How to make 16.9 movies? Any Camcorder? Few particular ones?

[Trimegisto]

I want to buy a miniDV Camcorder but wanted to be sure that it would produce movies in 16:9 format, 720x576 (PAL) movies.

Is this a common feature in modern mini DV camcorders?

Do I have to look for a special feature?

Any help would be greatly apreciated.

Thank you!

[dicktheprick]

i know that the sony's have a 16:9 aspect ratio recording funtion. My DCR-TRV17 can record in widescreen, but it NTSC, not sure about PAL

[adam]

16:9 mode is pretty common in DV camcorders these days but most of the lower end camcorders don't do it correctly. Most camcorders simply chop off the top and bottom, effectively decreasing your camera's viewing range. When testing out camcorders focus in on something in 4:3 and then switch to 16:9 mode and see if your image gets cut off. If so you might want to look into getting another model, but this might mean spending a little extra money.

The one option that you can always do with any Camcorder is to film in 4:3 but do what is called, shoot and protect. To do this just ensure that all of the important visual information is contained vertically in the center or upper 3/4 of the screen. Some camcorders even have lines on the viewfinder which help you do this.

The best option is to simply purchase an anamorphic lens but this can be costly. High quality DV filming just doesn't come cheap. DV camcorders still have a long way to go.

http://www.adamwilt.com/DV-FAQ-etc.html

Take a look at that page, it has some good info on how to ensure that you get proper 16:9 on a DV Camcorder.

[energy80s]

Your best bet is to shoot 4:3 and arc it to 16:9 in editing. That's what the BBC recommend for programmes shot on the Sony PD150. Even though it has an anamorphic widescreen setting, all it does is crop the top and bottom of the picture and stretch it out to fill the full 4:3 frame - it doesn't use any more of the chip so the picture quality is no different than shooting conventional 4:3 footage. My little Canon camcorder does the same. I've tried both methods of creating widescreen footage and prefer to shoot 4:3 and arc (aspect ratio convert) in the editing process - this gives me a chance to produce both 4:3 and 16:9 edited masters. The only other alternative is to use an anamorphic lens, but that will cost hundreds of pounds and you won't be able to zoom with it (maybe not a bad thing!!) but it will produce "wider" shots than any other method with a small DV camcorder.