Our school is looking for a flip type video camera to be used in the classroom then downloaded onto a computer into Windows Movie Maker.  The cameras we have found so far have files that have to be converted to a .wmv file.  Do you know if there are any that produce a .wmv file so a conversion does not have to be done?  We are just trying to eliminate a step and make it easy to use in the classroom by students.

I did some research for you, and it confirmed my initial impression–right now there is not a video camera that records in WMV format. To record in WMV format, you’d have to connect a camera (such as a webcam) directly to a computer, and then record with the computer.

I know transcoding/converting to another video format is time-consuming–wish there was another way! You could consider using different video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Elements, that can handle your recorded files in their native format.

 Is there a way I can get the MS Scanner and Camera Wizard on my laptop that has Vista?  I really do NOT like the way the pictures download with Vista (no preview available to see the pictures I want to download before the download starts and save, is my biggest peeve).  Plus I must immediately name the group and it’s too quick to ask me if I want to delete them.

I don’t usually delete photos from my camera/card until I have downloaded and burned them to a disk.  So if I take more pictures, when I go to do the download, it gathers ALL the pictures I’ve taken and groups them.  Grrrrrrrrr

Maybe I’m being stubborn to change, but I tried playing around with the Vista download from my camera for over 2 hours (trying different things) and I still wasn’t happy and went back and downloaded the pictures on my PC with Windows XP.

Is there a way to change settings for the picture download in Vista (I can’t seem to find them) or is it possible to get the MSSCW on my laptop.

Thanks a bunch!

Answer:

Hi, Holly. I get a lot of questions like this, because many “little” things changed in Vista, and since you’re already used to XP, it’s very disorienting.

First, I don’t know any way to get the Microsoft Scanner And Camera Wizard onto Vista. Instead, my advice is to check out third-party products that might better meet your needs. Your camera almost certainly came with software to download pictures (check your camera vendor’s website for a download). Adobe Photoshop Album and Google Picasa are free and might fit your workflow better.

Or, just change your workflow to fit what Vista can do. I just download everything to my computer at once, reformat my memory card to leave room for new pictures, and then selectively delete the bad pictures from the computer. I set Vista up to automatically backup my pictures to an external hard disk, so I’m not worried about losing them. If something does happen to my hard disk before the backup runs, I can recover pictures from the memory card after formatting it–so that backup still exists.

Hope that helps. Check out my pictures, if you’re bored.