Photojojo was kind enough to provide me with a Zumi digital camera for review, and I played with it on a trip to New York City this week. I spent the day capturing snippets of the city’s hustle and bustle in snippets of twenty seconds or less, then edited scads of tiny pieces of video and a few still frames into a little over a minute of ‘finished’ video. Ever mindful of copyright laws and artist’s rights, I used Paulette Dixon’s Bite of the Sky for the video soundtrack. I was with Paulette Dixon, exploring New York and flipping over her gorgeous loft whilst running around town while shooting this little diddy, so it seemed appropriate.
I’m saving my technical review of the Zumi Digital Camera for the Totally Rad Actions blog after WPPI, but the artistic aspects of this little video camera are outstanding. The Zumi is ultra lightweight — about the size of a roll of old-school 110 film — and made me feel like a spy on a super video mission.
The Zumi’s macro function captures fabulous out-of-focus crowd scenes and lights when used improperly, which I love. The slight vignetting also trips my trigger, and the old-school color shift the Zumi provides is delightful. Any video camera capable of hitting me with a wave of artsy excitement is ok with me! You can pick up a copy of the Zumi Digital Camera in the Photojojo store, where it retails for $170 USD. (I recommend adding the battery and MicroSD card for an additional $20.)
Wait, there’s more! The Zumi camera can also capture stills! I didn’t use this feature too terribly much, since I was in video capture stealth mode, but the ability to switch between ISO 100 and 800 will come in handy. (Oh, for an iPhone camera function that would do the same thing.)
Since life as a family photographer means it’s Moms who read my blog: yes, the Zumi will survive unharmed if your three-year-old drops it. Yes, it’s simple enough for your five-year-old. (You can have your iPhone back. You’re welcome.) And yes, your seven-year-old can help you upload the videos to YouTube if you’re having trouble.
Sydney and I played games, sang songs, and had a tickle battle. She shyly admitted to being proposed to last week, but the poor guy got turned down. Such is the life of a popular Kindergartner…
I’ll end with a darling little series of father-daughter portraits. Dads are often shy about being included in our portrait shoot, but with some good old teasing, heckling, and piggyback-riding, all works out for the best.
Also, Corgis have tongues which photograph exceptionally well. Or maybe that’s just Ginger. 
