Are You Thinking of Using a Spy Camera? Think Again

Do you think the use of a spy camera could play a significant role in your life? A few days ago, I was involved in a road accident. My car was hit by a van driver who, in the early hours of Monday morning, was thinking more about how short his weekend had been rather than paying attention to the road conditions. Subsequently, he jumped a red light and hit the front of my car. Fortunately no one was hurt although my car came out worse. We exchanged details and parted company.

Later in the day as I reported the incident to the driver's insurance company, it quickly dawned on me that the other driver may be dishonest and claim that it was I who had jumped the red light. Although I have an independent witness, the other driver could later produce a friend to act as an "independent witness". So how does an insurance company ascertain who is at fault when both parties produce their own witnesses? The answer is simple; which outcome will minimise their loss? That judgement may not necessarily be the just one for the wronged party!

How do you therefore ensure your "independent witness" is the one who is irrefutably believed? This is where the latest car recorder spy cameras come into their own. By definition, a spy camera is a device that is "hidden" in plain view. This may be in a tissue box, alarm clock or teddy bear. A car recorder on the other hand is not hidden and looks like what it is, a video recording device.

There are a number of car recorders in the market with varying functionalities that will make an ideal independent witness. Some record audio and vision of the internal and external of the car simultaneously, day and night. They record on to SD cards in AVI file format with recording times, in some cases, of up to 144 hours.

These very clever devices will record in infrared mode at night if desired. Some car recorders are very much like CCTV security systems that have vehicle DVR recorders. They have a loop circular recording function recording in a one-hour loop with 2GB mini SD card. Their functions include repeat storage by section, date and time stamp, microphone and USB/AV interface. Red laser light points to the area being recorded. These devices can be mounted on the car's dashboard or stuck to the windscreen. They usually come with 12v car cigarette lighter adaptors, batteries and TV out functions.

The video quality is of a very high standard. Video evidence is objective and is ideal for insurance purposes. However, it is not just for accidents that these recorders are being used. Taxi and mini cab drivers are quickly appreciating the benefits of these devices in recording passenger behaviour in their vehicles.

The burden of proof is firmly on the shoulders of the plaintiff. The financial loss due to failed litigation can be prohibitive. Do you not think you deserve all the advantages you can get?

Patrick Andersonn is a security and surveillance specialist. To see the latest spy cameras, hidden cameras and other surveillance devices available visit http://www.spyultimatum.com.

Camera Reviews - Flip UltraHD Camcorder

Flip Video, which has recently been absorbed by Cisco, regularly releases YouTube-friendly point-and-shoot mini camcorders with the 2009 models being the two updated versions of the Ultra. The higher-end Flip UltraHD Camcorder shoots 720p (1280x720) high-definition video while the less expensive Ultra shoots 640x480 VGA video.

This new model sports a 2-inch LCD display on the back. The buttons are also bigger and the casing has a rubberized, matte finish for an easier grip. The Flip UltraHD Camcorder comes in black or white. This mini camcorder ships with a set of AA-size NiMH batteries (rechargeable) that can be charged in the unit by simply connecting the camcorder to the USB port on your computer. You can also use standard AA batteries to power this device. That standard battery backup option is a nice convenience but as standard batteries are heavier, expect to find the camcorder a bit heavier than its Li-ion powered predecessors. A HDMI output on the side is available for HDTV connections, but this time around has no bundled cable.

The Flip UltraHD Camcorder shoots 720p video at 30fps, H.264 compressed and encoded as MPEG-4. The unit lacks a memory card slot but its 8GB of internal memory allows you to record 2 hours of video and if you have a notebook or netbook handy you can offload the excess. Shooting and transferring videos to your computer or uploading them to YouTube and other video-file-sharing sites is simplicity itself. You hit the big red button to record and the play button to play back videos. It comes with 2x in digital zoom but lacks manual or advanced customization. This lack of choice makes the Flip UltraHD Camcorder perfect for the target audience as it doesn't confuse them but the more tech-inclined may find the settings rather limiting.

