Testing out the 720p Video Recording on the BlackBerry Bold 9900!

By Kevin Michaluk on 10 Aug 2011 09:15 pm

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

WooHoo! With my purchase yesterday of a BlackBerry Bold 9900, I finally have video recording capabilities on a BlackBerry Smartphone that I'm actually going to want to take advantage of on a regular basis. Above you'll find the first video I recorded on my new Bold, which records in 720p HD at 1280x720 resolution. Once recorded, I uploaded the video straight to our youtube.com/crackberrydotcom account directly from the device (no editing).

As you'll see, RIM did good here. The video quality is really clear in my opinion as is the sound quality (if anything the sound pickup was better than I expected - I was talking pretty darn loud as I figured I'd have to, but when talking normally the sound came through smooth). Like any mobile phone, if you're shaky the video will be shaky, and you get a good sense of how the recording works both ways in this video. I was a little shaky at the start, then things got steadier when I handed the camera of - but NOTE... I did not have Image Stabalization turned on for this video, so turning it on should further smooth things out (we'll do some more followup vids soon).

As for the contents of the video... this one came a bit out of nowhere. CrackBerry member deRusset tracked me down this evening to take a photo of me for the CrackBerry GooseChase, so we grabbed some dinner and talked about our newly acquired Bold 9900's (CrackBerry Review currently a work in progress...stay tuned!). The other person who joined in for dinner is Remik Szul. who is a founding member of the original Crack Team and proud owner of user id #2 on CrackBerry. Both deRusset and I agree we're skinnier in real life than the video shows, but other than that, it's looking the video camera on these new BlackBerry 7 Smartphones are going to get a lot of use!

Topics: BlackBerry Bold 9900 BlackBerry Bold 9930 News & Rumors Devices

Kevin Michaluk 3682 (articles) 3022 (forum posts)

53 comments

Abrante Aug 10, 2011 at 9:25 pm

1st,

Looks good!

gord888 Aug 10, 2011 at 9:17 pm

did you turn on stability control? the video seems a little shakey... or was that from the chicken?

beemir Aug 10, 2011 at 9:51 pm

haha that's the chicken doing the chicken dance in him lol. as for constructive feedback, the video does look pretty good. i'm so sold on this phone already. i can't wait!

vx1 Aug 10, 2011 at 9:21 pm

lol very nice quality :) clean and sharp

he was doing the shakey chicken .. seriously though I like the quality
its cool , you should do some more video tests with zoom and stuff like that

espitia Aug 10, 2011 at 9:21 pm

RIM should add the functuanilty of BBM to their WHOLE phone experience. I'm talking being able to share through BBM while on the browser, while taking pictures, everything should be BBM not just the new BBM enabled apps. THIS IS INNOVATION, THIS IS WHAT BB NEEDS. ..ps.. fck iphones. HAHA!

jussimple Aug 10, 2011 at 9:24 pm

Kevin, the quality was outstanding. If it wasn't for the reflection shot I would of claimed shenanigans! Would really like to know if the stability enhancer was on.

Kevin Michaluk Aug 10, 2011 at 9:29 pm

Image Stabilization was NOT turned on... and it was just in Auto mode.

Those are the defaults that it ships with.. so thought that was a good test. Will have to do some follow up tests that show it off with different settings.

jussimple Aug 10, 2011 at 9:43 pm

Auto, huh, that makes it even more impressive. The device was compensating for all the variables on its own. Well, we'll be waiting to see what else "Gretzky" can do. Thanks for the input!

Abrante Aug 10, 2011 at 9:48 pm

with that said

:: very impressed ::

Michelle Haag Aug 10, 2011 at 9:28 pm

Haaaaa love it.
I think it was shaky because Kevin is hopped up on fried chicken. Not that there's anything wrong with that. :P

jdaclutch Aug 10, 2011 at 9:37 pm

Hey Kevin, can you shoot some pictures with it and post them here on the front page? People seem to concern about the non-af camera performance. Thanks in advance.

yoga.flame Aug 10, 2011 at 9:43 pm

Bikers wearing helmets? Come on, Canada...

pfluger Aug 10, 2011 at 9:45 pm

Change media card without taking out the battery? I can't on mine?

z_scorpio_z Aug 11, 2011 at 3:55 am

9630/9650 i can

Houshinto Aug 11, 2011 at 12:14 pm

Here here! If I had to do a battery pull every time I swapped media cards....

coolcut Aug 11, 2011 at 9:18 am

Aww, really!? I was sooo happy to hear this :(

CrackMachine Aug 10, 2011 at 9:52 pm

Need a tripod for this beauty in the Crackberry store!..and stay away from the Tat Parlor (never know what "Rimpire Strikes Back" would look like on a 90 year old Kevim!

jfs101 Aug 10, 2011 at 9:57 pm

Looks good, upload a nightime video to see if its the grain fest that the Playbook is in low light.

