Shooting Video from Your Digital Photography Camera Shooting video from your digital camera is much different than shooting from a digital camcorder. Newer digital cameras allow you to take video clips, which are saved on a flash card for downloading or viewing from your computer. HomeMovie.Com wants to share with you how digital cameras work, what features they have and how you can use them to import video and pictures to create SnapShot albums with Afiniti!   Most digital cameras allow you to store short clips, ranging anywhere from 20 seconds to three minutes, enabling you to shoot to the capacity of your flash card. HomeMovie.Com only accepts ..avi and .wav digital formats, the two most common Windows Video formats. Digital cameras shoot the best video in bright, sunny conditions. Be sure that you have plenty of natural light as well. Recent trends in digital video are the ability of digital cameras to have a zoom function during video capture. Although this may sound very convenient, we recommend against it. Especially if it is digital zoom and not optical. Learn more about digital camcorders. Choosing a Storage Card Because storage cards come in many sizes and shapes, it is important to take your time when deciding on what type to buy. Here are some tips on how to go about buying a storage card: Make sure the storage card is compatible with your digital camera. Read the manual to your digital camera to find out which card is right for you. Some common types of cards include:   CompactFlash Secure Digital (SD) Memory Stick Microdrive XDPicture Cards Determine the capacity-to-price ratio. If you have ever used an iPod, the more gigabytes (memory) on your iPod, the more songs or videos you are allowed to import. But naturally, the more storage on the card, the higher in price it will be. Depending on how much video or pictures you copy to your computer and then delete, you may want balance the convenience of fewer cards with the cost savings of multiple lower capacity cards. Purchasing a card with 1GB of storage space will probably run you anywhere from $40 to $60, whereas a card with only 512MB will run anywhere from $10 to $20, depending on the manufacturer. Know the speed of the storage card. The speed refers to how fast information is written to or from the card. Generally, a faster storage card speed is better and costs more, but is worth it in the long run. Faster storage card speeds work well for shooting video because they will capture the maximum frames per second (fps) for smoother motion Considering the different storage card manufacturers. Experts believe there is little difference in quality between highly priced storage cards and those produced by well-known manufacturers. Still, others believe there is major distinction when it comes to features such as speed, performance and longevity. It’s very important that you read the warranty before you purchase the card. Also, research the company’s technical and customer support through their website before buying a card. Remember to take your camcorder! Consider taking your digital camcorder with you. Although convenient, camcorders are by far the hands down winner of recording your video memories. Unless you have knack for still photography, your best bet is to invest and use a digital video camcorder anywhere you go!