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A friend at work asked me about this camera and here are the results about it:

The AIPTEK A-HD Video Camera:

First the

Technical Details

• 1280 x 720 H.264 Video @ 30fps
• Connect to TV/VCR/DVD player to record video, pictures and audio
• Charge with USB or AC Adapter without removing battery
• 5MP CMOS sensor with still images up to 8MP
• 2x digital zoom with fixed focus

Now the review:

First and foremost at the Current $129 US Dollars this is a great deal - This is the cheapest HD Video Camera you can buy - Currently. Just remember you do get what you pay for. I would consider this a starter video camera. Something you can throw into your bag and keep with you when the moment strikes. You never know when you would want to take a photo or video. Be careful as this camera is made up of plastic - so when throwing this into your daily bag or purse just take a few precautions and this will last you for quite some time.

This AIPTEK uses H.264 as its video codec which makes this compatible with the iPod Touch, iPhone, iPod 5G and even the iPod Nano 3G.

Another point is that this can record 480p or 720p from an external device through it’s video input mini-port. It can upsample 480i to 720p (Remember the quality of the original will not improve)

This also comes with 2 outputs: Standard AV (In/Out) and HD out (YPP)

Some Additional Points to Ponder Before purchasing are:
The video taken by this unit is vest in daylight and bright lights - If not you will see noise in the video.  This unit also tends to overexpose whites. You can use this with the night mode but remember any low light situation will increase the video noise considerably. Also note the lens is slightly soft - your videos will not be as sharp and crisp as a $1000 camera but remember the current price at Amazon is ONLY $129 - As I stated before you get what you pay for. But don’t let that lead you away from this great camera. I only wanted to repeat myself as some people may get the impression that this will be studio quality. This camera is ment to be used for the family and friends that want to have a great video camera with them when the moment strikes and they want to capture the moment. Or if you are doing a video VodCast (Podcast) The quality of this video is equivalent to a camera you could have purchased 2 / 3 years ago for the $300 to 500 range. So in all honestly you are getting a great bargain.  Also note the internal memory is only 32mb and this unit will take standard SD cards -and at $7 a GB - I would recommend purchasing a 2gb Memory card since this will capture about 1 hour on that 2GB of memory. Not a bad deal in my humble opinion.

And Her is a review of it I found on Youtube:

Technorati Tags: review, AIPTEK, HD, Camera, Video, Camera, “Video, Camera”, Cheap, inexpensive, DIY, Podcast, VodCast

You don’t want to end up like this group of guys who were out filming for a class. What they did wrong was not secure any permits and let the local police know they were filming a student film.

They were trying to film a chase scene and had bb-guns. Well someone called the local authorities and well you can see the rest in the video.

Here is an excerpt from the Guerilla filmmakers handbook - on Shooting Permits

More to follow…..

Read the rest of this entry »

Today, I would like to take you on a small video tour about all you need in your studio. Everyone thinks that the video studio must be GRAND and put alot of money into it to get the best out of it. Well that is a Myth. I feel like Myth Busters today. Honestly, you don’t really need super expensive equipment to make good quality video in your studio. Sure it helps but as long as you have the time, patience to learn your equipment (IMPORTANT!!! READ THE MANUAL) - You really are off to a good start - You are reading this blog in hopes to learn a few hints and tips. (Well, thats why I am here to help you and along the way I pick up some hints and tips from you as well)

Keep reading this blog and don’t forget to add this to your RSS Feed. That is a good way to keep up with the current topics (But I digress)

Well now on with the tour: Bill Myers invites us into his Youtube / How To Studio. You will notice that on the wall is a nice green screen that I showed a few tutorials on a few days ago on Flop Film. This really is a nice and simple setup that WORKS. As I said you don’t need real fancy equipment that cost $1000’s of dollars. If you know your equipment and practice with it and play with it you will get better with it. So of the Greats had their start with Super8 Film. We have it even better. Digital is low cost and easy to edit on a PC. Stay tuned as in future articles we will talk about video editing. Cheap video Editing solutions and try to answer the questions that you wrote in about.

Technorati Tags: video, studio, tour, desktop, pc, control, room, green, screen