We are pleased to announce today that VideoCelt is now accepting video clips directly from our members. Rather than linking directly to the video, members can choose to upload a video file up to 75 megabytes in size. For videos large than the 75 meg limit, please contact us directly to coordinate the transfer of your video file.
With this new feature of VideoCelt, we come closer to fulfilling our purpose in promoting through content, Celtic Music and Videos to the fastest growing community of members and listeners interested in all things Celtic. Through music, history, movies, and songs we are providing a great free place that both members and musicians can share their favorite clips.
Thanks to all of the members, moderators and listeners of Celtic Radio that have made VideoCelt.com a unique and compelling alternative to some of the major video sites on the internet. And be sure to check us out everyday for a new featured video on our main page.
It's pretty obvious that one of the reasons cell phone cameras are so popular is they're so convenient. Many people carry their phones everywhere. Few carry their cameras everywhere.
The same is true for video cameras. It's easy to shoot a quick video clip with your cell phone camera; it's not so easy to haul around tons of equipment.
But while cell phone camera technology is constantly improving, cell phone videos are often short, grainy and blurry, discouraging many people from using their "video" setting very often.
It doesn't have to be this way. Here are eight tips to shoot better cell phone videos.
Before you start shooting:
Make sure you're using the highest resolution. Check your options or settings menu when you're in video camera mode. My Samsung Sync offers two choices: 176 pixels by 144 pixels, or 128 pixels by 96 pixels. Other phones give you a choice between 320-by-240, or 640-by-480. Pick the highest numbers your camera offers. Higher resolution videos eat up more memory, but it's worth it.
Make sure your phone is not set to end the clip automatically after a set period of time. The Sync offers choices such as 10 seconds, 30 seconds or full memory. If your phone has a full memory option, or something that appears similar, pick that. It will keep the camera recording as long as you want or until the phone's memory fills up. You can always edit it down later.
Check the memory on your phone to make sure you have enough. If you need more, get more. I had a Nokia 6102i that had a nice camera but had only a few megabytes of memory. I could only record a little more than a minute of video. Many newer phones today have much larger internal memory capacities and are expandable via MicroSD or other cards. If you're a serious cell phone video enthusiast, you can carry several cards and swap them out as needed. That means your phone memory is limited only by your budget and how many cards you can physically carry. If you're not sure whether your phone's memory is expandable, check your manual.
Make sure the lens area is clean. It's easy to get a fingerprint smudge on the plastic in front of your camera phone lens. You don't want that showing up during your videos, so make sure you wipe the plastic area clean before you begin.
Once you're shooting:
Lighting, lighting, lighting. It takes a lot of light to produce a good cell phone video picture. You'll find your best shots typically come outdoors on sunny days. Inside, you'll need well-lit rooms with lots of sunshine or bright lamps. It's possible to shoot at night or in dark rooms, but your videos will be much grainier and blurrier.
Get up close and personal with your subjects. Don't use the zoom. Whether you end up watching your video on your phone or on a computer, the picture is going to be small. Try to avoid making the subjects inside the frame small as well. If you're shooting someone who is talking, hold the phone up fairly close to him or her. Your subject might think it's weird at first, but most people get used to it pretty quickly. The same goes for objects, like cars or buildings. Get up close and fill the frame with your subject. Try to avoid using the camera zoom lens; zooming is usually choppy on a camera phone.
Move the camera as little as possible. If you have to move it, do it slowly. Once you've started shooting, keep the camera as still as possible to reduce blur. If you do need to pan or move around somehow, do it slowly to reduce blurriness and jerkiness (unless you're moving simply to line up another shot, and you plan on cutting out the movement later during the editing process; then, it doesn't really matter). To keep the camera steady while shooting, try resting your hand or elbow on a flat surface for stability, or leaning against a wall or doorway.
Most importantly, have fun. Let's be honest. If you're using a cell phone to shoot a video, it's probably not something too terribly serious or important (although there are notable exceptions, such as a car accident or other disaster). So why not have fun? Don't worry too much about things turning out perfectly - it's a camera in a phone, after all. Just enjoy yourself and try your best to make a video that you and your friends will like to watch.
This month in our new Go Technology column we take a close look at Amazon's upcoming new product called the Kindle Fire. Set to release on November 15, 2011, the Kindle Fire is certainly about to set the digital and technology world on fire with 95,000 units already sold.
For a low price of just $200, buyers will get a great deal on a tablet that is going to change the way manufactures sell and market this wonderful little devices we call tablets. By the end of the year, researchers expect the Kindle Fire to sell over 3 million units!
