I’ve been on the lookout for the perfect pocket sized video recorder to meet my needs. I’m an audio guy mostly, but I occasionally have a desire to create video content from time to time. For example, there are times when I want to do product demos such as the video demo I did for the Tascam DR-07.

The main reason I haven’t done more of these videos than I have is due to the desire to have a much higher level of audio quality in the videos that I produce. There are a lot of point and shoot cameras that have pretty decent video quality, but I want to use my professional audio gear to produce the audio for the video and I don’t want to have to add the audio to the video project in post production. Therefore, the perfect camera for me would be one with an external audio input jack.

Today, I found just the camera I’ve been looking for in the Kodack Zi8. I learned about this terrific camera while watching Cali Lewis’ GeekBrief.tv episode 641. Would you believe that within 30 minutes of watching her video, I had this camera in my hands? I’m not kidding! I immediately did a search online for the camera, looked over the specs, and started to call stores to see if anyone had it in stock. Luckily, I found a local Best Buy store who had ONLY ONE in stock. I immediately left the house and picked it up.

While the audio input jack was the most important thing I’ve been looking for in these little mini cameras, I am excited to tell you that the Zi8 also includes several other features that I’m excited about. It shoots video in full 1080p HD, though I’m more impressed with the 720p at 60 frames per second. It has terrific image stabilization. It takes 5 megapixel still images. Both the video and the still images are captures in 16×9 format, which I LOVE by the way. It takes high capacity SD Cards up to 32Gb so I could actually record as much as 20 to 30 hours of HD video on one card. It comes with software for the PC that allows me to very easily upload directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and other sites. And the video is recorded in to a .MOV file that I can just as easily drag and drop onto my Mac Desktop and edit it with Screenflow or iMovie.

Of course that’s a enough of WORDS about this VIDEO camera. So here’s the video I created as soon as I took it out of the box. Note: I didn’t spend any time at all editing this video. Just wanted to test video quality as quickly as possible. Take a look at this video and tell me what you think!

Podcast Answer Man Episode 115
All About Wordpress

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In this episode, I have a great conversation with Mitch Canter from StudioNashVegas.com. The focus of our conversation is about using Wordpress not only as a blog, but as an overall solution for your website.

Here is the list of Wodress Plugins that we discussed during the show:

C Forms
http://www.deliciousdays.com/cforms-plugin

Life Stream
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/lifestream/

Yet Another Related Post Plugin
http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/

Stumble For Wordpress
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/stumble-for-wordpress/

WP Greetbox
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-greet-box/

Google Analyticator
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-analyticator/

Google XML Site Map
http://www.arnebrachhold.de/projects/wordpress-plugins/google-xml-sitemaps-generator/

All In One SEO
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/

fotobook
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2254862517

Facebook Connect
http://www.sociable.es/facebook-connect/

BB Press
http://bbpress.org/

Discuss podcasting with other listeners in the Podcast Answer Man section of the gspn.tv Community Forum.

EQUIPMENT SALES: Please consider purchasing from me when making your next purchase for audio gear to improve the sound of your podcast. Email me at Cliff@gspn.tv or call me at 859-757-1399.

PODCAST CONSULTING: I’m also available for one on one podcast consulting. Whether you want someone to get everything set up for you or you just need a little help along the way, I’d love to work with you. I’m able to demonstrate using screen sharing technology during our call which makes it just like I was there sitting next to you at the computer. If you are interested, email me at Cliff@gspn.tv or call me at 859-757-1399.

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Investor’s Business Daily is a national newspaper in the United States, published Monday through Friday, that covers international business, finance, and the global economy and has “nearly 1,000,000 readers.”

They recently ran an article titled “Former Insurance Salesman Turns ‘Lost’ Obsession Into Online Career.” I I’m very excited about the exposure this article brings to what we are doing here with gspn.tv and BitCast Media. Right-Click Here To Download PDF of original Story.

Cliff Speaks Out On The Topic Of TalkShoe!

In this episode, I finally go public with my thoughts on the TalkShoe Incident! Also I share my excitement over the release of the Edirol R-09HR recorder. If you are interested in the purchase of any podcasting gear, please do give me a call! I have some pre-built packages for podcasters or we can create a custom package just for you.

CALL IN YOUR PODCAST & NEW MEDIA COMMENTS & QUESTIONS 859-795-4067!

Discuss Podcasting in the gspn.tv Community Forum.

Special Thanks to Evan Agee with AGEE DESIGN for sponsoring the Podcast Answer Man.

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In this episode, I am joined by Jeff Roney of Roney Zone Productions. We talked about a few low cost ideas on how you can promote your podcast!

We talked about Building a relationship with another show, bringing value to the conversation, the use of sub domains for branding purposes, video as a promotional tool even for audio podcasters, and the power of the written word.

CALL IN YOUR PODCAST & NEW MEDIA COMMENTS & QUESTIONS 859-795-4067!

Discuss Podcasting in the gspn.tv Community Forum.

Special Thanks to Agee Design for Sponsoring Our Podcast! Mention Podcast Answer Man for a 20% Discount!

