and - now that both PCs and Macs have become video-capable - use the computer to edit and archive it all.

I learned plenty in my looking. Here's what you should ask when you shop:

Analog vs. digital

Should you go digital? Probably not. There's no doubt that the new digital camcorders provide fine pictures and the best sound quality, or that eventually most video recording will be digital, just as music has gone digital and photography is headed that way.

But digital camcorders are expensive. Models using the professional 3-CCD chips - the Charge Coupled Device chips that receive light and turn it into bits - run $3,000 to $10,000 and more. Even the "consumer" models cost $1,200 to $2,500, compared with $350 to $700 for regular analog camcorders. Even the digital cameras' tapes - the 6mm DVC (Digital Video Cassette) format - cost 10 to 30 times as much as analog tapes, if you can find them. (The Hitachi MPEG Cam records on memory chips, just as the latest answering machines and digital still cameras do. But that memory holds only 20 minutes.)

Anyway, the question "should you go digital" can be rephrased as "Are you enough of a video nut, or gear-head, that you've just got to have the latest, even if it will be overexpensive and less than practical?" I'm sticking to analog while digital camcorders go through the early quick-changes-and-big-price-cuts period. Then I'll move up.

Format

Which format is best? Assuming you're not going digital, you'll need to choose among: VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, S-VHS-C and Hi-8.

-- VHS uses the same tape you'll find in every video-rental store. The picture quality isn't great, and the tapes are big and bulky, but you can play your recordings on almost any videocassette recorder, or VCR.

-- VHS-C is a compact form of VHS. The tapes are much smaller, which means the camcorders can be a lot smaller, too. When you pull the little tape out of the camcorder, you can plug it into an adapter that then sticks into a standard VHS-VCR.

-- 8mm also uses a small tape - 8 millimeters wide, unsurprisingly - so it makes for small camcorders too. The 8mm picture quality is about the same as for VHS and VHS-C, though the sound is better. But the 8mm tapes won't fit into VCRs. Instead, to watch your 8mm recordings, you'll have to connect a special cable between camcorder and TV. Why bother? Because the 8mm provides improved sound and because VHS-C tapes don't run as long, capturing only 30 minutes (or 90 with poorer-quality recording) compared to 120 minutes on an 8mm tape. Hi-8 is the high-band version of 8mm.

-- S-VHS improves on the picture quality of VHS, with more lines on screen, like having higher resolution on your computer screen or printer. VHS is about 250 lines, broadcast TV 330 lines, "S" or "high-band" 400, and digital is more than 500. The bad news is that you won't see this quality at all unless your TV, VCR or computer has an "S-video input" for taking it. If you're at all interested in making copies of your tapes - or, even more, in editing them on your computer, changing sequences, adding titles and so on - then get a high-band camcorder or consider digital. S-VHS-C is the compact size of S-VHS.

I don't recommend VHS and S-VHS; the cameras are just too ugly and big. If you're looking for quick family recordings at minimum price, get 8mm. Yes, you'll have to hook up a cable to the TV later on, but that's better than trying to swap tapes in the middle of a school play or baseball game. And besides, there are more cheap 8mm models than VHS-C models.

If you can stretch your wallet a little more - say another $150 to $300 - get Hi-8. Until digital is practical, Hi-8 is the place to be for great memories and computer video-editing grist. Batteries

Will the battery last long enough? This has been my No. 1 problem with camcorders. Few batteries run more than an hour. Yet few camcorder makers will tell you their expected battery life.

Look for a battery that comes with long life, with a money-back guarantee if it doesn't come true; automatic battery shutoff (to protect against your mistake of leaving it on); a battery gauge or signal; battery chargers with "refresh" modes to fully drain and top off the battery; and inexpensive, extra-size batteries that you can add on (you should). Stability

What about jiggling images? All arms are prone to jiggling the camera, and there are several ways to deal with this. The first is done optically. The second is through image-stabilization circuits. Both work well. But there's a third, mechanical method that you can employ with any camcorder: a tripod. It works best. Get one at the same time you buy the camcorder (and that extra battery). Viewfinder

What's your view of what you're shooting? The worst is a tiny black-and-white TV screen inside the camcorder. You don't even see the colors you're taping until you play the tape on some color TV later. At least get a color viewfinder. Better yet, get one of the newer swivel-screen models, where a larger screen - about 2.5 inches diagonally - swivels out into sight. This means no more squinting, missing the event because you're taping it for later. And look for one that can fold out on either side, for shooting with either eye and holding with either hand. Zoom

Does it zoom for real? All camcorders can zoom in or out of the scene you're taping. More zoomability is better - 8X is feeble, and you'll be happier with 14X or even 20X. It's just the thing to find your little athlete or actor amid the clutter of others on field or stage. Watch out for "digital zoom" numbers, which may even be substituted for the optical zoom; they claim 24X up to even 200X. These do focus in on a smaller area of the scene, but at the cost of resolution. Get the most real zoom that you can; if you can get more digital zoom beyond that, fine. Automated settings

Does the camcorder have automatic everything, and a way to disable it? To get a good picture, you'll need the right settings for focus, exposure, white balance and audio level. That means acting like a camera, video and sound technician while you're trying to pay some attention to the scene at hand. Fortunately, most camcorders, even the inexpensive ones, automatically handle all those chores. Check to make sure.

As soon as you're sure it does all those things, learn if you can turn the automatic features off. For example, a feature that doesn't allow you to overexpose a shot may, if it's locked on, prevent you from getting a decent picture of a dark subject against a light background. If you could turn off auto-exposure, you might do a better job manually. (Best of all, your camcorder could have automatic Back Light Compensation or "spotlight control" for just such occasions.)

The more options, the more you can become a video artist. If they get in the way, however, these extras could actually make the camcorder harder for a beginner to operate. Ideally, they'll be somewhat hidden. Sound

I've discovered that I care almost as much about the sound I'm taping as the image. That's one reason I prefer 8mm, for its higher fidelity. In fact, ask for hi-fi in any camcorder. Also look for microphone and headphone jacks, a wind-noise eliminator, a low bass filter and a built-in microphone that doesn't sit right next to your huffing and puffing mouth.

Then, as soon as you have the camcorder, try recording some sounds, and especially some music. If it doesn't sound right to you, take it back right away or you'll be laughed at 30 years from now as your descendants listen to fluttery and warbly school concerts and plays. Extras

What else does it offer? Here, in order of importance (high to low) are some helpful features: date-and-time stamping; a "flying erase head" for smooth transitions; single-button, quick review of the last few recorded seconds; low-lux requirement (the lower the lux number, the easier to record in darker places); a high-speed shutter (fun for freezing fast motions such as sports moves); titling, for adding words to your tapes (better done on a computer, anyway); special effects such as fades and dissolves (also better done on a computer); remote control; and speed control, for recording twice as long on the same tape, though at a lower quality.Warranty

Last but absolutely not least, what is the reputation of the company? And how solid is the warranty? A year on parts and 90 days on labor is typical, but you can always hope for more.

Here's what I decided to buy after my research: A Hi-8 model with 20X zoom, lux rating of 3 or less, good sound, image stabilization, a swivel screen, auto-everything and backlight control. I'll throw in a big extra battery, a tripod and a carrying case, and make sure my computer has S-Video input.

Then, in a couple of years, I'll check in to see how digital camcorders have progressed.

Phillip Robinson can be reached by e-mail at the San Jose Mercury News, prrobinson@aol,com.