I’ve spoken to a few teachers lately who may have some money to spend on video equipment for next year, so I wanted to throw out some equipment recommendations. If you’re looking to get an inexpensive entry-level video camera, there are two directions you can go. Below I've broken down the pros and cons of each type:

Mini DV Video Cameras

Mini DV cameras are the most common type of digital video camera you’ll see in stores. I recommend the Canon ZR models (the ZR950 is the most recent model).

Pros:

Mini DV cameras are sturdy (I dropped one yesterday and it kept working without any problems), reliable, and I use all the time for my classes. They tend to have a large LCD viewer which helps when more than one student wants to watch what’s being filmed.

Cons:

If you want a microphone input on your camera, be careful, ZRs ending in a “00” have a mic input, ZRs ending in a “50” don’t. The standard batteries these cameras come with won’t last more than an hour. If you run out of power and don’t have a spare battery you’ll have to either wait until your battery charges or run the camera off of wall power. Also, the cost of continuously buying mini DV tapes can add up.

Where to Buy:

Shopsunshine has pretty good deals, but if you want a cheap camera, you need to buy an older model. And be careful, they try to get you to spend extra money on useless accessories.

Best Buy won’t have the greatest prices, but for a bit extra money, you can get a warranty for your camera. As long as you didn’t break your camera on purpose, they’ll repair or replace it for free.

Flash Memory Cameras

These cameras have become more and more popular recently. Rather than recording to a tape, the camera stores your footage on its own hard drive. The most popular one out now, and the one we use at Spy Hop, is the “Flip Video” camera.

Pros:

Cost. These cameras are cheap. The Flip camera is going to be about half the price of a mini DV camera. Additionally, you won’t have to worry about charging batteries, the Flip runs on 2 AA batteries. If you’re working on a PC, you won’t have to worry about capturing your footage, simply plug your camera into the computer and copy your video clips onto the hard drive.

Cons:

While editing on a PC is easier with the Flip, things are a bit more difficult on a Mac. You’ll need to convert all your footage to a different file format to edit it. Also, none of the Flips have any microphone input, and the picture quality isn’t as good as a mini DV camera.

Where to Buy:

You can get the Flip at pretty much any local electronics store. I’ve seen a few deals online, but I haven’t tried any of them personally, so I can’t recommend them.

For all of you who have had success with stop motion or claymation in your class, it may be worth it to check out a program called iStopMotion. Currently, this program is only available for Macs, so if you're working on a system with Windows you'll have to stick with Windows Movie Maker.

iStopMotion  is a simple program that can be used by students of all ages. You will actually be using your video camera (Canon ZRs) rather than a digital still camera to take photos, so this is a great option if you have a few extra video cameras in your classroom.

  With iStopMotion you'll actually plug your camera into your computer and take the photos from your desktop.  You can view all the photos you've taken and delete the ones you don't like as you go. And by using onion skinning, iStopMotion shows you a transparent version of the last picture you took so you can make your animation look flawless.

 Take a look at the iStopMotion website by following the link below: 

Click here to take a look at the iStopMotion website. 

  If you have any questions about iStopMotion, or if you've found your own program to use for animation, add something to the comments section below.