Cardinal and Video Camera Review
Hi all,
Thought you might enjoy this cardinal on a bird bath... Kinda cool.
As for the informal "movin' pictures" camera review... After our old "Flip Video" took a swim, we had to replace it, so we stepped up to the "USB Flip Video Mino". Let's see...
- The Mino is about the size of what you'd get if you put a deck of playing cards on a diet.
- It weighs 3.3 oz.
- The little guy packs apx. one hour of 640 x 480 digital video in 2 GB. To view that magic on the machine itself, you can use the 1.5" diag. LCD view. Not bad.
- The f/2.4 aperture zooms and offers up a very respectable MPEG-4-AVI.
- Focus ranges from one meter to infinity
- Internal lithium ion batteries keep the critter alive for four hours, and recharge via a USB 2.0 port in three hours.
- I haven't used the "TV Out" NTSC, but I imagine it should work well.
- The mic seems far more responsive to higher frequencies (like birds) than lower frequencies (like TV).
- The Flip Video site suggests that the minimum PC requirements are a 2 GHz processor with 1 GB of RAM. Given the slow speed of the Flip Video software as it creates a movie, this is understandable. (To be honest this software leaves a lot to be desired.)
- The actual sequence (that we use) for making a YouTube movie consists of the following:
- Use the Flip Vid software to create a movie on the local hard drive (raw AVI to WMV). Patience is a good thing.
- Use Windows MovieMaker to edit and then upload the WMV.
- Note the Youtube address of your new movie and distribute appropriately.
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding
Comments
Hi CCA
Thanks for the "CAM-RA" info. What's the Mfr & model No.? I'm in the market for a video camera. For another kind of bird, this time it's for an airplane. I'm flying a WWII fighter plane in Nov. While the AC itself has 3-digital cameras on-board, I'll have someone shooting ground pics of the pre-flight briefings, suiting up and getting aboard, and finally take-off and landings.
Maybe, this camera is what I need. What's your thoughts? Thanks.
Cheers,
Harry "Gipper" Morris
Posted by: Harry Morris | August 16, 2009 1:27 PM
Hi Harry!
I'm so jealous it ain't funny! Did a little Web searching on you and see that you know a ton about planes... (I especially enjoyed your "Alaska Vacation 2008"!) When you say WWII and "AC", I'm guessing that you're talking about the P-39 Aircobra... Wow! My favorite vintage fighter is the P-38 Lightning, but my absolute all-time is the DC-3/C-47. Heaven is to float forever in a Dakota... Sigh...
As for your question about the camera... The video we use now is a "Flip Video" Mino. Not bad, as you can see from the last post. Perhaps a better choice would be a Flip UltraHD...
(http://www.amazon.com/Camcorders-Camera-Photo/b/ref=amb_link_7386412_34?ie=UTF8&node=172421&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gp-left-2&pf_rd_r=035CKNJPEP854YWRE0XN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=472763051&pf_rd_i=502394)
It will probaly cost $150, and if it doesn't measure up, you can return it or use it for less rigorous purposes. Beyond that, there are gadgets like the Canon Vixia starting around $600... Maybe you could rent something high end... Maybe borrow... Maybe convince the local community college to come and do a vid piece on you?
Best of luck and keep us posted!
CCA
Posted by: CapeCodAlan | August 17, 2009 3:26 AM
CCA,
I'm surprised you found my article, but glad you liked it.
As for the "birds of a different feather", I'll be flying a WWII North American P-51 which flew combat in Belgium, 1944. It was later converted to a 2-seat trainer, now referred to as a TF-51.
Thanks for the camcorder info. I'll be researching it with a possible purchase.
As for the real birds, keep the postings coming. I thoroughly enjoy your blogs.
Cheers,
Harry "Gipper" Morris
Posted by: Harry Morris | August 17, 2009 9:04 AM