If you’ve been to my "Tech Tools for Realtors®" or my "YouTube and You!" classes recently you have heard me talk about the line of video cameras from Pure Digital known as the Flip.  The reason why I have been so high on these cameras is because they seem made for Realtors®.  I am sure that we weren’t on CEO Jonathan Kaplan’s mind when he developed and marketed this product, but he hit a home run for us as far as I am concerned.

It’s not because we didn’t have video cameras at our disposal.  We did and we do.  It’s not because we didn’t have video editing software at our disposal.  We do, and some of us can actually use it effectively.  And, it’s not because we didn’t know how to upload video to YouTube or to email video to our clients.  Some of us are actually pretty good at that.

The home run comes because Kaplan combined low cost with ease of use and with the ability to easily and effectively share the resulting video with your clients, colleagues and the world.

There are 4 different cameras, some of which can be customized as to appearance.  The basic model is called the Flip Video.  Next up is the Flip Ultra, then comes the Flip Mino and the newest player is the Flip Mino HD which brings HD to the table.  Prices range from $129.99 for the basic Flip Video to $229.99 for the Flip MinoHD.

Operating the camera is simplicity it self.  Slide and release the power button.  Once the camera boots up (less than 4 seconds for either of the Mino’s and 4 to 7 seconds for the other two) you just aim the camera and press the red button!  You can zoom in or out and the camera also records audio.  All of the cameras will record 60 minutes of video and audio which is more than enough time to do a complete walking tour of a house.  Or to do an interview with a satisfied client…

Shooting the video is only part of the fun though, as this camera has a pop out USB connector that will make getting the video out of the camera and into your computer a piece of cake.  Once you have connected the camera to the computer, and the computer recognizes it (Mac OS X or XP/Vista) the built in software in the camera starts up allowing you to edit, clip and join the videos.  The you are given the option of saving your video in email format, saving it to your hard drive as an industry standard MPEG4 AVI file or uploading it to MySpace, YouTube or AOL!

This camera is small and light and it belongs in your bag of tricks.  But, don’t take my word on this.  It was featured in the SF Chronicle on November 30, 2008 and on July 30th, 2008 in addition to being featured on many other venues such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and CBS to name a few.

Can you imagine how you could use this to promote your listings?  Or to record testimonials form your satisfied clients?  It’s a snap to record these types of videos and upload them to YouTube where they can be shared with existing clients or used as marketing promo pieces for the listings and prospective clients.  You can buy these online or in stores.

Go get one, shoot a video and send me a link…I’d love to see your productions!