Don't be confused. Most video forum were extremely, opposed to the idea, that unedited video, can be OK. You already have been more constructive, in this debate, than the other forums. That's what I'd like to see, more pointers on how to avoid editing, from somebody other than me. When you get better shots, you need less editing. You get better shots by shooting and shooting ie practicing with your camcorder. A day's touring and shooting, costs me pennies, 1/4 of a DVD. How I shot a Fastpitch tournament. I stood by the first base line. I could follow the pitcher as he/she jumped 10 to 15 ahead and beat the pitch to home plate. By pointing the camera. Looking in the viewfinder or LCD display would have been impossible.

Great idea. Everything I can find out about editing and why. Then try to avoid doing that. Just like my friends dad, in WWII he dumped fuel by doing everything, on how to conserve it, in reverse.

Hollywood spends time and $$$ building rails, to make camera movements smooth. I've learned to move with the camera and take out the footsteps. The jiggle is reduced and the excitement increases. Don't even try, going through heavy bush with a camera steady. You will miss more shots, by adding too much equipment. When I walk up to a big squirrel den and check out some of the entry holes people are glued to the examination of that mound. This kind of movement, wasn't done easily before, because the equipment was huge and unwieldly. I say take the camcorder and "run with it" I've been re-reading the posts, where I still have viewing privileges. Some of the banter was hilarious. Anybody interested in carrying on the cause in those "BANNED" forums? If you capture really good video it's hard to edit any of it.

Using raw, unedited footage...or just using extremely long, single shot takes can ceratinly work and be effective, but it doesn't negate the need for editing. Editing just lets you fine tune your footage...if you have one long shot, maybe it would be better if you came in a couple of frames later...or left a couple of frames earlier. Besides, unless you leave the camera running all the time, every time you stop or start shooting you're editing what we see. Anyways, just me thoughts, getting kicked off a board because of what you said is ridiculous though... Cheers, -P

To be fair though, you're talking about shooting wildlife, not making movies. An entirely unedited movie might be an interesting experiment, but it's a pretty limiting way to work. Even for wildlife, 'editing in the camera' has its disadvantages - if you're shooting the final product (instead of footage to edit), it seems easier to miss something while the camera's off. If you're shooting 'with intent to edit', you can leave the camera running and get everything, then trim it down later. Just my opinions. It's interesting that you shoot on a DVD camcorder. I have to ask - did you get a DVD camcorder because you don't edit your footage, or did you decide not to edit because of the type of camera you have? (No sarcasm here, just wondering.)

It doesn't seem that strange to me. Way back in the 80s, everybody was using VHS camcorders for home video, and few people actually edited. DVD cams are similar to those old VHS cams in that you're shooting on the final delivery media, unlike DV where you're shooting to edit. As long as your audience (you, your family, your customers) enjoys the videos, there's no wrong way!