John Stalden asked:


Time for a new camcorder? With technology advancing every day, it seems as though our newest toys become outdated as soon as we leave the store. Long gone are the large tapes and small tapes are difficult to find. Within the past several years, it became popular to record straight to DVD. While these are still popular, real popularity is coming in the form of a camcorder with a hard drive.

A camcorder with a hard drive seems like the easiest to use camcorder ever designed. There is no fussing with tapes or DVD’s. You never have to worry about whether you have an empty tape or worry about switching tapes when the first runs out. On the flip side, you do need to make sure that you regularly empty the hard drive. This is easily done. Most of these camcorders will plug directly into your computer. Others can be saved to a memory card or USB device. Overall, this really is more convenient and less expensive in the long run.

The biggest draw to the hard drive based camcorder is the ability to instantly save it to your computer. From there, you can edit your footage and create a more professional looking home movie. No longer will you have to suffer through those awkward moments when the camcorder was strategically placed staring at your left foot. Instead, you can cut that out and use a fancy fade into the next scene!

In addition to being able to cut and paste your own raw footage, you can share that footage and the completed video directly through your computer. Any of your friends, relatives, or perfect strangers on YouTube will be able to view your home video quickly thanks to the hard drive capability.

When you are on the lookout for the right hard drive based camcorder, it is important to look at recording time capability. Many of the more moderately priced camcorders can record six to eight hours. Some relatively inexpensive versions will only record half an hour to an hour. This may be perfectly sufficient for your home movies while others will need the longer recording time.

In addition to the hard drive, these camcorders come with a bevy of extras that will help you to create those more professional and finished looking home movies. Read the instructions carefully and soon you will be able to maneuver manual lighting, zoom, and special effects. You will feel like a real movie director!

As technology has advanced, it has also made devices such as these camcorders much smaller than their older counterparts. This is perfect for traveling and even carrying the camcorder around in your pocket. Now you will have no excuse to miss all of the adorable moves that your child makes throughout the day.

If you are serious about preserving your memories, then a hard drive recordable camcorder is the best option available.



Anjali

JR Lang asked:


The Flip Ultra, the second and better version of the original Flip digital camcorder from Pure Digital hit the market by storm. With it's simplicity of use, great video quality and tiny size, the Flip Ultra digital camcorder can be dubbed as the "simply perfect" digital camcorder.

Features Compared:

Unlike the Sony Handycam series the Flip Ultra's screen is tiny (1.5 inches) and doesn't swing out for self-portraits.

No still shots. Unlike, other traditional digital camcorders, such as the Canon DC series there are no settings, menu buttons, no light, no lens cap and no memory card.

Unlike the Canon GRD-250 that flaunts a big zoom optical range, the Flip has no optical zoom lens, only a 2 x digital zoom.

And while the Sony Handycam digital camcorders were created to be compact it looks like a tank compared to the pocket sized Flip Ultra.

Unlike the complicated menu of buttons on the Canon GRD-250, the Flip Ultra digital camcorder has three buttons, play, stop and trash. Not even a battery pack, it works with AA batteries.

While other digital camcorders, including Sony and Canon use different media for storage of recordings, such as DVD, flash drives or MiniDV tapes, the Flip Ultra has no tapes or disks, all footage is downloaded via attached USB plug, which pops out at 90 degrees to the camera body.

That USB plugs into a computer and footage is then downloaded to the PC, which can be played, copied to a hard drive and burned to DVD and, of course edited in most standard editing programs. There is also a special cable to plug it into a TV and watch footage directly.

The Filming Process:

Press the red button once to record and once to stop. Press play to review the video. Press trash to delete any scenes. That's it! With this ease of use the Flip Ultra digital camcorder is a perfect fit for even the most novice of users.

Size Does Matter:

Unlike the traditional digital camcorders and even the more compact models, such as the Sony Handycam, the Flip Ultra can go anywhere, and everywhere, like a purse, beach bag, or pocket. It's very rugged so you can take it skiing, to the playground, while playing a sport and virtually anywhere where you might need to shoot some clips. There is even a acrylic accessory case that allows you to take it underwater!

Video Quality:

With all this simplicity and a low retail price of under $150, the Flip Ultra digital camcorder delivers an amazingly good picture quality, comparable to that of it's more sophisticated counterparts, such as the Sony and Canon models. It has TV resolution (640 x 480 pixels, 30 frames per second).

The most amazing feature of the Flip Ultra, especially considering it's simplicity compared to the more traditional and sophisticated digital camcorder brands, is the low-light ability, which trumps even the most expensive of digital camcorders. Not only is the video grain-free, but recorded dim scenes actually look brighter than they looked to the naked eye.



Bradyn

Christine Gallagher asked:


Video is one of the hottest things right now on the web.  How hot?  In March 2009, web information provider comScore released their data regarding the consumption of online video. Their report showed that Internet users in the U.S. watched 14.5 billion online videos during the month--an increase of 11% over February's numbers.  Their report also indicated for March that 78% of the U.S. web audience viewed video online, averaging 97 videos per viewer during the month.

With these staggering numbers many more people are exploring how they can add online video to their marketing mix.  Why use video for marketing?  Because it's the next best thing to communicating face to face with potential clients and customers and building up trust.  It's also fantastic for driving traffic and can be done for virtually no cost.  Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Get a Flip camcorder. A Flip is a pocket-size digital video recorder that's both easy to use and very affordable.  You simply point, record and then upload the video right to your computer via USB.  If you are just looking to get going with video, this is a great way to do it.  They even have HD versions of their cameras and the ability to personalize them with colors and designs.

