As I see it, the three most prominent questions in the mind of America today are:

1. 1.  "Who's going to win the next presidential election?"
2. 2.  "Did or does Iraq possess weapons of mass destruction?"
3. 3.  "Why hasn't Warren been posting any images on the critique forum lately?"

I can only reply with any degree of confidence to the latter. The truth of the matter is that since my lifelong partner in photography, the Mind of Minolta, has yet to think up a digital camera body to accept the lenses I already own, I am suffering from a mild case of photo burnout. Then there's the age factor. I'm only slightly older than the equipment I own and that's pretty old, no that's really old. In addition, I know for a fact that my camera, lenses, tripod, and all the rest of my gear are much heavier than they used to be, making the prospect of carrying it all over the countryside something less than appealing. So, one day, while sinking farther into the doldrums and doing my best impersonation of a couch potato, I was scanning the ads in a photography magazine when my aged, bifocaled eyes fell upon an ad for (insert drum roll) a digital video camera. Video, hummmm. An accompanying article explained how prices had been dropping and quality had risen with these products. Furthermore, these babies weighed only a few pounds ? a major factor. Very interesting.

I had often thought how neat it would be to capture movement as well as the sound of the many types of wildlife I'd observed and photographed through the years ? the song of a meadowlark, thousands of snow geese lifting into a blue November sky, or the haunting call of an elk, breath visible on a frosty morning. Scenes from Wild Kingdom and Animal Planet ran through my mind. Maybe I could do this. Best of all, the basics of still photography such as composition, light, and exposure would apply to video as well.

The seed had been planted, and it began to grow; boy did it grow. Today I'm fully into camcorders, massive hard drives, editing programs, and burning DVD's. But video is not for everyone. The sticker shock of your original investment can be breathtaking if you go into it full throttle. Top of the line camcorders, even for the amateur, can reach into the $3000 range or more. Fortunately, there are several models on today's market that do an excellent job for much less. As an added incentive, some of the manufactures such as Sony and Canon tout products that not only shoot video but also have the ability to capture digital stills as well, with resolutions ranging from 1.3 to 3 megapixels and with removable memory media. For the wildlife or sports enthusiast, optical zoom lenses on some models approach the equivalent of a 600 mm telephoto or more.

The MiniDV format is the most popular at the moment. These very small cassette tapes sell for around $4 to $5 and as low as $3 if purchased in quantity. Recording time is 60 minutes. Other camcorders can record directly to a 3" DVD disc. However, these may not play on all models of DVD's and recording time is limited to 20 minutes. With the dozens of camcorder models available, it will take some research on your part to determine which one will fit your needs and budget.

So now that you've got your new camcorder and shot an hour or two of exciting video, what's next? You have several options. Since many of the newer televisions have audio and video jacks, you may prefer to simply plug your camcorder into the TV, press the play button, sit back and watch. But at some point you'll probably realize your recording would be a little more interesting with titles, some music, and perhaps a voice-over sound track. Or, maybe you forgot to hit the stop button and recorded a 20-minute tape of the ground. This is where video editing comes in.

The first step is to get all that footage into your computer in order to edit it. You'll need what is known as a "firewire" card or a USB 2.0 connection. Video eats up storage space like Godzilla on a feeding frenzy. Nine minutes of digital video in an AVI file will take up around 2 gigabytes on your hard drive. The good news is that the cost of large hard drives has dropped dramatically in recent years. Decent video editing programs can cost as little as a $100 but can jump into the thousands if you have a need for full professional programming. Just to get your feet wet, download Microsoft Windows Moviemaker, a basic video program that will introduce you to editing. Check the Internet for reviews of the various programs before buying. Some are fairly simple to grasp while others have a rather steep learning curve. When editing is complete, you will have the choice of recording back to a tape in the camcorder, recording to a VHS tape, or, if your computer is so equipped, burning to a CD or DVD disc.

As for technique, watch carefully how videos are edited on commercial broadcasts such as a travel or wildlife program. You'll note that scenes are short, usually less than 5 seconds. Longer clips are used for times when action is taking place. Pans or zooms are of short duration as well. While most camcorders have some form of image stabilization, your movies will look much more professional if you use a tripod or beanbag to prevent that jerky look. The cleaner your original video, the less editing will be needed in the computer.

It can be discouraging when one realizes exactly how much time it takes to capture, edit, and create your movie. A lot of time on the computer is needed to trim film clips, adjust sound, add tracks, and rearrange scenes. Like anything else, your efficiency will increase with your familiarity of the process. But, if you absolutely hate being in front of a computer, video may not be your thing.

Now if you're like me and have grown a bit weary of humping those heavy lenses and tripods into the wilderness, and the old legs and back groan for mercy at the end of the day, you may want to check out the world of video. It's really not all that bad, sitting here in front of the computer with a cool, air-conditioned breeze blowing across my balding head while the temperature outside melts rocks. And as soon as I add a few finishing touches to my latest effort, I'll burn a DVD, check the fridge for something cold to drink, watch my masterpiece on the big screen TV, and then, probably, take a little nap.

Editor's Comment: Let us know what you think! Please email the Editor to let us know your thoughts.