Video Camera: should I use widescreen instead?

[vid83]

I have a Canon Optura 60 digital video camera (see google for picture). It has a feature where you can record in widescreen or the regular box size (not widescreen). I use my video camera to record family events such as graduation, birthdays, plays, etc. for my family. Should I start shooting in widescreen or should I continue to shoot in the non-widescreen? What are the consequences of using widescreen? Is widescreen here to stay? Also, please give an explanations too. I need to know soon because I will be shooting my sister's promenade this weekend.

[guns1inger]

Widescreen is definitely here to stay, and hooray I say to that. If your camera shoots in true 16:9 mode, which yours appears to do, then there is no reason not to use it all the way through the process.

There are no consequences to using 16:9 or 4:3 other than the artistic ones. Working with either is pretty much the same when encoding or authoring.

[vid83]

I noticed that when I switched between 4:3 and 16:9, the 16:9 had more to the sides whereas the 4:3 had some of the sides cut off. So I get more in the picture when I use 16:9. If I use 16:9, can I convert a 16:9 to a 4:3 if I needed to for some reason?

[FulciLives]

I noticed that when I switched between 4:3 and 16:9, the 16:9 had more to the sides whereas the 4:3 had some of the sides cut off. So I get more in the picture when I use 16:9. If I use 16:9, can I convert a 16:9 to a 4:3 if I needed to for some reason?

Well a 16x9 WS video will look normal on a 4:3 TV but will have black above and below the image. On a 16x9 WS TV the image will fill the screen.

You can convert 16x9 WS to 4:3 Full Screen but that means cutting off the sides of the image so that there is no black above and below the image and that is simply a retarded thing to do.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[lchiu7]

I have a Sony D8 camera which has a 16:9 option for shooting. I have decided to shoot that way all the time since when I play back on my 16:9 TV, the image fills the screen without any horizontal stretching. The DVD's I create for friends will have top and bottom bars if they view on a regular TV but no complaints so far

Larry