These podcasts are a little more expensive and difficult to create. Not only do you need a decent video camera to capture the video, but your computer also needs to be more powerful than with audio only podcasts. Video files are very large even after they are compressed, so you will probably have to invest on an external hard drive to store your files while you work on a video podcast. Video also takes longer to edit than sound.
You do not need to buy a very expensive video camera to record your video podcast. Canon's ZR-300 camcorder produces video of good quality for under $400 (other companies such as Sony and Panasonic make camcorders in this price range that will produce comparable results). For the best results, you should look for a camera that records to DV tapes and connects to your computer using a Firewire cable. All Macs include a Firewire connector, but on a PC you will probably have to buy a Firewire (also called IEEE 1394) adapter. The Firewire adapter has to be installed into a free PCI slot inside your computer, or if you are using a laptop it can be added as a PC Card that is inserted into one of the slots on the side of your laptop.
For editing your video content, you have a few choices. On the PC side, you can use Windows Movie Maker. This program is included with Windows XP, or you can download the latest version for free from the Microsoft website. There are also many commercial video editing applications for Windows. A good option is Pinnacle's Studio DV, which retails for less than $100 (sometimes you can even get a bundle that also includes a Firewire adapter). At the higher end is Adobe Premiere, which is a professional application with a steep learning curve. Adobe does offer a Premiere Elements version that is supposed to be easier to use and is intended for home users. On the Mac, you can use iMovie, which is part of the iLife suite that comes installed on all new Macs. This brief guide produced by the College of Education's Laptop Lounge covers the basics of using iMovie to edit video. You can also use QuickTime Pro 7 to record and edit video (QuickTime Pro is also available for Windows). Apple's Final Cut Pro is a step up from iMovie and QuickTime Pro in terms of features, but it also has a steep learning curve. Like Adobe, Apple also makes an easier to learn entry level option called Final Cut Express.
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