Digital Blue Movie Creator

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Video recording is a cool way to spend your time. You can record just about anything, and then, using editing tools, make it into something entirely different. The vast amount of options available at one's disposable when dealing with a fairly professional program like Premiere or Final Cut can be overwhelming for some. For others, even picking a camera is hard. But what happens to the simple person that just wants to shoot a few short videos here and there, you know, make their own sort of “movie?” For that special person, an option from Digital Blue is available. Though it may seem like a child's toy, the Digital Blue Digital Movie Creator offers a full suite of editing options, and even a decent camera to make some simple movies with. In 3, 2, 1, ACTION.

Ha. That was corny, but I couldn't resist. By purchasing the Digital Blue Digital Movie Creator, which retails for about $100, you will get the Digital Blue camera, and the Digital Blue camera editing software. The camera can take both stills and full motion video. The editing software, even though you may not believe it, can do a multitude of different things. Its easy to use interface and navigation system puts any fear of editing in the closet. It may look like a babyish program for little kids, but it can actually do a lot of really cool things. Even for you older folks.

The Digital Blue Camera's Odd Shape

But before I get into detail about the editing software, I will talk about the camera itself. Painted in a solid blue color, the Movie Maker has an odd shape; not like any typical camera you buy. It has a long stem that fits snuggly into the palm of your hand. There is also an upper base with a rubber eyepiece. The viewfinder is rather small, and is one of the sacrifices you will have to make for paying $100 for this camera kit. The upper base houses three buttons and a small, circular screen. These three buttons are your basic camera options. At the top is the self timer button; the bottom left has the image quality button; and the bottom right has the delete button. As you can tell, it's a very simple layout. This is where the camera package falls short of a standard commercial camera. It is not as advanced as the typical Sony or JVC camcorder you would normally buy. But consider the price. It retails for $100, and includes video editing software. The self timer button is self explanatory, the delete button as well, but the image quality button is not so. There are two different settings, normal and high.

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This button switches between the two modes for both video and snapshot mode. With your video on the high quality mode, you can only take about a minute of video as opposed to 4 on normal. This applies only when you are not connected to your computer. And that brings me to the last two buttons on the camera. The snapshot button is located at the top of head, and the video button is placed on the stem for easy access. Snapshot takes a single photo, and video records a full motion video. The snapshot button is in an ideal place, and worked just as it should. The video button is somewhat different. Placed along the stem, it is easy to reach with your finger. However, the method by which you operate the video button is rather stupid. You must hold down the video button for the entire length of time you would like to record a video. It would have been much better if you could press it once, then press it again when you would like to stop the video. Because you need to hold it down, there were many instances when I would record a long sequence that only came out to be 15 seconds because my hand slipped from the button. There is a microphone on the other side of the upper base, and it did a pretty good job of recording all the sounds I needed. Voices were clear when not too far away, and even music in the background worked out OK. The camera also has a standard tripod hole at the bottom, and can be easily attached to a tripod to be made more stable.