In architecture, less is more, and the same appears to be true for video news gathering. The simple Flip Video camcorder heralds a time when every journalist carries a video camera.
I bought a Flip Video camcorder for my wife for mother’s day. At under $150, it was a bargain. But the primary motivation was having a camera she sould depend upon. Our simple DV camcorder took great video, but seemed to always need charging, or a new tape, and thus wasn’t available at the spur of the moment.
Power is supplied by AA batteries, which are easy to buy anywhere on the globe. It holds about a hour of video, and it’s easy to transfer, edit, upload and delete files. Still images can be extracted from the video.
The ease of use makes it the video equivalent of an old-fashed reporter’s notebook. A journalist armed with a notebook, laptop, Starbuck’s card and Flip Video may have everything necessary for newsgathering today.
About Chris Jennewein
I like the Flip too and have recommended it to friends. I use it with the high school students I teach, too, but caution that some otherwise tech savvy youth need some coaching with it. The user interface, while not complicated, may not be intuitive to everyone.
On some computers the software boots right up when you plug the Flip in the USB port, but on others, you have to go hunting to find it as a peripheral.
Also, I have found that some people get confused because, while it appears that the video is a complete file that has been stored within the camera (and is therefore ready to use), it actually has to be exported using the Flip software before you can use it as a complete video with both sound and picture.
That said, you absolutely cannot beat the price, and as long as you assume that (like with any tech gadget that you distribute to your newsroom) you’ll have to take time to train folks how to use it.
RCA is now marketing a direct competition, the Small Wonder, $99. Works fine. Moment of worry when I so no mention of Macintosh in the notes about hooking up to the computer. Not to worry: hooking in the UCB port launches iPhoto, which downloads the video. Comes in colors, mine is black.
I bought a Flip Video recorder several months ago and it has changed the way that I look at things in my everyday life. You start to see stories in many mundane activities and actually inspires me to be a more creative person. I never thought that I’d ever have videos on Youtube, but this cheap little device has changed that.
A small little $150 item has caused me to start thinking creatively in a way that I never thought possible before!