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Video Blogging, Here We Come

written by John Chow on December 10th, 2007

sanyo1.jpg

The Purolator man dropped by today bearing a really cool Christmas gift. The Sanyo Xacti CG6 is a pocket sized camcorder that uses SD memory instead of conventional DV tapes. The unit is about the size of a pack of playing cards and can easily fit in your pocket. You can see how small the unit it relative to the CD in the above photo.

The CG6 is perfect for the video blogger. Because it’s so small there’s no reason not to have it on your where ever you go. Movies are saved as MP4 files and can be uploaded directly to YouTube or to your computer for further editing. When used with a 4GB SD memory card, you can record nonstop for almost three hours at its highest quality, 640×480x30FPS setting. If you need more record time, lowering the quality setting can achieve up to four hours of recording time. In addition to taking videos, the CG6 can be used as a 6 megapixel still camera but the quality isn’t that great.

sanyo2.jpg

For such a small camcorder, the CG6 offers a nice big 3.5 inch LCD display. Filming can only be done with the LCD as there are no other viewfinders. So far, I’m enjoying the unit a lot and has already used it to film stuff that I normally wouldn’t film because of the hassle involved. With the CG6, this is no longer the case. I can take videos anywhere and anytime I want. This is going to come in handy during next month’s CES. Here’s a quick video we did showing what we had for lunch.

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  1. My wife and I have been thinking about doing a few videocasts on our healthy diet podcast. Maybe this is the camera we need.

  2. Now you can video blog every single meal! :lol:

  3. Definitely good quality for being so compact. It’s exciting to think of how much even this technology will be improved upon by next year. Looking forward to more videos! :grin:

    Btw, how were those eggs? :shock:

  4. John

    I’m excited to see where you go with the video blog. I’ve done some video blogging (and podcasting) but haven’t gotten serious about it (yet).

    I just discovered your blog a few days ago and have really been enjoying it. I make my living online writing copy and selling info-products… and until now hadn’t really considered blogging as a source of income.

    Then I read your ebook.

    BAM!

    Keep up the good work, and thanks for the sharing!

    Ray Edwards

  5. Am I the only one who’s never heard of Purolator before? Had to Google it. FYI, it’s a Canadian delivery company (aka FedEx, UPS)

  6. Wow that’s one cool cam John, How much do you think it would cost to get one of them?

  7. Hahaha, its cool man. It rests your fingers from typing… :lol:

  8. Yea i would like to eventually do blog consisting solely of videos of social interactions at bars.. and me picking up women..

    its definatley the perfect gadget for that

  9. Am I the only one who’s annoyed by video blogs? I think it’s because I’m a fast reader so I get through text quickly, but that’s not really possible with a video.

  10. How would these videos look on a big screen TV?

  11. I hope you do a weekly video post like Darren, it would be nice to hear both of you, he gets a little boring lol :smile:

  12. I picked up an Aiptek HD model like similar to the one above and only paid $150 for it. You can see it here: http://tinyurl.com/ysv6sg
    I totally agree with John that the small form factor and ease of use make it a must carry. The one I have is about the same size as my iphone and only a little thicker. I have a Sony HC1 HDV model for more serious work, but the picture quality on this thing is amazing for the price. The only drawback you have to consider when using for something like a serious video podcast is the fact is the audio is usually a little lacking. The one I have sounds ok but you have to be in ideal conditions. I have already used it at times I would have never pulled out the Sony and the great thing is that if it (or more like when) it craps out or if I want to use in extreme situation the investment is quite small compared to my HDV which I have over $1500 investment in. One side note, I don’t know if the Sanyo does it, but the aiptek allows you to do analog input recording. I have recorded some old vhs tapes to it already and it works great as a quick and dirty DVR.

  13. Nice camera! Good looking food too.

  14. Nice camera John! Where did you purchase it from?

  15. John, where’s the affiliate link to purchase this? :)

    Make your money back from the purchase. ;)

  16. Looks like everyone’s getting into video blogging or vlogging?

  17. About 4 years ago when I started blogging I purchased a Sanyo Xacti C4. And it was a powerhouse. I used it to record my on the water podcasts this past year and after thousands of photos and hours of video it finally died. I will be getting another one soon, the waterproof one so I can get back out and videoblog or create podcasts on my kayak. I’m surprised that you didn’t get the HD version with the 10MP camera. I think overall you will be pleased with the C6.

  18. :razz: VGA resolution…hmmmm looks great! I need to get another camera aside from my web cam. Thanks John : ) ~MoM~

  19. Hey, where is that restaurant located? I’m always trying to find new places to eat in Ricemond. Looks good!

  20. I am going to be the voice of decent. Video blogging is the worst form of blogging.

    With text, you can skim and jump really easily. With audio, you can listen while driving, or jogging, or even working depending on what you do for work.

    With video, you have to sit your but down in front of the screen and watch it for as long as it plays.

    If it is really funny, then maybe it is worth the time, but otherwise, it is my least favorite way to get data.

  21. Now we’ll see some vlogging in here :)

  22. That’s very nice to have one, it is small and easy to cary anywhere u want. I’m getting one soon this X-mas :)

  23. If you’re looking for a cheaper way to go, the Flip video camcorder (look it up on Amazon) is probably the best choice for video blogging for the cost. Although as I and others have said in these comments…video blogging sucks.

  24. Wow, someone’s wearing a FCUK shirt?!? and I just wrote about it on my tech blog:

    http://zedomax.com/blog/2007/12/10/fcuk-bloggingpro-sell-your-blog-themes-you-deserve-it-and-you-worked-hard-ben/

    what a coincidence huh?

  25. I’d stick with a smaller Canon digital camera though. They do the same thing nowdays, there’s no need to carry a over-sized camera.

  26. Canon TX1 far better than that.

  27. hts

    I can’t wait to see some interviews with you, John :D

  28. very handy video cam,how much it worth?

  29. I purchased an RCA Small wonder video recorder about a month ago. $94 at Circuit City , went to pick it up , not in stock , $25 gift certificate.

    I like the Small wonder. Its not super great resolution, but its great for the internet, Youtube , etc. I actually like the Revver stream much more than the Youtube streams. I posted a comparison of two videos, one uploaded to Youtube, one to a Revver relaber – GT Channel.

    http://gtrusa.blogspot.com/2007/12/you-tube-vs-gt-channel-hosted-videos.html

  30. Frank G.

    I just used the mentioned today about SmartRatings to find ratings for this camcorder. It seems that it is not that great:

  31. Indeed it looks like a nice cam.. but John stop it with the food!! I can’t visit your blog without getting hungry!

  32. :roll: Man you did not tell the price. :roll: :roll:

  33. That’s a pretty nice video camera. I have only seen cheap generic ones and nothing like that before.

    -Mike

  34. I believe the correct term is ‘vlogging’ :wink:

  35. Cool video John! Looking for more food :D

  36. Looks pretty spiffy, although I am still waiting for you to start a regular podcast. ;)
    ~ Dave

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