With Apple's introduction of the latest iPod Touch (which now includes an HD video camera on the back, and a VGA-resolution camera on the front), I believe that products like Flip's portable video recorders and Kodaks line of dedicated video recorders are going to decline in popularity to an even greater extent than they did after the iPhone 4's introduction.
Many of those who would want to use the Flip/other video recorder are also those who already have, or would like to have, an iPhone or iPod touch (at least, in my experience).
The newest iPod touch also allows editing of HD video directly on the device (not to mention in-device uploading to YouTube, Facebook, etc.). As if that weren't enough, the newest iPod Touch recordings can have high-quality sound via an external microphone input. The Flip's advantages are becoming fewer and fewer; the iPhone/iPod's camera isn't 'good enough'—in the right hands, it's actually quite amazing.
The iPod touch or iPhone 4, with an external sound source, produces excellent quality video as long as standard photographic principles are taken into account (mostly having to do with lighting and camera movement).
The only things a photographer needs to make the iPod Touch or iPhone 4 an excellent video camera system are:
- A tripod mount (which is helpful in so many ways).
- An external microphone or sound input (closer micing = better sound).
I'm on the lookout for some good sound mixing apps, but iMovie for iOS devices is already pretty awesome for video editing on-the-fly.
Comments
Could very well be. But I think there are always those who don't use smart phones and want a dedicated device that will be simple to use. All you have to do is just point it and press a button. The iPod does all that other stuff...which will be a huge selling point but it's still more expensive. I think it will take a significant chunk of that market though.
Yeah - for a time, the flip had the advantage over the iPhone in that the iPhone required a contract or at least a significant outlay. But the iPod Touch is only marginally more expensive than a Flip, and I think many people will see the 250,000 app store and built in iMovie (for a small price) as a huge boon.
Well, that's a good point. You are probably right on that. Perhaps none but the most technologically un-savvy will opt for the flip. It's possible that there are still a ton of those out there though, and flip might keep their market as total entry level. I'm thinking about folks like my parents who are scared of technology.