Seven Deadly Sins

Okay, so I'm guilty, guilty, guilty...

Here are VideoMaker Magazine's Seven Deadly Camcorder Sins:

1. Headhunting - placing every subject in the center of your frame.
2. Motorzooming - overuse of on-screen zooms.
3. Rooting - staying in one spot instead of looking for interesting angles.
4. Firehosing - panning all over the scene.
5. Upstanding - shooting everything from standing eye-level.
6. Snapshooting - taping only two or three seconds per shot.
7. Backlighting - too much light falling on the background instead of on the subject.

These tips come from VideoMaker's Getting Started page, which has lots more great stuff like what to pack in your camera bag and how to record audio for video. More goodies: Pete's Video Tips, and VideoMaker's guide to buying a digital camcorder.