How to record video with your iPhone 3G
I have always thought it was dumb that the iPhone 2G/3G didn't come with video recording. The last phone I had before the iPhone was a Samsung Blackjack II running Windows Mobile and even that phone had video.
Jailbreaking your phone gives you access to applications like Cycorder and VideoRecorder but not everyone wants to be on the jailbreak bandwagon.
I recently came across 2 apps from the app store that allow video recording on a 3G phone without jaibreaking. While neither of these apps would replace a good video camcorder, they are great to have on hand for times when you don't have (or need) the good camcorder with you. The next time you are walking down Sunset Boulevard and Zsa Zsa Gabor winds up to slap a cop, you'll be ready.
iVideoRecorder $0.99 on iTunes
I found this app after I downloaded iTimeLapse, it's made by the same guys. This app has simple interface and has the ability to upload to most of the big social networks (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo, TwelveSeconds, and basic email). The app has its own library and you have the option to export to the native iPhone Camera Roll where you can save them to your PC just like pictures but you can't share them via MMS. I was impressed that after exporting to the Camera Roll I was able to trim the beginning or the end of the video directly from the player. I thought this was only available to the 3GS model. This app also has an option to save via FTP or via wireless connection while on the same network.
The good: Easy to use, simple interface, lots of sharing options. At 10fps this is not too bad for the 3G apps that I have seen. Most have between 3-7fps
The bad: High quality mode only allows a few seconds of recording at 320x426 (based upon available memory). Low quality mode allows unlimited recording but reduces the size to 160x213. Although the framerate on low quality setting is better than most (10fps), this is definately not a replacement for the 640x480 @ 30fps available on the 3GS.
Summary: A great app for recording video on a 3G iPhone with quick and easy sharing to the big social networks.
Qik Video Camera $0.99 on iTunes
This app is made by the same company who provides the Qik live video streaming service. You can use this app to record video to record unlimited video at 352x288 @ 7fps. The app has its own library where you can watch your videos or export them to the native iPhone Camera roll for editing.
The good: The larger video size is nice and the compression ratio is also good resulting in smaller file sizes.
The bad: While the video is larger, there are no built in options for sharing to social networks. I also think it's weird that the functionality of this app is not built into the Qik streaming app which is free on iTunes. The Qik streaming app has sharing options for your live video to all of the social networks from the iPhone app and their website. Qik says that this ability is coming soon but as of this time it doesn't.
Summary: A nice app for recording large size videos at small file size but no sharing options.
