The simplest way to record video onto your computer's hard drive is to use a digital camcorder which uses a hard drive, or SD flash memory since the file is already on the camcorder's drive, so all you have to do is plug in your camcorder to your computer with a USB cable, or take out the SD card to copy the video file on to your computer's hard drive, and the video is ready to be watched on your PC.
Flip HD portable camcorders, or other types of portable camcorders can also record video pretty well for Youtube and online video sites, but they has less features like long-range zoom which the bigger and more expensive camcorders have. However, if you just need a camera for recording short video clips under 120 minutes and of simple things then the Flip camcorders can be good enough for your needs. Some digital cameras also have a video mode. But from my experience with inexpensive digital cameras, the video quality is usually poor because the audio and video are very bad. Plus, the frame rate is not very good, so digital cameras are not very good for sporting events, and recording fast moving video. Digital Cameras are also bulky for the good quality ones, and they are not very comfortable for a long time since they don't have an hand band like real camcorders, or they don't fit your hand very well compared to portable HD camcorders.
Flip HD portable camcorders, or other types of portable camcorders can also record video pretty well for Youtube and online video sites, but they has less features like long-range zoom which the bigger and more expensive camcorders have. However, if you just need a camera for recording short video clips under 120 minutes and of simple things then the Flip camcorders can be good enough for your needs. Some digital cameras also have a video mode. But from my experience with inexpensive digital cameras, the video quality is usually poor because the audio and video are very bad. Plus, the frame rate is not very good, so digital cameras are not very good for sporting events, and recording fast moving video. Digital Cameras are also bulky for the good quality ones, and they are not very comfortable for a long time since they don't have an hand band like real camcorders, or they don't fit your hand very well compared to portable HD camcorders.
