A video camera for simple minds and thin wallets; HOME TECHNOLOGY

Terry Jackson
Published June 4, 2006

Do you have a home video camera? I have two.

When was the last time you used it? I can't remember the last time I used either of mine.

When it comes to video cameras, we all are excited about capturing movies of important family occasions. But it takes time and planning to use most video cameras: Do I have blank tapes? Are the batteries charged? Do I remember what all those little control buttons are for?

The moments we most want to archive are often spontaneous, leaving little time to set up and use a video camera.

What most of us could use is a simple, cheap, point-and-shoot video camera.

Pure Digital Technologies, a San Francisco Bay-area company, has filled that niche with its Point & Shoot Video Camcorder, a $129.95 device that even the biggest technophobe can use effectively.

It went on sale recently at Target stores. To check on other availability, go to www.puredigitalinc.com.

Using a 512MB internal memory chip, this camcorder can capture up to 30 minutes of video.

One button turns on the camera and lights up the video screen, which serves as the camera's viewfinder and playback screen.

To record a video, just press the red button, which is in the middle of a computer-mouse-like switch that operates a 2X zoom feature on the lens. A counter on the screen keeps track of how many minutes of recording time are left.

Press the red button again and the recording stops. To play back what you've recorded, just press the play button. Don't like what you've recorded? Hit the delete button.

That's all there is to know.

To save your videos, the camera has a built-in USB plug that connects the entire camera to your computer. Using a program built into the camera, it's easy to view videos and transfer them to the computer hard drive.

E-mailing videos from the camcorder is also easy, since the software can automatically compress the size of the video file to make it easier to upload.

Don't have a computer?

Pure Digital's camcorder comes with a connector that allows you to play videos directly from the camera to your TV. To share videos, you can take the camcorder to a CVS pharmacy -- one of the regional service centers, where the film department can create a DVD for about $10-$13.

In actual use, the Pure Digital camcorder delivers on its promises, with only a few drawbacks. The quality of the video is as good as many standard camcorders costing $500 or more. It works equally well in daylight or in a room with normal lighting. It's even capable of handling many low-light situations, but the quality degrades as the light fades.

The microphone picks up normal conversation and even handles noisy outdoor situations. But if your goal is to capture music with any sort of high fidelity, you'll need a better camcorder.

Another drawback is that the Pure Digital camcorder requires a steady hand. It lacks an image stabilization program, so it doesn't filter out any jiggling by the photographer. The picture also degrades in many fast-panning action situations, particularly if it involves different levels of lighting.

The on-board programming to download videos is very simple to use and would be welcome on camcorders costing much, much more.

The camera's software promises to allow you to create a movie from your videos, but that's not quite accurate. What you can do is string together videos you've recorded on the camera, but there's no way to edit clips and there's no apparent way to transfer a movie from the camera to your computer. To really edit video from the camera into movies you're going to need additional software on your computer.

I used the camera with a Windows-based computer and there were no glitches. I'm told that Mac users have to incorporate a few extra steps, but Pure Digital expects to make the camera more Mac friendly by the end of the year.

For all but the most dedicated home videographers, the Pure Digital Point & Shoot Video Camcorder could be the only camcorder you'll ever need.

If $129.95 is still more than you want to spend, Pure Digital offers a one-time-use version that records up to 24 minutes for as little as $24.95. When you're done with it, take it to the drugstore and they'll download it to a DVD.

It's not as versatile as the more expensive Pure Video camera, but it too can put home video into the hands of just about anyone.