They’re small, relatively inexpensive and shoot high quality video. Pocket camcorders or “Flip” style video camcorders are a very useful tool for journalists, especially for producing video for the web.

Just about all of the major camera manufacturers produce pocket video camcorders. And, it must be said that the HD video produced by many small point and shoot cameras and also smartphones now compete with these little wonders.

At present, the Kodak Zi8 is one of the main models the DW-Akademie uses during online journalism and web video courses. Flip is of course another well known brand, but these cameras are to be discontinued.

Whatever you use, it’s about the story and not the camera. But here are some of our tips for getting more out your camcorder and producing better quality web video.

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