Movie Mode

This is the 8th in the series of 10 Cool Features of Your Digital Camera You Should Know and Use. This feature more than any one we've talked about is more about having fun with your digital camera. My wife recently attended the wedding of a niece in another state and I didn't go because I had to stay home and work. When she got back she was showing me some of the photos she had taken and I asked her if she had videoed the ceremony. She gave me that look of "What are you talking about?" Turns out she didn't know that her little "point and shoot" has a movie mode. One of the many features currently being touted by the mid level DSLRs is HD (High Definition) movie mode. So apparently it is a fairly popular feature. I'd love to see how many of the home done YouTube videos were done with "still" cameras in movie mode. I'd venture to say the number is probably significant.

There are times when -mostly just for your own pleasure- movie mode is the way to go. My wife's niece's wedding is one of those where it might be nice to have the ceremony. Another one is babies first steps, or attempts at them anyway. And of course when you can see somebody is about to do something so stupid as to defy all reason and you can't talk them out of it (or maybe you didn't even try), but maybe you can become famous on YouTube or get rich on America's Funniest Home Videos. Movies don't have to be long to be fun to watch. Like looking at a photograph, sometimes you only need a few seconds to enjoy it. In addition, most digital cameras that have video mode include sound.



This photo of one of my darling grandchildren is certainly cute and tells a little bit of a story as you see her standing by the couch. Her mom and dad will always remember how cute she was as she was learning to move along on her own by holding on to furniture.



But why not add sound and motion? Sure, you can't put this in a standard photo album, but I think you can put it in most of the new digital photo frames. You can email it to family and friends, you can watch it on your computer and you can even show it as part of her wedding video in 20 years or so.

Get your camera manual out. By now you should know where it is since it should be right next to your camera. Read about movie mode and make a few movies. As always I'd love to hear from you about your experience with it. The most important thing is to have F U N !

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