Picture City Digital

Here’s a DV camcorder that may strike your fancy as Valentine’s Day approaches: the Brica DV 110S.

The Brica DV 110S is a MPEG4 digital video camcorder that can take videos with its focus-free f/3.2 7.1 mm. lens with up to 640×480 VGA resolution and 320×240 QVGA resolution. Its electronic shutter can shoot scenes with speeds from 1/16 sec. to 1/16000 sec. In night scene mode, this Brica DV camcorder can take in scenes with shutter speeds from 4 sec. to 1/8 sec.

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The Aiptek PocketDV AHD 200 Pro DV camcorder is a handy yet stylish high-definition video (HD) camcorder that won’t break your bank.

The Aiptek PocketDV AHD 200 Pro is a MPEG4 digital video camcorder that can take videos with 720p resolution of up to 1280×720 pixels at 30 frames per second (fps) with a 16:9 ratio. Other resolution levels are D1 - 720×480 pixels at 30 fps. with a 4:3 ratio and CIF - 352×240 pixels at 30 fps. with a 4:3 ratio.

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Picture City customers traveling to or within the United States beginning January 1, 2008 may want to take notice of a new rule imposed by the US Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) regarding the transportation of lithium batteries either in checked baggage or in carry-on baggage.

The general rule is: you many not pack lithium batteries inside your checked-in luggage. While the TSA rule doesn’t say so explicitly, it’s safe to assume that this ban includes lithium batteries contained in their original retail packaging or loose cells, rechargeable or not.

The reason is: the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is concerned that fire suppression systems installed in aircraft cargo holds may not be sufficient to put out a blaze caused by lithium batteries.

The exceptions are:

• Lithium batteries may be packed inside checked-in baggage if they are installed in the device they were meant to power, although storing your expensive electronics in this fashion is definitely not recommended, because of the very real possibility of their damage or loss while in transit.
• Lithium batteries may be packed inside your carry-on bags, again if they are installed in the device they were meant to energize. You can also carry lithium batteries on board with you if they are packed in their original retail packaging.
• If carried on board loose, TSA strongly recommends that they be stored inside a protective plastic case, usually supplied by their manufacturer or available as an accessory, or inside a resealable plastic bag, similar to the containers now required for carrying liquids on board aircraft.

  By doing so, a passenger reduces the risk that metal objects may come into contact with the lithium battery’s contacts, thus causing a dangerous short circuit

• At any rate, passengers may only carry two (2) lithium batteries inside an aircraft’s cabin.

Pictures of the right way of carrying lithium batteries below the fold.

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Here is another digital video (DV) camera that might strike your fancy this 2007 Christmas shopping season: the Brica DV-120Z camcorder.

The Brica DV 120Z is a MPEG4 digital video camcorder that can take videos with its autofocus (AF) f/3.0-f/6.0 lens with up to 720×480 pixels of D1 resolution at 30 fps. Other resolution levels are 640×480 (VGA) pixels at 30 fps. and 320×240 (QVGA) pixels at 30 fps.

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Here is another digital video (DV) camcorder for your consideration this Christmas: the Aiptek PocketDV 8800N.

The Aiptek PocketDV 8800N is a MPEG4 digital video camcorder that can take videos with its focus-free f/2.8-f/5.3 lens with D1 resolution of up to 720×480 pixels at 20 fps. Other resolution levels are VGA - 640×480 pixels at 30 fps. - and QVGA - 320×240 pixels at 30 fps.

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