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Links Mentioned In This Show
Podcamp NYC April 25th – 26th
Podcamp Ohio June 28th
Evan Agee – Agee Design – Our Awesome Sponsor!
Twitter
EverNote
TelePixie Wakeup Calls
GET YOUR PODCASTING AUDIO EQUIPMENT FROM ME!
CALL IN YOUR PODCAST & NEW MEDIA QUESTIONS 859-795-4067!

Discuss Podcasting in the gspn.tv Community Forum.

Special Thanks to Agee Design for Sponsoring Our Podcast! Mention Podcast Answer Man for a 20% Discount!

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I’m honored to receive the review that I got from Lisa Hendey on her blog, Productivity @ Home. Here’s just an excerpt of what she said…

Enter Cliff Ravenscraft, the Podcast Answer Man. With a couple of quick telephone conferences, Cliff was able to advise me on equipment purchases and help me assemble and use my new equipment. His service was friendly, responsive, and related in terms even a rookie podcasting mom could understand.

Had I taken my normal route of consulting “dummies” books, I’m certain I would still be losing sleep and performing at a sub-optimal level. Once I determined that putting together a quality podcast in a time efficient manner was important, the end goal seemed to justify the expense of bringing a consultant on board. I am incredibly pleased with the return on my investment.

Thanks Lisa, it was a pleasure working with you!

In this episode, I discuss what a Podcamp is and why I plan to attend no less than four of them this year. A PodCamp is a usually free, community driven, UnConference for new media enthusiasts and professionals including bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, social networkers, and anyone curious about new media. The first PodCamp was held September 8-10, 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts. PodCamps are now being held worldwide.

Upcoming PodCamps: (Note: There may be more that I’m not yet aware of)
Bold = Events that I am registered for!

* PodCamp Nashville – February 9, 2008
* PodCampMidWest – February 15-16 – Kansas City
* PodCamp Seattle – Februaryish, 2008 (in planning) – Seattle
* PodCamp Toronto 2 – February 23-24, 2008 at Ryerson University
* PodCampWesternMass, March 8, 2008
* PodCampSA (South Africa), – early March 2008 in Bloemfontein, South Africa
* PodCampSLC – March 29th, 2008 – Salt Lake City, Utah
* PodcampDC is coming April 18-20 2008
* PodCamp NYC 2.0, Friday April 25 and Saturday, April 26th, 2008
* PodCamp San Antonio – Numero Dos, May 3, 2008
* PodCamp Atlanta 2 – May 17-18, 2008
* PodCamp Chicago Somewhere in Chicago – June 6, 7, and 8th 2008
* Podcamp Austin – Austin, Texas – June 20, 21, 2008
* PodCamp Ohio – Columbus, Ohio – June 28, 2008
* PodCamp SF – January 18, 2009 @ MacWorld SF

Discuss Podcasting in the gspn.tv Community Forum.

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Thanks to Agee Design for sponsoring the Podcast Answer Man!

Discuss Podcasting in the gspn.tv Community Forum.

In this episode, I take a quick lunch break to bring you a video podcast of some options out there for microphones for your podcast. Check out the new equipment page on the blog!

If you are interested in talking with me about my podcast consulting services, you can reach me by email at Cliff@Ravenscraft.org or you can use the contact page at BitCastMedia.com.

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Thanks to Agee Design for sponsoring the Podcast Answer Man!

Discuss Podcasting in the gspn.tv Community Forum.

In this episode, I discussed how The Podacast Answer Man will now be a part of my personal/professional blog at CliffRavenscraft.com. Also, I explained that I am going to official end the NetJunk and Pursuing Your Passion podcasts and move the content from those shows into the Podcast Answer Man show. This is an an effort to streamline my efforts in podcasting. More about this in the episode.

T.J. called in with a question about how I play my audio clips right into the show as we record. I use a program called Pod Producer which you can get for FREE at PodProducer.net.

Chris Oatley called in and asked about video podcasting. I do plan on doing more video podcasting and I will certainly be doing many episode devoted to the topic. In this episode, I do share some important tips as far as shopping for a camera. Make sure any camera you buy has an AUDIO INPUT JACK! This is extremely important. I also shared that a good place to host your video files is Libsyn at Libsyn.com. I also mentioned Podango, but asked anyone who was considering the use of Podango to hold off just another few days until they here our big announcement in the gspn.tv State of the Community address that I’ll be releasing this week.

Jon from MonsterCookies.ca wrote a question in our forum. He wanted to know why his artwork and description would not update in iTunes even though he had updated this information on his libsyn account. The problem is that Jon is using Feedburner. This is where iTunes is looking for the feed data. I explained that Jon needs to sign into his feedburner account, go to the “Optimize” Tab in the settings panel and then click on the “Smartfeed” option. It is here that he should change his podcast artwork, description, and keywords.

Call in your comments and questions to our Listener Feedback Line at 859-795-4067 and we’ll try to play your call in our next show.

If you are interested in talking with me about my podcast consulting services, you can reach me by email at Cliff@Ravenscraft.org or you can use the contact page at BitCastMedia.com.

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Thanks to Agee Design for sponsoring the Podcast Answer Man!