There are several things to consider when choosing a camcorder for surveillance, each function is discussed below.

ZOOM

Zoom is extremely important when choosing a camera. There are two zooming features on a camera: Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom. Optical zoom is the feature that matters most. This is when you video will be in the best quality, once your video gets into digital zoom, it will be grainy and past a certain digital zoom point, the video will be useless. There is now a new zoom feature called intelligent zoom, which is a hybrid between optical and digital. I usually tend to put intelligent zoom closer to the optical category as this zoom is still good quality for surveillance purposes.

Ideally you want a camera with at least 30X or more optical zoom. I like to be closer to the 40X optical or intelligent zoom. Most good cameras do not go past 40X zoom. The cameras that you’ll find that have 60X or more digital zoom are usually the cheaper model cameras, and the zoom is useless because the stabilizer on these cameras are horrible. When you are zooming in past 30X, you need a good stabilizer so the video will be viewable.

STABILIZATION

This is as important as zoom. If your video is shaking, it’s useless! Every manufacturer has different names for their image stabilizers, so I can’t tell you what to look for. You need to test this out for yourself. A seasoned investigator should be able to zoom into at least 60X zoom without shaking the camera, if the camera shakes, it has a bad stabilizer. With my Panasonic TM55 I can go into 800X digital zoom without shaking the camera, that’s a damn good stabilizer! In 2011, the best stabilizers that I’ve seen are on the Panasonic tm55, Panasonic tm80, and the Sony HDR’s.

RECORDING MEDIA

We are in the digital age, if you are still using 8mm tapes… your really missing out! Today, you have the option of getting an SD camera, an HDD camera, or an internal flash camera. I strongly recommend going with an SD camera.

– If you drop an internal hard drive camera, you may lose your video, with an SD camera, you won’t lose your video.

– An internal hard drive camera takes more battery power to film.

– An internal hard drive camera has more parts that can break or stop working.

– An internal hard drive camera may start taking longer to power on over time even after formatting the hard drive.

Overall, there are no benefits to having an internal hard drive camera compared to an SD card camera. With an SD card, you can save the card itself as your original evidence. I’ve heard various opinions on what is considered Original Evidence. Currently, I believe that in C.A. the original evidence is the first DVD that was created from the camera. However, on cases that we work, we always keep the original SD card as well as the original DVD. Nowadays, SD cards can be attained for under $7 a card; I always recommend taking the extra precaution and keeping the SD card as well. If the court will ever require you to provide the original evidence, the SD card is the best proof that the video was not edited.

When you buy an SD card, make sure you buy at least a class 4 card for HD recording. I usually find class 6 cards on Amazon for under $7 a piece. Sometimes I find them for $3-$4 and store up on them.

NIGHTSHOT

Remember the old Sony cameras that shot green video in pitch black? Well they don’t exist anymore! So if you have one, you better hold onto it. A cameras nightshot is judged by LUX. True nightshot is 0LUX. So you are looking for the closest thing you can find to 0LUX. I personally prefer the Panasonic cameras as they are 1LUX. The Sony HDR’s are at 3LUX. The Sony HDR-CX700V advertises 0Lux but is honestly worse quality nightshot then my Panasonic TM55 with 1Lux. The only camera that I have heard about that has better nightshot then the Panasonic is Canon VIXIA HF G10. However, I have not been able to test this camera out yet to give a review.

START UP SPEED

When you’re subject runs through the parking lot, and your camera isn’t on yet, you better hope your camera can start up fast from the off position. This is an extremely important function for any surveillance investigator. When choosing you camera, make sure you test this. Some cameras may have a quick-start option, so make sure that is on. However, you must make sure that when the quick-start option is on, you test the camera from the off position – not the standby position. The best way to do this is to turn the quick-start option on (if available on your camera), take the battery out, put the battery back in, and now see how fast the camera starts up. If it takes longer than 1 second, don’t buy it!

FOCUS

Learning how to use a cameras focus features is extremely important for any P.I. If your video is out of focus, your video is useless. When your claimant is picking up an air conditioner and carrying it from the driveway to the front door, you may only have several seconds of video, so you NEED to learn how to quickly adjust your focus or you’ll miss out! With today’s camcorders, focus is becoming extremely easy to use, but you CAN’T count on auto focus. When choosing a camera, you need to test out its auto focus. You can do this by taking it outside, zooming into an object across a busy street, and seeing if the focus is lost when a vehicle passes by. If focus is lost for more than 0.4 seconds, choose a new camera. You will also want to learn how to use your cameras focus features, for example, on my Panasonic, I can actually touch my subject on the camera screen as I’m filming, and the camera will focus on my subject. You need to learn how to use these focus tricks on your camera prior to working cases with the camera. If you can’t get clear video when there is heavy rain, YOU don’t know how to use your camera! While you’re learning focus, learn other manual options such as white balance and shutter speed, these come in handy fairly often!

AUDIO

When you’re recording surveillance video, you are not allowed to record audio in C.A. On my camera, I took it apart and cut the audio wires internally to disable audio recording. You can also do the same and put a toggle switch to turn audio recording on and off. If your camera has a mic input for an external microphone, the trick is to take put in an empty jack into the input and shave it down using a dremel. This will disable the audio.

MORE

Pre-Record. I can’t live without this function on my Panasonic camcorder! If my camera is on a tri-pod or sticky-pod and focused on the subject’s door during surveillance, I always turn my pre-record function on. When my subject comes outside and I press record, the camera will actually record video 5 seconds prior to my hitting record! How often do you miss the first 2-3 seconds of great video? When your film shows video of the door, then the subject opening the door, then coming outside… your clients will be impressed!

Photography. Some cameras like the Panasonic have the ability to take pictures during recording or video playback. So while you’re playing the video on the camera, you click the photo button and you get a picture of the HD video still. No more grainy pictures after transferring the video onto your computer.

There are constant debates on which camera is best for surveillance. However, every investigator will have his/her own preference. I just wrote a list and explained what you should be looking for. I recommend visiting stores and testing the cameras out for yourself. However if your too lazy, my recommendation is the Panasonic TM55 (not sold new anymore). The Panasonic TM 80, or the TM90.

If you have ANY comments, suggestions, or questions please e-mail us at support@oinvestigations.com

Click here to see Sample long distance video with my Panasonic TM55.