Panasonic's ewear particularly the SD A/V Recorder, be sure to check out the 3D mode in that link. the unit is really small, 3 inches long by 2" high and about an inch thick. tech specs this is an SD Memory Card. On one 128MB chip you can record 45 minutes of MPEG4 video! You can also use it as a camera, MPEG recorder or MP3 player. Chips go up to 512MB. what do ya think?
Seems like a nice gadget. The size is awsesome, but as an amateur videographer, I have a few reservations. MPEG4 technology allows you to store about 1.5 hours of near DVD quality on a CD, which equates to about 8MB/min. To fit 45 mins on a 128MB flash card only allows 2.8MB/min. I wonder what sort of size and resolution the captured video is? Probably good for sending over the internet, but not for editing and archiving home videos. In comparison, the DV camcorder I use uses around 30 MB/min.
hey davo, the tech spec link above has this info: Video Compression Modes - Fine: 320x240 dot; Normal, Economy 1 & 2: 176 x 144 dot not real high res, but like you said, for computer stuff and email, i think it's ok. $450... maybe I should get a real DV recorder?
Of course there is no simple answer to that rockHEAD The video is going to look pretty small on a PC, but if you burn it to VCD it will look OK on a TV. I have a DV camcorder, and truth is I mostly use it to send low quality 60 sec video clips to friends & family. It is nice to have the High Quality originals backed up in tape though. I just can't get over the size of this thing - its tiny, and the importance of being able to carry it in your jeans pocket should not be underestimated. A full on DV camcorder gives you much better quality and functionality, but a small one (Sony, JVC) will set you back $700-$1500. At $450(edit - BHphoto sells it for $390!!), this thing is an awesome toy, and you wil get tons of footage because you will never leave it at home.
http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/defau...AV10___REG___CatID=1871_____SID=ED0D9929500__ Do you live in Houston? Apparently you can see one of these at Ritz Camera.