For all their popularity, video cameras are a pain to use, especially on the spur of the moment. Most require a supply of tapes, and the discipline to have expensive, charged batteries at the ready. For casual users, video cameras are also intimidating, filled with buttons and controls whose purpose isn’t always obvious.

Not only that, but it’s a challenge figuring out how to transfer your videos to a computer, for editing and sharing with others. And the price tags on most camcorders, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, don’t help.

But what if somebody invented a dead-simple, point-and-shoot video camera — the video equivalent of a point-and-shoot digital still camera? What if it had only a few simple buttons; didn’t require tapes; used standard AA batteries; and cost under $150? And what if it had the built-in ability to easily transfer your videos to a computer, and an easy way to convert them into a DVD?

Well, a small company has invented just such a video camera, and we’ve been testing it. It’s a radical new design, unlike any other video camera we’ve tested, and has the potential to expand the video-camera market to people who, until now, have been reluctant to use one, or to use one very often. Not only that, but this simple, low-priced new design is due to spread by the end of this year, because it has been licensed to several big-name camera makers, who plan their own versions.

The Point & Shoot Video Camcorder by Pure Digital Technologies; $129.99

Over the past few weeks, we’ve enjoyed trying out the new $130 Pure Digital Point & Shoot Video Camcorder by Pure Digital Technologies Inc. This device, which came out Monday and is being sold at Target stores, aims to be stunningly simple to use and works with a built-in software program that makes it easy for you to email condensed footage or save videos to your computer.

Our verdict: The Point & Shoot lived up to its billing. It was a no-brainer to use and produce video clips that, while not as good as those from a high-end camcorder, were good enough to preserve family memories. This camera has some limitations, but they were more than canceled out by its simplicity and its readiness for spur-of-the-moment shooting. Both we, and our families, were very satisfied with the results.

The camera’s internal memory, which replaces old-fashioned tape, can hold 30 minutes of footage, whether continuous or broken up into smaller segments. And its software for viewing and sharing videos on a computer is embedded right in the camera, along with a USB connector. So no cables, or installation CDs, are needed.

You can also take the camcorder to stores like Rite Aid or CVS, where for about $10 they’ll copy the footage off of the camcorder and make a DVD, complete with menus, that’s playable on most DVD players and computers.

We put the Point & Shoot through its paces at two religious occasions — family celebrations of Easter and Passover — and at a near-religious occasion: the Boston Red Sox 2006 home opener at historic Fenway Park. We also used it to record highlights from a surprise 30th anniversary party.

The biggest competitor for the Point & Shoot may not be costly, complex camcorders, but cheaper digital still cameras that also can shoot video. But, on these cameras, the video files suck up a lot of storage space and battery capacity that might otherwise be devoted to photos. And though these files can be copied onto a computer rather easily, most people don’t know how to do anything more with the footage. Pure Digital’s software walks users through emailing and saving video, eliminating the guesswork.

The Point & Shoot Video Camcorder is white and measures the same size as a disposable drugstore camera, but is designed to be held vertically. Its back side includes Play, Delete, Power, and Record buttons, as well as a 1.4-inch color viewing screen and four directional buttons (arrows pointing up, down, left and right). In our tests, we used the small screen to play back footage instantly after recording, which was a real treat for everyone who watched the videos.

Up to 98 clips can be captured in the Point & Shoot’s 30-minute recording period. After turning the camera on with the Power button, we only had to press the red Record button to start taping. In the top left corner of the screen, numbers flashed showing how much time had elapsed. The up and down arrows work as zoom buttons for the camera’s slight 2x digital zoom, and pressing record again stopped filming, ending a segment.

Two AA batteries come included in the camcorder, and the company estimates these will last for about 140-160 minutes.

The Point & Shoot might produce shaky footage for users who have an unsteady hand, as it doesn’t have an optical viewfinder or eyepiece. Another downside that we noticed is the microphone. Though it’s positioned on the front side of the camcorder, it sometimes struggled to pick up softer sounds. But it did work.

The lens is very basic, and limited. For instance, at Fenway Park, from our position halfway up in the stands, videos of players on the field were fuzzy. But Pure Digital has licensed the guts of the camera to some prominent electronics brands, including RCA, which plan a range of models with better lenses, greater memory and other features.