2. Check out free screencasting software. Not ready to put yourself in front of the camera yet?  You can still create videos starring your voice and your computer screen with these free services online.  Two I recommend and use are Screentoaster and Jing.  These are perfect for creating short tutorials for e-learning purposes that you can then upload to your blog or video sharing sites.  All you need is a microphone--I use the headset I have for Skype.

3. Get an account on YouTube, Viddler or Vimeo. These are video services where you can upload, enhance and share your videos for free.  YouTube is nice for creating your own channel on a page you design yourself.  Just grab the code they supply to embed video on your own webpage. Vimeo has a really attractive and streamlined player, and Viddler offers in-video tagging and commenting.  There are many other choices for video hosting, including Facebook.  Check out the different options and decide which one works best for you.

4. Direct viewers to your site. Don't forget to mention your website in the actual video at the beginning and end or add text displaying the URL.  You will also want to add your website in your profile as well as any place you are able to type in a description of the particular video.

Video can be a very extensive topic as well as intimidating for a lot of people.  I'm only recently beginning to experiment with it beyond the basics myself.  Start with these steps and don't think you need to create lengthy or fancy clips.  In fact, short, content-rich videos are your best bet.

To start out, aim for 90 seconds to two minutes in length where you offer a few tips or teach people how to do something.  Minimize any background noise and make sure you have sufficient lighting in the room and you'll be ready to go!



Abbey

madeline asked:


Canon has its own reputation for its innovative releases. Legria, the new name for canon’s HD and Flash (FS series) camcorders have released yet another series -- Canon LEGRIA FS22.

This Legria FS22 camcorder tops up in Canon's flash memory standard-definition camcorder line-up that features 45x optical zoom, a 2.7-inch flip-out LCD screen and 32GB of built-in storage that can actually store up almost 21 hours of movie footage on this internal memory. It looks stylish and convenient to carry out anywhere due to its lightweight since it uses flash memory.



With a Pre-recording function, the camcorder starts recording three seconds before pressing the Record button. Three seconds of footage are continuously stored and automatically added to the beginning of the clip for each recording. Power consumption is less due to the use of flash, so quick recharge is applicable even when it is dried out of charge.

Canon LEGRIA FS22 is loaded with PIXELA software that supports editing and sharing the movies. Also a Megapixel CCD allows us to capture superior video images and higher quality videos. Packed with a microphone and a headphone jack, FS22 offers a standard capture and monitor audio during recording thereby ensuring the best possible soundtrack. Lighter, more compact and user-friendly, the Canon FS22 delivers out stunning videos at an affordable price. Because it uses flash memory, the LEGRIA FS22 is light enough to be carried anywhere, weighing just 230g.

Canon FS22 is now on the boards of the latestchoice.com, comforting for an easy purchase.



Joslyn

Cads asked:


rial Reviews From the Manufacturer

UltraHD Overview

Easy-to-use, pocket-sized HD camcorder featuring one-touch recording and digital zoom Simple user interface lets you start capturing HD video just seconds after powering on Captures 120 minutes of HD video on 8 GB of built-in memory; no tapes or additional memory cards required Convenient flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your PC or Mac to launch FlipShare software Pre-installed FlipShare software lets you easily email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still photos from video, and even upload video to sharing sites like YouTube and MySpace FlipShare’s advanced compression technology allows for quick and easy sharing of high-resolution HD video in compact-sized files (via email or publishing online)

Comes with Flip Video rechargeable AA battery pack (recharges when connected to USB); also supported by standard AA batteries Large 2-inch anti-glare color LCD screen to play back and delete videos

HDMI output (mini-HDMI connector) makes it simple to watch video on your HDTV

Video: 16:9 widescreen, HD 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 frames per second (fps) progressive scan; recorded as MP4 files Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews:

Originally I went in to Best Buy to pick up a Mino HD so I could record studio and location "behind the scenes" photography shoots for my business. The employee I spoke to handed this to me saying "it doesn't come out for another week, but its cheaper than the Mino that is on sale". It was a no-brainer for me to pick up.

Its a nice little unit; compact, fits in my back pocket if needed, and the controls are very basic - click da big red button to record. Click da big red button again to stop. Simplicity at its finest.

I love that the unit has a USB built right in, but I still use a USB extension because I'm using an iMac, and since it ends up hanging upside down, I don't want to add stress to the USB prong.

I haven't used the built-in editing software, as I'm importing my files into iMovie and editing from that.

Quality wise, I'd say is pretty darn good considering its about the size of a box of Necco valentine sweet-hearts candy. However, I must insist that it is to be used as a stationary "fixed" lens, and not to use the digital zoom. Once that digital zoom is used, the quality, like *any* digital zoom, suffers greatly. To circumvent this, I've super-glued a step-down ring to the front of my Ultra HD so I can screw on a wide angle and a telephoto lens. If you don't mind Frankenstein-ing your Ultra HD, then go for it.

I haven't done much low-light shooting with it, but I have a feeling that it could get somewhat noisy and grainy. I'll see more results soon when I start using this inside the studio.

I'll be mainly using my Ultra HD on a tripod to record behind-the-scenes footage of my photography sessions, so I'll have a way of keeping the camcorder static and not moving around a lot.

Overall, I feel this is greatly worth the $199 I paid. You have to remember that this is a dinky little device with a tiny sensor in it, so the quality won't be as good as a larger dedicated video camera, or one of the newer DSLR's with the built in high-def. Apples to Oranges.

With a little extra cash and some super-glue, you can get more reach and wide angle out of the unit.

[...] Great little unit. Don't come in to this expecting a goose that lays golden eggs. For what it is, it does well. Recommended.

By Albert H. Ceaser Jr."Sid Ceaser" (Nashua, NH USA)

Amazon.com

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