So what is all of the excitement about? Kindle Fire will have 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines and books available. It will contain an Amazon App store similar to iTunes App store and also a web browser. But here is the magic of the Kindle Fire - Ultra Fast Web Browsing using Amazon's Silk cloud computing. To store all of your purchases Amazon will provide free cloud storage and that's not all...
Movies, magazines and children's books come alive on a 7" vibrant color touchscreen that delivers 16 million colors in high resolution. Kindle Fire uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology - similar technology to that used on the iPad - for an extra-wide viewing angle, perfect for sharing your screen with others. Kindle Fire features a state-of-the-art dual-core processor for fast, powerful performance. Stream music while browsing the web or read books while downloading videos. Stay in touch using a built-in email app that gets your webmail (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL etc.) into a single inbox. Import your messages and contact lists from other email accounts.
This just touches upon a few of the many features of the Kindle Fire. Not to even mention the 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback. Of course this is a wireless device, just like an iPod or iPad, so you can take it with you on the go to all of your favorite places.
The workmanship, design and easy of use earns the Kindle Fire a 5 Star review from Celtic Radio. This system is a real genius of innovation. An impressive compilation of technology, internet and music to give you many hours of enjoyment. Make sure to pre-order your Amazon Kindle if you want this exciting new product before Christmas. This just may be the hot product that everyone wants this Christmas!
Update: We received our Kindle Fire and the 5 star review is right on target. You will love the Kindle Fire as tablet containing thousands of Apps, Mobile Web browsing, Books, Music and cloud storage to name a few features. We highly recommend the Kindle Fire as a least expensive option to the iPad (only $200 compared to $600) and without sacrificing the great features that Amazon has some how manage to include.
So you want to YouTube? If your like alot of people you've been using YouTube for a while now and your tempted to start your own YouTube video channel. But you don't want to break the bank with the high cost of a digital camera or perhaps you don't know exactly what you need in a digital camera to YouTube. Let us introduce you to the Fujifilm Fine Z70 12 Megapixel Digital Camera. This camera is definitely a friend of YouTube!
The Fuji Fine Z70 takes the best of the former Z-series cameras and combines it with an affordable price and HD movie capability. A key feature that we love about this camera is that unlike other digital cameras, you can zoom in and out while recording in HD video in a 5X optical zoom lense (most cameras have a 3X zoom lense). Another plus about this camera, which is different than most video cameras, is it records in native AVI instead of the standard MP4/MOV. This makes it much easier to edit your video using Microsoft's free Movie Maker software. A great feature of this camera is it comes with a rechargable battery with charger - no more buying expensive batteries everytime you are ready to start shooting! The camera takes both SD or SDHC memory cards and a USB cable to directly connect to your PC or MAC. Our favorite feature of this camera is that it can take 2 pictures at a time, one
with the flash and then one without so you can pick which one is better.
In terms of weight and feel, it is solid and well built with parts of the outside constructed of high quality metal. It has a
port on the bottom for a standard tripod. On this camera you can take many many pictures and HD Video with power to spare.
The battery can recharge to maximum capacity in about
2 hours.
Included with the Fuji Fine Z70 is a software package that contains tons of features along with a single button to upload your selected videos or pictures to YouTube or Facebook. Definitely a plus in our books.
So, if you are looking for a full-featured digital camera to take videos for YouTube at an affordable cost, then go with the Fuji Fine Z70 12 Megapixel Digital Camera. You will not be disappointed. Care for a video response? :-)
FinePix Z70 Highlights:
Chic New Design
Debuting a sleek new look, the FinePix Z70 features a sophisticated metal body
and a chic horizontal sliding lens barrier. At a mere 17.9mm thin, the FinePix
Z70 is ultra-portable and can be slipped into a handbag or jean-pocket with
ease. It is available in a choice of Black, Silver Blue and Berry Red, and
features LED illuminated keys that allow users to easily navigate the camera's
functions in dark conditions.
HD Capability
With 720p HD movie recording and a high 12-megapixel resolution, the FinePix Z70
can capture stunning, detailed images that can be played back in beautiful
detail on your HDTV. In addition, the FinePix Z70's one-touch movie button it is
simple to create your own video clips. The newly added Movie Edit feature allows
users to add personalized finishing touches to footage by editing videos and
incorporating various effects including B&W, Sepia or dynamic lighting settings.
Along the same theme, Blog Mode lets users add special effects to their photos
including color tones, contrasts and brightness changes, Diagonal Crop and Face
Mosaic.