After taking videos on various trips, we returned to the office and plugged our Point & Shoot Video Camcorders into Windows and Mac computers. A small, hidden USB plug pops out from the side of the camcorder, eliminating the need for cables. On our Dell Windows PC, Pure Digital’s software automatically appeared when we attached the camcorder.

The first screen that we saw was labeled Browse All Videos, and it showed four tiny snapshots of the beginning scenes of the first four videos on our camcorder. You can also sort videos by date before viewing them. Below each video, the date and duration of the clip were listed, as well as options for watching the clip in a small format right on that screen, or in a larger format on a different screen.

To the left, four options were listed: Save Videos, Email Videos, Delete Videos and Make Movie. The software was as straightforward as the camera itself; we only had to select a video and choose the correct command on the left before executing it. After we saved six clips of Katie’s family celebrating Easter together in Boston, they were automatically copied to a folder on our desktop labeled “Point & Shoot Videos,” and were organized within this folder according to the date they were saved. The Make Movie option instructed us to select clips, and then press Make Movie — combining those clips into one continuous video.

When we selected a video clip and chose Email Videos, the Pure Digital software program gave us two options: create a smaller video file and attach it to an email in our default program, or create a smaller video file to store in our Point & Shoot Videos folder for emailing later with any email program. Most people wouldn’t know the first thing about making a video file smaller, so this program truly is helpful.

This process is clumsier on a Mac, because you have to install the software first — it doesn’t run automatically from the camera. Also, saving the files on the Mac for use in other software required converting them to another format or running a special program. The company pledges to fix these Mac issues later in the year.

We also took one of our camcorders to a CVS drugstore near our office, and an hour and $13 later, we got it back with a DVD of its footage. Since Pure Digital also makes other products, including a one-time-use digital camera and a one-time-use camcorder, we had to make sure the CVS employee knew we wanted our camera back with the DVD.

The DVD played on a cheap DVD player attached to a TV at the office, as well as on both Windows and Mac computers, without a problem. The DVD comes with the Pure Digital software on it so if it’s given to someone else, he or she would be able to email or save the video files.

An included cable can connect your camcorder to any nearby television, playing back footage right away on a larger screen.

Surely, you could spend a lot more money for a camcorder with better features, such as improved zoom and focusing capabilities. But when it comes right down to it, the Pure Digital Point & Shoot Video Camcorder’s quality is remarkable for how small and simple the device is. If you’re looking for a basic video camcorder that you can throw in a purse or briefcase for any occasion, this device is perfect. The camcorder and its built-in software program make sense to normal users.

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

But what about shooting videos? Camcorders are even more expensive and bulkier to lug around than still cameras. And the videos they take are difficult to import into computers for emailing, editing or recording to DVDs. You can make short videos with smaller, cheaper digital still cameras, but they are often limited to a few minutes in length, either because of functional limitations or lack of room on memory cards.

What if you could just pick up a cheap, disposable video camera when the movie-making urge hit you? And what if your local drugstore could quickly turn the videos you took with this camera into a DVD that could play back on any set-top DVD player and be popped into a computer so you could save or email your videos?

The $29.99 CVS One-Time-Use Video Camcorder from Pure Digital Technologies records 20 minutes of video and is processed onto a DVD for $12.99.

Well, starting today, you’ll be able to do that. A small San Francisco company, Pure Digital Technologies, has invented just such a pocket-size, one-time-use camcorder, complete with an LCD screen. And a huge drugstore chain, CVS, based in Woonsocket, R.I., will be selling them and processing the recorded videos into DVDs.

This week, my assistant Katie Boehret and I tested this $29.99 CVS One-Time-Use Video Camcorder. The camcorder, which resembles a larger, fatter iPod, is meant to be used only once before you return it to a CVS for DVD-conversion processing, which takes an hour and costs $12.99. It can capture 20 minutes of video, perfect for a birthday party, sports event or visit to a tourist attraction.

Because we tested the camera before its public release, we couldn’t try out the processing end of the deal. Our videos were processed directly by Pure Digital and shipped back to us overnight. So we focused on the camera itself — how easy it was to use and how good the videos were.

