Blogs, Mashups and Wikis: Robert Scoble's Blog Scobleizer

On Robert Scoble's Blog he had many interesting posts but the one that caught my eye was about the new Sony Bloggie 3D which is a pocket camera/camcorder.  Many people use cameras like these in educational settings and for video blogging.  The reason why this got my attention is that so far in my educational circles the pocket camera of choice has been the Flip by Cisco but unfortunately they will be discontinuing them.  So being able to recommend another option to my fellow teachers is an important aspect of what I do as an LMS.  The Robert's post basically reiterated what I had previously thought about 3D in that is is great to watch but is it worth spending the extra money.  Also how many people actually have 3D glasses and TVs at home already to watch their newly created 3D videos.  Personally, 3D makes me feel a little queasy and if I did use this on my blog how many of my views would be able to see it in 3D.  After reading this I had the same conclusion as the author that the Sony Bloggie 3D is a little ahead of its time.  Then I began some more research on pocket cameras.  I found out that Sony makes a Bloggie Touch (no 3D aspect) which seems to be the front runner within its genre.  It had the clearest picture in both video and still format while being compatible with both Mac and PC.  Videos and Pictures could be uploaded to various social media sites as well to your computer through a built in USB port.  But the draw back to almost every pocket camera I read about is that they don't have a flash so their abilities in low light situations are not very good.  If I buy a $200 camera I want it to work in any situation especially if all they need to do is add a flash.  Overall, the pocket camera is not really a replacement for a traditional camera or a camcorder.  But if your students are doing well lit presentations  and you need to toggle between still and video then a pocket camera might be the right fit for a classroom setting.