Point and Shoot Camcorder puts easy video in the palm of your hand

Tom Gromak
The Detroit News
July 7, 2006

Digital video is fun, but digital camcorders can be a pain, with complicated controls, slow and complex capture to your PC from digital tape, and not-so-easy -- or not always compatible -- software. What if you want the equivalent of a point-and-shoot camera?

Try Pure Digital Technologies' $129 Point and Shoot Camcorder, a nifty device that's simple to use.

It's about the size of the average point-and-shoot camera, includes a 1.4-inch color screen for framing and playing back scenes, and comes with 512MB of flash memory. That's enough for 30 minutes of video. Turn it on, press the one-touch record button to start and stop taping, and you're in business. The camera runs on two AA batteries, eliminating the need to carry a charger. And, when you're ready to copy your videos to a PC or Mac, simply flip out its USB connector and plug it in (or use the included A/V cables to connect directly to a VCR, DVR or DVD recorder).

The camera is preloaded with software that automatically loads and interfaces with the computer. You're provided thumbnail views of all the clips and can watch them, copy them to your PC or even have them compressed to smaller file sizes for e-mailing to friends and relatives.

The AVI files created by the camera are easily imported into video editing software for compilation to a DVD. Or you could save yourself time by taking the camera to a Pure Digital retailer such as CVS, Rite Aid or Ritz Camera, where, for $10, they'll pull your footage and compile a DVD for you.

For the size and price, the quality is pretty good, but you won't confuse the images and sound with those of a basic tape-, hard drive- or DVD-based camcorder, and the Point and Shoot's digital zoom leaves things a little on the fuzzy side.

Find more information at www.puredigitalinc.com. Buy one by July 15 and get a $20 rebate.