Using your mobile phone How to record video on your mobile phone
Recording video on your mobile phone is usually done by setting your handset to camera mode and then switching from still-photo to video mode.
There's usually a fairly obvious way of doing this, either on-screen or from the main camera menu - look for an icon symbolising either a movie camera or a frame of celluloid film.
Starting and stopping video recording is more often than not a question of pressing the Enter button on the phone's main keypad, though if there's a dedicated photo-shutter button on the phone this may work too.
Which? tests hundreds of mobile phones a year and rates each phone by features including the quality of video recording. Check out our detailed mobile phone reviews.
Saving video on your mobile phone
Your camera phone may automatically save your video as soon as you stop recording. If it doesn't, check the main menu for a save option.
Video uses up even more memory than still photos, so you should definitely consider a memory card if you're planning on recording a lot of moving pictures.
HD video recording
Recently there's been a big leap forward in the quality of video recorders available in mobile phones and HD (high definition) cameras are now appearing in top-end smartphones. Phones such as the Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC Desire HD are capable of recording video at 720p resolution, while the Samsung Galaxy S II can record at full 1080p HD quality.
HD video takes a lot of processing power to record or watch and a large amount of memory to store. This means you will only find it in the most expensive handsets, and if you want to record a lot of video you will need to keep a lot of memory spare to store it.
Sharing video on your mobile phone
Video messaging
Most mobile networks offer a video-messaging service, which works like a video version of picture messaging, and is usually called Multimedia Messaging (MMS). After you have recorded a clip, there should be a Send shortcut available. If not, navigate to where your video is saved, select your clip and choose Send from there.
As with photo messages, network providers usually charge extra for sending video messages. Remember, MMS is often not included in any text message bundles you may have signed up for, so check your contract to know what you're being charged. Also, the recipient's phone will need to be capable of both receiving multimedia messages and playing back video.
Emailing video
If you have set up an email account on your mobile phone you'll be able to send your video this way too.
Again, depending on the data plan you have with your network, there may be additional costs involved. But if your phone is connected to the internet via your wireless connection then email should be a cheaper way of sending video messages than MMS. See our advice on the different ways you can connect your mobile phone to the internet for more information.
Regular mobile phone video clips tend to look pretty bad when blown up to full TV screen size, so we don't recommend using your phone to create a DVD movie.
Uploading a video to YouTube
Instead, one way to ensure your friends and family can all see something is to upload it to a video-sharing website such as YouTube.
To upload a video from your phone to YouTube you first need to create a new account on the YouTube site. If your phone can connect to the internet, you can log then onto YouTube via your mobile phone's web browser, access your account, and upload your video directly from your phone.
For Android and iPhone users, an even easier way to do this is via the YouTube application, which should be pre-installed on your phone. If not, you can search for it on your app store.
If your phone is not connected to the internet, then first you will have to transfer the video from your phone to a connected PC (see below).
Uploading video to your computer
Physically transferring video clips from your phone to your computer requires either a wired (USB) connection or a wireless (Bluetooth) link. If you use a memory card in your phone, you may also be able to transfer your clips by inserting the card into your computer.
Editing video on your mobile phone
If you have an iPhone there are some quite powerful video editing applications available to you.
Probably the best known is iMovie, which lets you add effects to recorded video and cut different clips together, via a very simple and easy-to-use interface. Just search for iMovie on Apple's App Store to download it.
A slightly more in-depth video editing app is ReelDirector, which gives you a lot more options when it comes to manipulating your videos, but is slightly less user friendly.
Of course, if you're planning on editing long videos, then you're probably better off uploading your clip and editing it on a desktop PC or Mac.