Abrante Aug 10, 2011 at 10:16 pm

Even traditional cameras suffer from high noise (grain) levels in less than ideal lighting. Considering that mid to higher end cameras $1500+ still have grain issues at high ISO, I wouldn't get my hopes up in expecting a phone based camera to address that. Just saying :o)

jfs101 Aug 10, 2011 at 11:25 pm

You're right... I should've stated indoors, thats what I actually had in mind but blurted night time instead...

schlemer Aug 10, 2011 at 9:59 pm

Wow, Kevin is in his full glory. I'm actually sharing his sentiment. Can't wait 'till these new BBs hit the US. I will be retiring my Storm 2 for either a Bold or Torch 2. Maybe even a Playbook to make the cycle complete.

indie_user Aug 10, 2011 at 10:08 pm

1:00 men & black are spying!!

adrenaline_x Aug 10, 2011 at 10:11 pm

Chicken Chef On marion :)

Good eats even if the place feels a bit run down.

AshDeezy Aug 10, 2011 at 10:48 pm

Chicken Chef! I have never heard of that place before in my life...maybe because I haven't been to Canada since I was 2.

So is it a chef that cooks chicken? Or is it a chicken that is a chef?

adrenaline_x Aug 10, 2011 at 10:12 pm

Also, I want a rimpire strikes back shirt.

UnknownError507 Aug 11, 2011 at 12:01 am

me to !

Jimcmf Aug 10, 2011 at 10:14 pm

Winnipeg looks beautiful.
Great video ..... shoots like a real video camera.
Sound is excellent as well.
Seems like a great superphone.

Jim

DaNomadicOne Aug 10, 2011 at 10:31 pm

The sound were superb as you can hear all the little details of the motorcycles to the footsteps when the guy walked around his back. I am totally sold and can't wait for it to land on Tmobile...I am on verizon but i want the UMA and wonder is it supported on the 9900.

Abrante Aug 10, 2011 at 10:35 pm

The two previous Bold models 9700/9780 on T-mobile support UMA, so I am expecting it to continue on with the 9900. If you're thinking of switching over to T-mo welcome to the club :o)

DaNomadicOne Aug 10, 2011 at 11:08 pm

Thanks, i will certainly be onboard with your family when it lands at t-mobile. I so eager to wait for the QNX but this 9900 got me giggly like a school chick...lol

theonick Aug 10, 2011 at 10:20 pm

DAMN ! i loved it.

GoldlexusAN Aug 10, 2011 at 10:33 pm

Ahead of the game if the sound quality is better than my 9700! On my 9700 the video is ok but the sound is VERY low so I never use my phone to record any video. It will be nice to have that option when I get the 9900 especially now that I see the sound isn't low and vid. qaulity is as nice as it is. I may have to say goodbye to my Flip cam.

dcgore Aug 10, 2011 at 10:40 pm

real good. Yay blackberry!

johnmarki Aug 10, 2011 at 10:58 pm

WOW! That video quality is making me even more anxious.

feek Aug 10, 2011 at 11:07 pm

another reason to buy this baby :)

WillieLee Aug 10, 2011 at 11:17 pm

All the badass bikers eat at Chicken Chef.

Jake Storm Aug 11, 2011 at 12:06 am

It's the French part of town.

leilani_J Aug 10, 2011 at 11:45 pm

Nice quality.

And Kev, you talk loud (normally) anyway. haha. It's all good though. Your enthusiasm is the best.

the brother Aug 11, 2011 at 12:28 am

Chicken & tattoos...what a combo! oh and a blackberry for dessert :)

Takhis Aug 11, 2011 at 12:31 am

Even better than the quality of the video I'm kind of impressed with the quality of the audio even if it was windy and there were a couple of cars passing by.

Something curious i noticed, at 1:07 both the guy in the blue shirt and one of the guys driving the motorcycles started simultaneously to unclip something (blue shirt the BB9900 NFC battery door and the biker his helmet) and both managed to release what they were opening at the exact same moment 1:08 almost 1:09. Is not important but it caught my eye :P

RIMpire please keep striking like this and we will conquer the universe soon!

jwn66 Aug 11, 2011 at 12:48 am

Wow.

nk416 Aug 11, 2011 at 7:29 am

Nice Panerai Kevin!

Delil Aug 11, 2011 at 7:33 am

The image looks sharp to me and sound quality is actually pretty good. RIM made a decent phone here.
I'm really confused now on what to get.

I owned a Curve 8310, a Storm 9500 and currently own a Torch 9800.

I need an EUREKA - moment here

Crackberrykills Aug 11, 2011 at 7:52 am

DeRusset always reminded me of Steve Carell for some reason. Now, after this video, he reminds me of Colin Quinn playing Robert De Niro on the Joe Pesci show. lol. Anyhoo, the video was superb even with the shakes. Cannot wait for the full twenty eight page review now.

lang007 Aug 11, 2011 at 9:49 am

Nice

stevedee Aug 11, 2011 at 10:30 am

ya coulda done some tourist promos for the Jets by meeting near the MTS Centre. Good vid, though, it handled the sun/shadow contrast really well for a cellphone cam.

I won't be doing any of this my next trip to the 'peg is sched for Jan!

Curve 8330 CDMA (eww, I know, u/g to Torch soon!)
Winner of EA Mobile SE Playbook - rockin' it!

djfawbz Aug 11, 2011 at 10:47 am

Video quality is A-mazing & I must agree, typing on this thing is a dream!!! =D