Chapter 2: I Vant to Vatch Your Vlog
6. In your e-mail program, e-mail each vlog entry to your cellphone’s SMS address
The SMS address is usually your cellphone number at your cellphone- service carrier’s gateway. You may need to send each file individually in order for your phone to view them properly.
Figure 2-28:
Export each entry to 3G format.
You may also be able to transfer videos to your cellphone via Bluetooth, if both your cellphone and your computer are Bluetooth-enabled. Transferring over Bluetooth can save time as well as connection fees.
Even though there isn’t a program out there that does this automatically (at least, as I’m writing this book), it can’t be all that long before there’s a simple interface to convert and e-mail movies to a cellphone. Use your favorite search engine to search for programs or services that offer this conversion automatically.
Remember that your phone has limited storage space. Make sure your video files don’t eat your cellphone’s entire memory. A 3G video compresses down pretty small (about 1⁄8the size of a compressed vlog entry with the same con- tent), but if you have a lot of them, they will add up! If you run out of space, your phone might have a separate storage card you can store videos to. If you’re out of space, you just won’t be able to transfer the video, of course.
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Chapter 2: I Vant to Vatch Your Vlog
Chapter 3
Stocking Your Toolbox
In This Chapter
䊳Choosing a camera
䊳Improving your audio hardware
䊳Setting up your computer’s hardware and software 䊳Staying within a budget
The videoblogger’s toolbox is the set of tools that helps him or her create really great videoblog entries. At its most basic, that toolbox consists of a computer with an Internet connection and a camera capable of recording video and transferring the video to a computer. Other items in a videoblog- ger’s toolbox include the software for editing your video, extra camera equip- ment (such as lights, tripods, and microphones), and improved computer hardware.
In this chapter, I show you what options you have when you’re gathering the equipment for your videoblogger’s toolbox.
Picking Out Camera Equipment
If you don’t already own a camera capable of capturing video (be it a cam- corder, digital camera, video-capable cellphone, or even a webcam), you need to buy or borrow a video camera. (It’s possible to make a videoblog without a video camera by using still pictures, animation, scanned artwork, and screen captures to compose movies. However, most vloggers use some flavor of a video camera to record their vlog entries.) The following sections describe the features and options you want to look for when you’re shopping for a camera to record videos for your vlog.
Digital camcorders
A digital video camera can range in price from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. For a personal videoblog, you generally don’t need the power and picture quality of a high-end camera. It’s an informal medium, so for most purposes, a consumer-range camera will do fine.
The most important thing to think about when looking for a digital cam- corder is how you’re going to use it. What kinds of video will you be shoot- ing? If you frequently find yourself recording video at soccer games, for instance, then you will want a camera that films high-speed action well. If you’re a coffeeshop concert-goer, and you want a camcorder with good low- light quality and great sound.
Most people do not think they will be in low-light situations often enough to consider a camcorder’s low-light performance, but in fact, the majority of video you shoot is probably indoors, with indirect lighting. Cameras that perform well in low-light situations perform just as well in good lighting, so if you can afford a camera with good low-light recording quality, buy it.
When you shop for a digital video camera, you’ll find that the chip used to capture the image — called a CCD (charge-coupled device) — makes a differ- ence in quality. The CCD collects the light from the lens and converts it to a digital signal. The larger the CCD, the more light your camcorder collects, and the better the picture quality. The CCD is referred to by size in fractions of an inch. That means that a 1⁄6CCD is smaller than a 1⁄4CCD. Some camcorders have more than one CCD. In fact, a camcorder with three CCDs (which collect red, green, and blue light separately) results in better overall color separation and can mean the difference between the video being grainy in low light and a professional-looking video.
Another thing to look for is a good zoom lens. There are two types of zoom:
optical and digital. The most important thing to look at is the optical zoom.
By and large, digital zoom does very little to help your video — it makes the image look more blurry than it needs to be. An optical zoom can be 10 to 30X, which means the image will seem to be ten to 30 times closer to the subject.
However, read product reviews carefully. When you zoom in on a subject, camcorders become very prone to camera shake,where your camera is more sensitive to motion as a result of the zoomed-in lens.
Take a MiniDV tape with you to the store when you shop for camcorders and test each one before you buy. If you have a friend with a MiniDV camcorder, have them play back the tape to check the quality of the sound and picture.
Consider upgrading the battery when you buy the camera as well. Most cam- corder batteries are only good for 30–60 minutes. Buy whatever extended battery is available for the camera — you’ll be glad you did when you’re on a weekend trip, don’t have the charger, but have 8 hours of battery life to play with!
The essential accessories you’ll want to buy along with your camcorder are the following:
⻬A larger media card, if the camcorder uses one
⻬Extra tapes
⻬Extended battery
⻬A tripod
⻬A padded carrying case
An optional protective item is a UV lens filter. If the camcorder can accept add-on lenses, think about getting one of these basic filters. They’re clear and don’t really have any impact on the quality of your video — but they’re cheap protection. If your camcorder is hit on the front, or if you take it into an envi- ronment that would otherwise scratch the lens, it’s a $20 UV filter that gets damaged, not the camcorder’s lens.
Digital cameras
Many digital cameras have a video or movie mode available, which can film anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes of digital video. If you’re looking for a digital camera to use to record video, look for a camera with these features:
⻬Capable of zooming when recording video
⻬Front-mounted microphone
⻬External microphone jack
⻬Tripod mount
⻬USB connection and cable
⻬Removable media card
When you shop for a digital camera, read the online reviews and go to the manufacturer’s Web site to read the camera’s user manual. Many digital camera reviews don’t really discuss the limitations of the camera’s video feature, because reviewers care about still picture quality. The manual, however, will tell you what you can and can’t do with the video mode, and will usually tell you how many minutes of video you can shoot with a given memory card size.
When it comes right down to it, though, digital cameras take photos very well, but they don’t really make great video cameras. Don’t let that stop you from considering your digital camera as a backup camera for video — when you’re low on tape and the digital camera can get an extra 4 or 5 minutes of footage, sometimes that’s all you need.
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