At the time I bought my iPhone 3G the iPhone 3GS had just come out but I didn’t feel like I really needed the video capture or digital compass features, so I opted for the older phone. I got a great deal on a refurbished model ($49!).
I was excited to see some video camera apps come out for older iPhones. When I first tried the Qik and iVideocamera apps, I was disappointed in the quality and the features. But when iVideocamera was upgraded to shoot 10 frames per second, and Qik launched a new Qik Videocamera app, I got excited again.
Both apps are $0.99, although Qik says their version will go up in price at the next update.
Before we look at features, let’s look at the quality. iVideocamera offers a 10 FPS high quality mode at 320x426 resolution and Qik Videocamera offers a high quality mode at 400x304 at 12+ FPS. Both apps also offer a lower quality mode, but I’ll be concentrating on the high quality mode for each app.
Click here to see a sample video shot with Qik's Videocamera app.
Click here to see a sample video shot with iVideocamera.
One feature that both apps have, and I really like, is the ability to access your videos from your computer via WiFi. If you’re on the same network, you can type an IP address into your browser and download your videos onto your desktop.
The iVideocamera option allows you to preview the clip in your browser, while the Qik version does not. However, the Qik version is on by default (and stays on), but the iVideocamera version has to be turned on, and then must be disconnected before you can return to the app.
Qik’s app has a cool, although possibly gimmicky, feature that allows you to add effects to the videos you shoot. You can shoot in black and white, black and white with red highlights, add horizontal and vertical mirroring, or choose an effect that changes the color of objects. Although in a test shooting a red fire hydrant, the Black and white with red effect was only partially successful.
Qik’s app also has on-screen brightness and zoom controls, which is another feature that iVideocamera doesn’t have. The zoom function is basically a number of pre set zoom levels, so if you’re using it during filming, you’ll see a noticeable jump to the zoom level, rather than a smooth zoom.
Both apps allow you to export your videos to your iPhone’s camera roll as well as send them to email. The iVideocamera app also gives you options to share via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo, TwelveSeconds, as well as FTP transfer.
Both apps also allow you to shoot in vertical or horizontal mode.
If you’ve got an older iPhone, and you’re dying to have the ability to shoot video, go with the Qik Videocamera app. But note that this app is different than the normal Qik app that lets you stream video to the web in real-time.
The Qik Videocamera app beats out iVideoCamera in price and quality. Qik also seems to have a smaller file size than iVideoCamera. A 19-second Qix video came in at 2.2 mb and a 21-second iVideoCamera video came in at 5.4 mb.
If the need to share your vids to social networks from the app itself is greater than the need for quality, I’d go with iVideocamera.
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