Alternate title--"I am a moron."
Why? Because despite all the online shopping I've done, in the end, I was hooked not by ease of use, or high quality features, or exciting new technological breakthroughs, but by the fact that the camera I wound up with came with a few accessory items--a tripod (which I already have one of), a carrying bag, five DVDs and a kewl yellow-green plastic case that looks like something a 10-year-old would carry around, and an emergency battery pack. I'd read some of the reviews, and the Hitachi models invariably don't fare well, and I had very nearly talked myself out of it (after going back to Wal-Mart across the highway later on that day and playing with other models), but when it finally came down to it, I got suckered by the extra toys that have nothing to do with camera quality.
BUT, it's still such a leap of technology from the old giant RCA VHS camcorder that had been Reba's before we got married that I don't even care. It's not like I've had anything comparable to, well, to compare it to, so if it does something 18% worse than the one I didn't get, I don't know about it. Ignorance is bliss, you know. It's the creed of the moron!
As for actual use, to me, it seemed intuitive enough. The manual is the size of a phone book, and I suppose if I read it all the way through I would know more, but just opening it up and going through the on-screen menus, I was able to figure out the stuff it would do and was able to make a couple of quick recordings that played back just fine, at least through the LCD. I haven't hooked it up to the television yet, since there's only about five minutes worth of footage (pixelage?) on the DVD, but from all indications, it seems simple enough to use for my moronic purposes.
Which, when you get right down to it, is pretty much okay. AND it came with a TRIPOD! And a BAG!
The only thing I don't like is that it's not one of their standard catalog models--it's one of those specially numbered jobs that big electronics companies will make when they cut deals with gigantic retailers. The same thing happens with computers and still cameras and everything else, but it seems that each retailer is able to swing a deal for a particular set of features and accessories, and it winds up with some weird model number that you can't look for online if you have a problem.
Still, not enough of a nuisance to turn away from my really sweet yellow-green DVD carrying case!
Now then, one day I will figure out how to post my stellar directorial work online, and PossumblogTV will move one step closer to reality.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at July 10, 2006 10:32 AM