Video is quite sharp and saturated for outdoor shots and was bright without being overly noisy. The audio is clear and loud. While it still can't compare with the video produced by a real HD camcorder the video quality have definitely improved when compared to older models. Overall, the videos were smoother, sharper and have more accurate colors.

The Flip UltraHD Camcorder may not be the best-looking HD mini camcorder in the market nor is it the cheapest but it does offer relatively good video quality and ease of use. The AA battery use adds great convenience although you may want to get a tripod to use it with for best results.

For more product info and customer reviews, visit Flip UltraHD Camcorder. For reviews on other camcorder models, visit http://cameras-galore.blogspot.com

Canon Digital Camera - From Humble Beginnings to World Class Company

Started in a single-room by three Japanese men in the year 1933 under the name of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, Canon has come a long way today. It all began with the phantom prototype camera called the 'Kwanon'. At that time, Germany was considered to be the leader in camera production. German cameras were extremely expensive. So, Goro Yoshida, along with two others tried to produce a 35mm rangefinder camera at a cheaper price and came up with "Kwanon'.

However, at that time, one of the problems faced by the company was that it did not have a lens of its own. So, it decided to tie up with Nippon Kogaku Kogyo (who was to become the founder of Nikon) and acquire lenses from them. With the use of these lenses, Canon came up with its first commercial camera called the "Hansa Canon" in 1936 which became a hit. However, the company still had to go through hardships due to the War.

After the war, the company officially adopted the name "Canon" as its name. Up till then, the lens was under a different name, the camera had a different name and the company had a different name. So, in order to unify all these three, Canon came into existence on September 15, 1947. Slowly the company started to expand, and many historical cameras were created such as the Serenar 50mm f/1.8 lens in 1951, Canonet in 1961, AF35M (Autoboy) in 1979 and the EOS 650 in 1987.

The first Canon digital camera was the PowerShot 600 in 1996. Then, after making several advances in digital technology, Canon launched the EOS D2000 digital SLR camera in 1998 for professionals. In addition, the XL1 digital video camera was introduced. Due to its superior functionality and reliability, the XL1 became the official digital video camcorder of the NASA.

In order to provide the market with a cost effective camera along with superior functionality and performance, Canon introduced the EOS D60 in 2002 and the EOS 10D in 2003. These two cameras made Canon the market leader in digital technology. Then, the EOS Kiss Digital was introduced in 2003, which became a big success.

Today, Canon has introduced several digital camcorders. Starting with the FV30 and the FV200KIT in 2002, Canon went onto launch the FV M1 and the IXY DV M2 in 2003 in the mid range segment. As the company progresses, Canon continue to strive to provide its consumers with better and better technology at the lowest price possible. They have been known as a choice of the pros for many years in the world of photography but now with a broad line of products Canon is firmly positioned in the consumer market as well.

Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news and sports. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users. Oh and he loves to shoot pictures of his kids playing sports using his digital cameras. (http://www.greatdigitalcameras.info)

How to Resize Pictures in Photoshop - 3 Easy Steps to Email-Sized Images

Resizing images is one of the quickest things you can do in Photoshop. If you're uploading photos online or emailing them to friends and family, the massive pictures that come off your digital camera (or photo cd) are going to take forever to send, and may even not by received because of their size.

To start, load photoshop and open the image file. Now that you've gotten the image loaded, Go to the Image menu at the top, and click Image Size. Input the size that you want the image to scale down to, and hit the OK button.

You should choose your image size based on where you plan on using the image. If you're sending it in an email, it would be fine to have an image around 1024x768 (if it's landscape oriented) or 768x1024 (for portraits). Web images generally are a bit smaller, so you can show them on a webpage without it running past the edges of the browser or messing with the navigational elements on the page. Most of the web images I save are around 640x480 or so.

When you've selected the size and hit okay, simply go to the File menu and hit Save As. If you just hit save, it'll overwrite your source image and you'll lose the higher resolution version. When I make copies of images, I usually store them as filename_resolution.jpg (for example: filename_1024x768.jpg for an image scaled down to 1024x768). This lets you easily keep track of all the resized versions of your images.