Easy Web Uploads
As sharing photos online has become an everyday activity for many young people
worldwide, Fujifilm has developed a new Facebook/YouTube Automatic Upload
feature that makes for quicker and easier modes of posting photos/videos on
social networking sites. Featured in both the FinePix Z70 and FinePix XP10
digital cameras, the one-touch easy web upload button allows users to mark a
photo for Facebook or YouTube upload. Once the camera is connected to a PC and
MyFinePix Studio software is launched, all marked photos or movies will upload
directly to Facebook or YouTube at the press of a button.
Additional Features
Target Focus: Target Focus tracks fast moving subjects so
they don't escape from the frame in a blur. Target Focus tracks a subject
automatically for as long as the shutter is half-pressed, and once users fully
press the shutter, the picture is taken with the subject in the centre of the
frame in perfect focus.
Digital Image Stabilization: Digital Image Stabilization
reduces image blur and offers creative adaptability and excellent picture
quality.
Scene Recognition Auto (SR AUTO): This mode intelligently
detects the scene-type and shooting conditions and optimises the camera
settings accordingly.
Face Detection and Automatic Red-eye Removal: To provide
perfectly exposed and focused portrait shots, the FinePix Z70 is fitted with
Fujifilm's latest Face Detection technology which is able to track up to 10
faces simultaneously, at almost any angle to the camera. The system instantly
corrects red-eye and then saves both the original and the corrected image file
automatically.
Product Description
Fujifilm FinePix Z70- 12MP, Fujinon 5x Periscopic Optical Zoom, 2.7" LCD.
Other features include: Face Detection w/ Red Eye Removal, Tracking Auto
Focus, Digital Image Stabilization, Upload Function to YouTube & Facebook,
High Sensitivity 1600 ISO, 6 Scene - SR Auto Automatic Scene Recognition, One
Touch HD Movie 720p w/ Sound, Successive Movie Mode, Blog Mode w/ 7 In-Camera
Editing Options, Couple and Group Timers, LED Illuminated Buttons, Thin Metal
Body 17.9mm, Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery.
The video-sharing phenomenon, youtube, has made its mark on computer screens around the world. Now everyday people are getting in on the filmmaking action posting videos of varying quality. A random look at a recent day’s most-viewed videos on youtube includes topics ranging from “A Sloppy Drunk” and “A Guy Goes Shopping with a Stocking on His Head” to “Healthy, Quick, and Easy Recipes” and “An Interview with Bruce Willis”.
Whether users are after their fifteen minutes of fame or are using the site to share videos with family and friends, youtube does have a variety of uses that go beyond mere entertainment. For example, one often overlooked use of youtube is in conjunction with eBay or other online marketplaces.
For example, if you are selling an item online such as a car, RV, or boat, consider posting a video of it on youtube and providing a link in your online description. This gives buyers the opportunity to fall in love with your item by seeing it in much greater detail than mere photos can provide.
Another youtube use is for sharing videos of the family with grandparents. This offers immediate gratification of seeing the little ones in action without the need for shipping off tapes or DVDs. You can even make your videos private by going into the My Videos section and choosing the Edit Video Info button. Simply find the broadcast section and click the option that says Private.
Use youtube when planning a family reunion. Ask family members from around the globe to post short videos showing a little bit about their lifestyle before the reunion. This allows everyone to get reacquainted beforehand and makes a terrific icebreaker. It also allows family members to show off their homes and hobbies as well as reveal a little about themselves that otherwise might not get shared.
Get creative and dream up new uses for video-sharing on youtube. You too can youtube.
We are pleased to announce today that VideoCelt is now accepting video clips directly from our members. Rather than linking directly to the video, members can choose to upload a video file up to 75 megabytes in size. For videos large than the 75 meg limit, please contact us directly to coordinate the transfer of your video file.
It's pretty obvious that one of the reasons cell phone cameras are so popular is they're so convenient. Many people carry their phones everywhere. Few carry their cameras everywhere.
This month in our new Go Technology column we take a close look at Amazon's upcoming new product called the Kindle Fire. Set to release on November 15, 2011, the Kindle Fire is certainly about to set the digital and technology world on fire with 95,000 units already sold.
The video-sharing phenomenon, youtube, has made its mark on computer screens around the world. Now everyday people are getting in on the filmmaking action posting videos of varying quality. A random look at a recent day’s most-viewed videos on youtube includes topics ranging from “A Sloppy Drunk” and “A Guy Goes Shopping with a Stocking on His Head” to “Healthy, Quick, and Easy Recipes” and “An Interview with Bruce Willis”. 
