Whether you're shopping for a new camcorder or already have one, you've got to check out the new line of straight-to-web camcorders from manufacturers like Kodak, Flip Video, RCA and Creative. These pocket-sized devices skimp on size and price to offer a digital video experience that's remarkably easy and instantly gratifying.

Form Follows Function

Straight-to-web camcorders, as they are informally named, are palm-sized video cameras that record compressed (MPEG-4) video onto flash memory instead of tapes or discs like traditional camcorders. Their minimalist design highlights basic controls, offers little-to-no optical zoom and forgoes many of the special effects and shooting modes found on traditional camcorders. The result is absolute ease of use. Their simplicity gives them the advantage of being extremely lightweight and straightforward to operate. Most come armed with retractable USB connectors and preloaded PC software, which means you have everything you need built into the camcorder to sync with a PC, save your videos and upload them to the web. You can also connect them directly to a TV using the A/V jacks to enjoy your clips on the big screen.

Behind the Scenes

What these tiny wonders lack in form, they make up for in function. The real beauty of shooting video with a straight-to-web camcorder is how easy they make it to save your videos, edit clips, burn to DVD and upload to the web. These manufacturers have brought the simplicity and convenience of digital photography to digital video - not an easy feat. Once on your PC, you can manage your video clips in ways you could never do with tapes. Arrange your video clips into albums, sort by date, type a brief description of the clip and even combine several clips into a movie. From there, you can click buttons to e-mail a clip, upload to your YouTube, Facebook or other online account, burn a DVD, convert a still frame into a photograph and much more.

Now Shooting in HD

Many straight-to-web models shoot in 640x480 pixel standard definition resolution. This format works well on the web, and also looks decent on digital TVs. Compressed into the MPEG-4 format, files are small and easy to manage without sacrificing too much quality. Bump up to an HD straight-to-web model and you can record 720p widescreen video that definitely looks sharper when played back on digital TVs, yet can still easily be e-mailed or published online. While they'll never deliver the video quality of larger, more expensive camcorders, they provide a nice compromise between image quality, size, cost and ease-of-use.

Overcoming Obstacles

Straight-to-web camcorders have overcome many of the obstacles of taking home video. You're much more likely to carry around a small, lightweight device, which means you'll have more opportunities to record. You'll also likely take better videos, since your camera-shy subjects won't feel intimidated by this camcorder. Best of all, with it so simple to share your videos, you will actually watch and enjoy the clips you shoot. Even if you already own a camcorder, check out the straight-to-web models of digital camcorders. Their size and simplicity make them a perfect digital companion for everyday digital life.