Photoshop is a very powerful, complex tool that, sadly, most people don't know how to use fully. Want to learn all about every feature in Photoshop? Just want a quick primer on the basics? Take a look at Graphics Champ [http://www.learn-photoshop-online.info] photoshop tutorials, my favorite video guide on the photo editing software. They have tutorials for all kinds of things there (including features that I never knew existed) in a very easy to use video format that walks you through all of the steps for many different editing techniques.

Video Content For Brand Building

If you are thinking of utilizing video for the benefit of your business, whether it be for a training video on DVD or an attempt at a viral video to boost awareness, be careful. A video can have a huge impact on the brand.

The Video production environment has changed dramatically in the last 10-15 years. Previously, video was produced largely for a television audience in analog. This meant production values were high, and many resources were available due to the bigger budgets. With the advent of the digital revolution, video has been much more accessible to smaller businesses with the availability of cheaper video cameras and digital video production software. While there have been a huge amount of successes with viral video sensations on sites such as YouTube, it is necessary to keep the brand firmly in mind when creating video content for online viewing.

Let's say you make a video promoting your latest product. You download some open source software, grab the digital video camera, making sure you don't record over your sisters wedding and hit record.

Do a few roller coaster shots, zooming in and out and that's it...You got the shot! Now to add a bit of Linkin Park to the mix and export to a MPEG file for an upload to YouTube. You're first online video!

You get 200 views before YouTube take your video down for Copyright infringement..Count that as a blessing! Not only would this video give off impressions of your video of amateur, no-low budget, worthless, but these would also be carried over to your brand image. Just as the advertising model works, when people see your product, they will either consciously or subconsciously connect the product to your video. This can have a detrimental effect on the brand, and associations often very difficult to remove. So before you dive into digital production for your small business, make sure you have the brand at the forefront of your mind..Keep in mind that a drop in entry barriers for video production companies means more competition. Increased competition means (in a market environment) lower prices. So my suggestion is to shop around locally before the DIY approach. Saving a few hundred here may cost you irreversibly there...

Julian Rodrigez specializes in innovative solutions in Video production and Online marketing.

Baseball Tips - 3 Reasons to Video Your Son

People usually video their kids' games for future enjoyment. And I will admit I did the same in the beginning. It is fun on a raining day to watch our childrens' old games. But as time went on, I found three other good reasons to video them.

Reason 1 - Compare Practice To Games

If your son is taking pitching or batting lessons, ask the instructor if you may video the lesson. Most will allow it, but a few will not. If you are unable to film the whole lesson, ask if you may video your son when he is in action. If your son does not take lessons, then video him pitching or batting at practice. Then also video him pitching or batting at his next game. If you are able to video at the same angle of sight, then even better. The idea here is, after you have both videos, compare the two, See if he is using the same techniques in the game as he learned in practice. This can be a great training tool. Surprisingly, you will find kids love to do this.

Reason 2 - To Point Out What Is Really Happening

My son was in a horrible slump. The reason he was in a slump was because he was not swinging at good pitches. And he was taking a lot of called three strikes. He would tell me after the game that the pitches were not strikes. I sat behind home plate, so I clearly knew the pitches were strikes. Rather than argue with him, I decided to video his at bats. After seeing just a couple at bats where he had taken strike three, he decided he did not know the strike zone. We looked into some tips to help him recognize the strike zone, and the problem was solved. This will also work for pitching, base running and fielding.

Reason 3 - To Correct Behavior

A baseball coach hates nothing more than a player with a bad attitude. Bad attitudes and bad behavior can ruin the game for everyone. We have all seen the bat throwing or helmet throwing hitter as he comes back to the dugout. He comes in and kicks the other bats or knocks over the bucket of balls. Many coaches or umpires will remove the player from the game. But this does not happen often enough. A good learning tool is to video this behavior and show it to the player. It usually works better if it is shown to him after he has had time to cool down. If this doesn't seem to work, show it to him with the other players around. Peer pressure will help.

The next time you head out to a ball game, take along your video camera. You might find you will want to shoot some footage because of one of the three reasons above.

