Digital Video Camera

The "Digital Life" cover-story of The Straits Times, Wednesday, February 17, 2010 was featured "Pocket Movies - New camcorders: small in size and price but big on features"

One camcorder captured the imagination of point-and-shoot users when it was launched in the United States in 2008.

It was a cellphone-sized device that brought together high definition (HD) video, flash memory and MPEG-4 compression smarts in one package - and at just US$230 (S$326 then), or about a fifth of the price of similar high-end gizmos.

Today, there is no lack of rivals that are trying to out-flip the Flip.

Christopher Chute, a research manager at research firm IDC, said that the Flip and similar camcorders have "revolutionised the market".

"It has given millions of consumers who would otherwise never have bought a camcorder, the ability to shoot video in high definition."

The rise of YouTube and other social networking services have fuelled the demand for camcorders as they made it easy for people to share their high-quality video clips online.

Do not expect too much from the HD resolution though: The visuals on these devices rank somewhere between regular TV broadcasts and what a high-end HD camcorder can produce.

It is like comparing a basic compact digital camera to a digital SLR.

You do not get high-quality lenses, large imaging sensors or sophisticated electronics that make auto-focusing an instant process. Nor do you get the freedom to tweak most settings to your liking, such as manually tweaking the focus or zooming in from a dozen metres away.

That said, a $300 device that shoots precious moments in high definition is hard to beat.

"Digital Life" zooms in on five pocket-friendly camcorders.

Billy Teo is a freelance writer.

What a coincidence in the DL article that the "WiKi" Digital Video Camera was presented to me as a surprise gift from Vince and May.

How thoughtful of them. Thanks Vince, thanks May.

I love them - Vince, May and of course, my new "WiKi" techie toy.

O' Daddy plays with toys too, you know? Techie toys are my favorite fun. Thanks for my happy memories of the PDAs I used to play.

My needs nowadays are simple; not the complicated thingy which I have to use too much for oiling my brain...hahaha!

Lots of experiment for me to camcorder with a chance encounter and incidental shots for nice ones I did at my previous blog to share with my friends here.

"Simply Palm" like I did with the Treo 650 ; )