Pocket HD camcorders
Lori Grunin
Senior editor June 1, 2010 (updated on: September 20, 2010)
One price class up from their dirt-cheap siblings, these mini camcorders basically do the same thing--quickly shoot and upload your life's most embarrassing, amusing, or engaging moments--except in HD. Like their kin, the software necessary for playback and upload comes loaded on the devices so that you can share your masterpieces from any machine, though they don't all operate so ideally on Macs.
Their advantage lies in the compact designs, ease of use, and low, low prices. Though some come in full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel models, playing and editing that high-resolution video takes knowledge and horsepower that's at odds with the simplicity and affordability of these camcorders. Furthermore, there's a lot more to HD video than simply resolution; decent HD video requires much better lenses than these little guys can incorporate, more sophisticated image-processing capabilities than their low-power chips can support, and bigger sensors than they can fit. They also face competition from digital still cameras that capture solid-but-more-upload-friendly 1,280x720-pixel-resolution video, with the bonus of zoom lenses.
| Product name | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $115.97 to $119.99 | Check Prices | $144.99 | $78.95 to $182.99 | Check Prices | $219.89 |
| CNET editors' rating | ||||||
| Average user rating |  | |
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| Release date | October 13, 2009 | September 01, 2009 | ||||
| The Bottom Line | The Flip Video SlideHD is a tough sell unless you really want a larger screen for viewing and sharing videos on the go. | The Flip UltraHD 2 Hour is a solid update to an excellent mini camcorder, while staying as simple to use as the original. | Still one of the nicest models available, the second-generation Flip MinoHD offers a slightly improved design, double the memory, and an HDMI output for the same price that the original MinoHD used to cost. | The Kodak Playsport is an excellent minicamcorder that can take some rough treatment and capture solid HD video. | With the Zi8, Kodak finally surpasses Flip Video's video quality and feature set. | Sony gains ground against the minicamcorder competition with the Bloggie MHS-PM5, but its software and overall video quality keep it from moving ahead. |
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| Features | ||||||
| Lens aperture | F/2.4 | F/2.4 | F/2.4 | F/2.8 | F/2.8 | F/3.6 |
| Media type | Info unavailable | Internal flash memory | Flash card | Flash card | Flash card | Flash card |
| Video input type | Info unavailable | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder |
| Digital zoom | 2 | 2 x | 2 | Info unavailable | 4 x | 4 x |
| Battery technology | Lithium ion | Info unavailable | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion |
| Manual focus | Info unavailable | Focus free | Focus free | Focus free | Focus free | Focus free |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Buying choices | | | | | ||
I have always loved the flip Ultra HD
The color and clarity was its trade mark over the rest
I just received the new flip 3rd generation Did you try in indoors at all
Have you reviewd the color clarity and video Its awful
The sold out for creature features and gave the video away
The new Flip is a flop I sent it back already
Would you do a review in the video and not just the features
Using thi indoors is non exisitant now Try it
The old flip has much better color and clarity
Image stabilizarion and the faster video has killed the video
so whats the point
Try it and you will see do a video review
Also once its transfered to you tube its even worse
Sorry but I used this thing for a week side by side to my old flip
with a tripod who cares I would rather have better video then all the gadgets
Many others are already compaining
do you think firmware can correct this
Flip wont answer me'By the way I love flip
Very dissapointed in this product
TB
I wish CNET would take a look at it!
http://www.minicamcordersblog.com/mini-camcorders/waterproof-shockproof-sandproof-the-samsung-w200-hd-mini-camcorder
You can get a full sized Canon camcorder for cheaper. I realize that doesn't help you if you're looking for something more portable like a pocket camera, but I find it hard to believe the image quality from that thing would be worth $500.
http://pocket-camcorder.toptenreviews.com/