Old videos are great enjoyment. But videos can also be a training and learning tool. All players can use some help, and using the video as a teacher is one of the better methods. For other great baseball tips and stories, please visit my website at http://baseballknowledge.info

Aiptek Camcorder Safety Tips - 4 Things You Should Know

If you have an Aiptek camcorder, then consider yourself very lucky. That is because you have a handy camcorder that is very versatile, portable, and most importantly durable.

Although Aiptek produces quality products, your camcorder is not indestructible. Mishandling and incorrect usage of the camcorder could damage its sensitive parts. So here are some basic safety tips to protect your Aiptek digital camcorder from being damaged.

1. Protect your camcorder from water. Once your Aiptek gets wet, its sensitive parts and circuitry might get damaged. This means you have to avoid using your camcorder under the rain unless you have a waterproof casing that can protect the unit.

2. Avoid dropping your camcorder. Aiptek video cameras are not shockproof. Its parts and lens might shatter if you accidentally drop it. To avoid such unfortunate incident, make sure to use a hand guard accessory in order not to lose your grip.

3. Do not focus your camcorder on the sun or to any powerful light source. Powerful bright lights could damage the imager of the camcorder rendering it useless. You will not be able to take shots and videos if the imager will be damaged.

4. Do not toy with the LCD display. Aiptek camcorder has a swiveling LCD display. The hinges and connectors of the LCD display might loosen if you play with it.

Aiptek is a very valuable camcorder. You can bring it anywhere to capture nice scenery and panoramic landscapes. Make sure that you can properly use it so that your camcorder will last for many years.

Be well informed and avoid expensive mistakes in choosing the Aiptek Camcorder. You can access more valuable information including tips and guidelines for choosing the Aiptek Camcorder at http://BuyAiptekCamcorder.com.

The Outstanding Players in the Laptop Graphic Card Industry

You cannot enjoy the high end graphic games or movies if your laptop does not support graphic displays. The laptop ends up shoddier and lacklustre if it does not support graphics. Most of the advanced hit computers have a Graphical Processing Unit that can be considered as the vital unit that controls all the graphic processing functions.

The graphics brings life and colour to your display. The 3D effects which can be seen in graphic games cannot be made into reality without a GPU. The other impressive results of a GPU are the window movement, transparency and other vibrant visual effects seen in Windows 7.

Both the desktop PCs as well as Laptop PCs use these cards for brilliant graphic displays. The graphic cards used in desktop PCs as well as laptop PCs differ, but they produce the same end results. You cannot use the graphic card compatible with the desktop PCs in laptops and vice versa.

There are portable types GPUs like IGPs, Integrated Graphics Processors. These cards should be connected to the motherboard directly. Intel is the leaders in manufacturing such graphic cards.

All desktop PCs integrated with PCI-E expansion slots. These slots can be used be interface for inserting a video card, while laptops lack such dedicated slots. With laptops you have the option to use the graphic card that is coming along with it.

Most of the notebook laptops come up with an integrated graphic card from the house of Intel. There are mainly three manufacturers in the industry that are popular for producing these cards.

The outlier Intel is best bet for producing the integrated graphic cards, which is extremely power efficient. The disappointing fact is that they are poor in terms of graphics performance.

ATI is a renowned in graphic card manufacturing. Now AMD acquired the ATI a few years ago. They produce a range of graphic displays. The make entry level cards, integrated GPUs and even brilliant gaming graphic cards.

NVIDIA is the other premier in this manufacturing industry. Video cards manufactured by both AMD and NVIDIA deliver a miles ahead performance when compared to the cards from the house of Intel. Each and every video card models differ extremely. You can choose the appropriate model according to your requirements.

These sorts of these are best bet for graphic games enthusiasts. ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 5800 series and Nvidia's GTX series are the most hit graphic card models in the market.

Anyway if you are presently using a laptop, you do not have to change the card integrated with the system. If you are planning to buy a laptop and has a plan to use it for graphic gaming purposes, then you should definitely go deeper into the specifications of different laptop models in the market and have to compare their graphical performance.

Visit UK laptop reviews site to find best laptop deals and read unbiased reviews on Dual Screen Notebooks, Gateway, Novatech, Panasonic Rugged Laptops.