The Small Easy: Device Creates Instant Video
“Point-and-shoot” is not a term I associate with digital camcorders.
When I try out a new one, the pointing and shooting usually has to wait until I take a few moments to learn the basic controls. If the video camera doesn’t have its memory disk or tape installed, add several more minutes. And if I have to consult the manual, tack on at least an hour.
So much for instant memories.
But as I was wandering through the newsroom a few days ago, I came upon a going-away gathering for an editor named Betty who had been promoted and was moving to the Food section. She was about to give a goodbye speech.
I quickly pulled the new Pure Digital Point & Shoot Video Camcorder -- about the size of a deck of cards -- out of my shirt pocket, pressed the record button on the back and zoomed in to capture her heartfelt remarks.
There were only four buttons plus a rocker switch for the zoom on the back of the camcorder, so even I couldn’t mess it up.
When Betty was done, I zoomed out to catch the applause from the crowd and then walked back to my desk. I plugged the camcorder into a USB port on my computer, and about a minute later I was e-mailing the clip to Betty’s co-workers.
The age of instant and relatively inexpensive video has arrived. This camcorder, which came out this month from Pure Digital Technologies Inc. of San Francisco, costs only about $130.
There are drawbacks, the biggest being that the images are not up to the quality of those made by more expensive and complicated video cameras.
But it could be just the thing for someone who wants to capture vacation memories without dealing with a full-fledged video camera. It could also be a good choice as a work tool. For example, an employee in charge of finding new offices for a company could easily shoot video of various spaces and e-mail the clips back to headquarters.
This is not the camcorder you’d want to use to record a major family occasion or a company presentation aimed at impressing outsiders. Nevertheless, the images were quite viewable -- especially when shown uncompressed on a computer or television screen -- considering the compact profile and ease of use of the device. Indeed, from the moment I opened the Point & Shoot package until I sent off my first clips, I never consulted the manual.
Pure Digital also makes a disposable camcorder that came out last year. But at about $30, with processing an additional $13 at a drugstore, it’s much less of a bargain for anyone wanting to shoot video on more than a few occasions.
Furthering the ease of use of the Point & Shoot was the fact that almost everything needed for the camcorder’s operation was self-contained. It came with 512 megabytes of internal memory, and there was no place to insert additional memory, which kept matters simple. (But that’s a disadvantage for anyone who wants to shoot more than 30 minutes of video without downloading.)
Even the USB connector, spring-loaded so that it popped up at the press of a side panel, was built in.
The power came from two AA batteries. I’m not sure how long a fresh pair would last, but I shot at least two hours of video and they were still going strong.
The only external cable that came with the Point & Shoot was for hooking it up to a television set.
To shoot a video, I simply pressed the red button below the viewing screen, which is 1 1/2 inches measured diagonally. That’s small even by digital camera standards, and the screen washed out in bright light, making it difficult to see what I was shooting on a sunny day.
The software, which loaded automatically the first time the camera was plugged into a PC, allowed for saving clips to the hard drive, watching them on the computer screen or compressing them for e-mailing. (The full-fledged software works only with the Windows operating system -- Macintosh users can download clips but will have to use other applications, such as iMovie, to view and process them further.)
Once the software was installed, it took less than 30 seconds to download clips from the camera. For e-mailing, the compression was roughly 10 to 1. For example, the goodbye-Betty clip -- two minutes, 20 seconds in length -- was a 35.5mb file as downloaded from the camera. The e-mailed version was only about 3.4mb.
The compressed version was pixelated and looked as if there had been a smudge on the lens when it was shot. The only way it could be reasonably viewed was on a small window on the screen, compensating for the lack of resolution.
But that didn’t much seem to get in the way of Betty’s friends’ enjoyment of the clip that showed up in their e-mail so quickly.
Uncompressed clips were much better but appeared a bit soft in focus, especially in medium and close shots. The camcorder has no stabilization mechanism, so moving shots were shaky. And colors were sometimes washed out, especially in sequences taken in bright light.
But at least I had a camera full of memories that I wouldn’t have captured if I hadn’t been carrying the little camcorder in my pocket.
It came in handy -- we plan to torture Betty with the speech clip, repeatedly, unless she keeps us stocked with creations from the Food kitchen.
David Colker can be reached at technopolis@latimes.com. Previous columns can be found at latimes.com/technopolis.
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Point & Shoot Video Camcorder
* Company: Pure Digital Technologies Inc.
* Site: www.puredigitalinc.com
* Price: $129.99
* Pros: Eliminates the complications of shooting, downloading and e-mailing clips. Shirt-pocket-sized.
* Cons: Close and medium shots often not sharp. View screen washes out in bright light.
Source: Times research
Los Angeles Times
