STORM TRACK: March 31, 1987 (Volume 10 Issue 3)

The craze these days is video. Many people have bought or rented them. If you plan to chase with a video system, it helps to shop around for the system you want, at the price you want to pay. But before you go, you should have in mind some idea of what you want. There are many cameras and recorders available. Some systems are fancier than others but don't necessarily produce a better picture. To get started, it will take about $1,000 for the bottom line "camcorders", camera and recorder all in one. Most video places carry camcorders entirely.

Why video? Videotaped movies are remarkably inexpensive. A VHS tape, which runs for two hours at its fastest speed, costs about $5. In contrast, two hours of Super-8 film, including processing, can cost $500. Ouch.

Collect product information on the type of system you want. It always helps to pay a visit to a store and see a demonstration of the equipment. There are many pros and cons about picture quality. Image noise can be a problem with some inexpensive systems. Focus on a still object and look at your monitor or TV carefully. Make sure the image is sharp, detail crisp, and colors true. If the border of the stationary image appears wavy, that's image noise.

Almost all the lenses suffer some degree of flare. When directed toward bright light and suddenly moved, a faded streak or tail appears following the trajectory of the light. The manifestation of that type of highlight problem seems to depend largely on the camera's image detector which is the component that picks up the image and transforms it into an electrical image. Solid state detectors provide better color but more flare than vacuum-tube detectors.

Picture quality is also influenced by two kinds of video "noise". Chroma noise appears as streaks or flecks of the wrong color across the screen. Luminance noise is the same as "snow" where some portions of the image appears too dim or too bright. Steady improvement in camera technology has minimized these problems.

As the light becomes dimmer, the camera's lens opens wider to restore the brightness of the TV image. This is not a very good feature for shooting ominous, dark scenes as the lens will adjust and show a light blue scene. So, I recommend a camera where you can manually adjust the aperture, to allow those ominous scenes to hold true.

Almost all the cameras have a built-in microphone which is satisfactory for most purposes. Remote microphones are available on some models. Mikes are either omni-directional (pick up sounds equally all around) or directional. I prefer the directional mike to home in an the tornado sounds or wind.

Zoom lenses are essential on a chase camera. Zooms are typically 6:1 or 8:1 ratio. Many cameras have an "auto-focus". This can be detrimental when shooting through a window. Instead of a cone-shaped tornado, you may get an enlarged bug smear. I recommend an override where you can manually set the focus.

Natural outdoor light tends to be bluish, while indoor light tends to be more orange in color. For these reasons, a video camera must be "white balanced" to keep the colors true. There are four methods of white balancing. The white card balance is most common and usually very accurate. You aim a white card or white surface (a white T-shirt will do) illuminated by the same light as the subject to be taped; then press a button, and the camera adjusts itself.

According to Consumer Reports, the best cameras are top of the line JVC, Magnavox, and RCA products. At the bottom of the list are GE, Quasar, and Panasonic. In the middle are Canon, Sears, Zenith, and Sony. Specific models will vary in price and quality.

In purchasing a video recorder or VCR, there are currently three types of systems: beta, VHS, or 8 mm cassette. VHS format is most popular but with improved quality of the cassettes this may change. Most VHS models have three recording and playback speeds: standard play (SP), long play (LP), and super long play (SLP). I recommend using the SP mode ALL the time as you definitely get a better picture.

The most basic VCR has two heads. (A video head is a tiny electromagnet that "reads" information from the tape during playback and "writes" information on the tape when recording,) More heads don't necessarily mean a better picture. The extra heads are used to deliver high quality sounds, or special effects such as over-dubbing audio or video. Audio dubbing is a good feature as you can delete some of the chase expletives without losing the video. Even the cheapest VCR has the basic controls like play, record, rewind, fast forward, search/scan, pause, and stop. Most systems have a remote control. I prefer the wireless remote for convenience.

According to Consumer Reports, no video recorder now on the market is markedly superior to another. They say, "Among the tested models, regardless of brand, style, format, or price, we saw no large differences in picture quality." So a $300 VCR will give the same picture quality as the $1000 VCR; you're just paying more for the extra features.

The most popular video tapes are the T-120 which plays for two, four, or six hours depending on the VCR speed selected. Many companies sell two "grades" of video tape: standard, and high grade. The average price for a standard tape is about $5. Yes, the higher grade tapes cost more, sometimes up to $15.

Video tape has two main elements. The base is the tape which is made of polyester. Then there is a coating which contains millions of magnetic particles adhered to the base with a binder. These particles become arranged in certain patterns when you record. They will stay that way until you erase or change them. It makes sense that the more particles there are on the tape, the more information the tape can receive. I say "can receive", since the tape is at the mercy of your camera and recorder. Typically, the video tape can produce a better picture than most VCRs allow,

The most noticeable problems with video tapes can be "dropouts" which show up as horizontal streaks on the TV screen. They may be caused by missing bits of material in the tapes magnetic layer or by dust or scratches. All new tapes have a certain amount of dropout flew.

According to Consumer Reports, most tapes will do fine in recording everyday programs. But for tornado video, I recommend using a better quality tape. I found it interesting that Consumers Reports found that the best video tape in all categories was the Scotch standard grade. That's right, a standard grade tape! High on the list are the Scotch HG, BASF HG, and TDK HG tapes, Low on the list are JVC, Kodak, TDK, Memorex, and Radio Shack. In the middle are BASF, Maxell HG, RCA, Sony, Polaroid, and Fuji.