Disposable camcorder
 

Drugstore begins selling disposable camcorder:
"CVS on Monday began selling a disposable digital camcorder which the No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain hopes will boost its photo lab business and be as popular as the single-use film and digital cameras."

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5734593.html

A video snap-shooter's box: a rather remarkable technical achievement.

But I bemoan the environmental irresponsibility of business models, such as this, that MBA-think has delivered to us in the past decades. I cringe to consider the impact of just the disposed batteries for these things.

I seriously can't believe it... Who would be

1. Paying for this?
2. able to put down his - however small it may be - environmental consciousness :)

How do they accomplish the price of 29$ including a color "display" to show the video? The cam would have to be reusable, hence "rented"...

I don't know.. it seems strange.

Oh well, our world will one day have to clear the spot for the interstellar highway anyways... cu on Mars! Matthias

Are any pictures of this device available yet?

Thanks,
rj

Enough about the ethics, how does it perform!? =D

is it 16:9 and 24p?

if you will notice, you have to return the camera, and it is then recycled. Not as much of an environmental problem, but, like M. Zimmerman said, it is almost rented.

It will be interesting if (when) the hack for this is created that allows users to pull the video from the camera without having to return it or pay the processing fee.

30 bucks for the cam, 12.99 processing fee: strip the memory card and burn to dvd for 20 minutes of not worth the time to edit video. If you're heading up to the lodge for the weekend and need a one hour documentary of the trip, the total price would be 130 bucks.

Renting and old XL1 would be cheaper and the lodge lizards might think you're Scorcese ...

I actually hacked this camcorder- connected it to my USB port to download the video- my computer sees it as an external device but seems like a driver is missing....

Environmentally conscious? Environment enshmironment. Gimme a break. Anyway, people will pay money for anything. Why not a disposable video camera? Maybe a competing drug store should buy them all and toss them out.

Seems to me like a good way to get crazy shots that you'd be affraid to do with your expensive camera such as underwater, throwing it off a building, etc.

Yeah, don't worry about the environmental impact here... there is no way that it would make economic sense for them to throw anything away... just like the returnable film cameras, they will send everything right back out with a recharged battery.

Interesting model... will have to see where it goes.

I agree, though, the hack for this is right around the corner and they you'll have a $30 DV cam. I can't even count the number of returnable film cameras that I took apart and cannibalized. Fun fun.

"What does a football see?"

Sounds great to me.

-Steve

I would'nt get your hopes up on the image quality, its one of those cheapo solid state camera/digital still/webcam/mp3 player type gadget,


similar in vain to these (i assume)

http://www.firebox.com/index.html?di...oduct&pid=1086

I really dont think that this idea will get off the ground.