Our verdict: This first one-time-use camcorder is extremely convenient, rugged and easy to use. The DVDs it creates also worked well on DVD players and on Windows and Macintosh computers, and it was a cinch to share them via email.

But the quality of the videos the camera creates was nothing to write home about. Outdoor scenes were acceptable, but the indoor shots we took, in variable lighting, were sometimes grainy, especially when viewed on a TV screen. And the sound quality was often poor. We wouldn’t want to record any once-in-a-lifetime moments on this product.

The One-Time-Use Video Camcorder lacks a few things that even low-end camcorders usually have. It has no optical viewfinder, so this camcorder depends solely on its 1.4-inch color screen for capturing and reviewing footage. There’s no light to brighten dark, indoor shoots. And the only zoom you’ll find on this camera consists of your arm, moving the camera closer to the subject.

The 20-minute limit might also be a problem for some amateur videographers, though that’s often plenty of time to shoot all of the scenes of Old Faithful, a ball game, or a party that anyone will want to see.

But this camcorder is truly simple to use. It’s designed to be held vertically, and has just four simple buttons below its bright viewing screen: Record, Playback, Delete and On/Off. After turning the camera on, we simply pressed Record to start filming, then pressed it again to stop. An on-screen message told us how much time we had left and how many video clips we had already captured.

Katie and I had a lot of fun wandering our office and downtown Washington, D.C. — each of us armed with a camcorder. We got plenty of strange looks from passersby. Some were creeped out, but most were just shocked to learn that our small gadget was a camcorder, especially when we told them that it was disposable. We used our camcorders outdoors and indoors — in offices, hotel lobbies, parks, street corners, coffee shops, bars and restaurants.

The camcorder’s viewing screen is colorful and clear. Audio is captured through a microphone on the device’s front side and played back on a small speaker underneath the viewing screen on the back side. You can delete only your last recording, so if you make six videos, you won’t be able to go back to the fifth to delete it should you run out of room. This might be a pain if you record nonsense on your first few videos and then want to use the camcorder for something worthwhile later.

Once processed, these videos are returned to you on one DVD. This DVD can be inserted into your Mac or Windows computer or your television’s DVD player for viewing.

If you play the disc on a DVD player (a TV-set player or a computer with a built-in DVD player), the videos play in a high-resolution format called MPEG 2. A main menu displays thumbnail images of each video clip, and we easily selected the videos that we wanted to watch and played them.

Overall, the image quality looked pretty grainy, especially compared with a regular DVD. Some images, especially those shot indoors, were too dark and shadowy. And the sound quality of our subjects’ voices was often rather poor, though our own voices were easily heard because we were speaking so close to the camera.

If you slip the disc into a Windows computer, a collection of the videos appears on screen, much like on a regular DVD player; you can also opt to view the footage by date. With a Mac, you must first install the program from the disc before viewing videos. Otherwise, the software is identical on both types of computers.

You can watch these video clips in small or large format. Three options are offered to the left of the images screen: “Email Videos,” “Save Videos” and “Make Movie.” When we emailed videos to each other and friends, we could choose to email one video, one video in a greeting card format or multiple videos. This process was stunningly simple, and it took only a few minutes to send each email, depending on the size of the video.

The recipients of these emails don’t get the whole, space-hogging video. Instead, they get a link to a copy of your video that has been uploaded to a Pure Digital server on the Internet. They can play the video or download it.

We also selected “Save Videos,” a category that offers to save the clips for emailing (in WMV format) or for viewing and editing (in a lower-quality format called MPEG 1). Even if these techie format names mean nothing to you, navigating is still easy because of brief explanations throughout the program.

The “Make Movie” section was slightly deceiving — it just allowed us to string multiple videos together to play in sequence. You can’t save this collection as a single file, just view it. And the DVD has no editing software. You’ll have to obtain your own.

Still, for people who can’t afford a real camcorder or don’t want the hassle of carrying one around, the CVS One-Time-Use Video Camcorder makes sense. It’s well designed and does the job. Just don’t count on great results indoors.

With reporting by Katherine Boehret

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com