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| 1. Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $199.00 -- our price: $179.00 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0040702HA Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 3 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is a powerful, easy-to-use, fairly cheap video camera; it records @ 1280 x 720, 60 FPS, and can hold about two full hours of video at that capacity. It fits neatly in a shirt pocket and is pretty much ideal for recording anything that doesn't need to be professionally produced film, from home movies to recording interviews. It comes packaged with a basic editing program that's designed to make it as easy as possible to produce basic home movies and post them to the web.
So far as that goes, it's a great camera, especially at the price. The only real problem with it is that the overall interface is fairly dumbed down -- for the sake of ease of use, they've traded away a *lot* of functionality. For example, it's easy to view the clips you've just recorded in the viewfinder, but you can't "fast forward" or "rewind" to a specific frame when you're not actively playing back videos, because there's only one set of "forward" and "reverse" buttons, and they also fill the "skip to next/previous clip" functions. Similarly, the editing software is clean and easy to use, but lacks a lot of options. It's fairly easy to take a chunk of video, yank out a selection of favorite clips, and string them together into a movie, and maybe even put a title on the front and credits at the end, but anything more complicated than that ain't happening without third-party editing software. Perhaps most critical is the lack of a "resize" feature -- because this camera records at such a high resolution, even fairly short videos taken with it can quickly reach prohibitively high file sizes (two minutes of video from this camera took me approximately two hours to upload to YouTube, over a DSL connection). All that's an issue because it seems, to me at least, that the only reason to purchase a dedicated video camera, in an era when everyone and their brother's cellphone already has video recording capability, is if you're at minimum a dedicated hobbyist. And if you're such a dedicated hobbyist, I would suspect that you'd want more bells and whistles (like focus and exposure controls, or better bundled editing software) than this thing has. What it does, it does great, I'm just having a hard time figuring out who the expected market is for this -- it records in higher resolution and better FPS than anyone who wants a casual camera for posting web videos really needs, and it lacks the advanced features that would make it appealing to dedicated hobbyists. The two-hour recording time and easy portability might make it very useful for people who want to record interviews or meetings, but archiving those recordings would be prohibitively difficult without, again, 3rd-party editing tools, due to the massive file size of the recordings this thing generates. The camera's best feature is probably the image stabilization, which works very well -- indeed, so well that I forgot about it, and just waved the camera around without even worrying about image shake at all. Because of that, this camera might be ideal for hobbyists who already have a full suite of editing software and are looking to shoot in uncontrolled conditions without a tripod. The video to the left is an example of the sort of thing it's fairly easy to turn out with this camera -- you can see how it deals fairly well with indoor lighting conditions, has good color, etc., and you can see the "image stabilization" at work. I should note, however, that I did make two changes to this video using third-party software -- I reduced its resolution from 1280 x 720 to 640 x 360 and converted it to a .wmv file so that it would fit within Amazon's file size & format requirements for video reviews.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I wavered between giving this three or four stars, but settled on four because it delivers what it promises in spades: EASY to use, high quality video recording in a small package. If I could, I would give a 3.5. There's a BIG "but" though:
The caveat here is that this is now a single-purpose, niche product, whose single purpose can be found on a number of different devices, from DSLR's, to point and shoot cameras, to smartphones (and probably non smart phones). You would be hard pressed to find even the lowliest point and shoot digital camera that doesn't record 720p video these days. The one differentiator here is that this Flip shoots video at 60 frames per second, which is great if you are mostly going to be shooting outdoors, in bright light (because you SHOULD get smoother looking action, although most people can't see the difference). But it can actually be a disadvantage (vs the more standard 24 or 30fps) when shooting in lower light situations. I found this to be true as I compared several gadgets of mine (iPhone 4, Canon S95 digital camera, Canon HV30 HD camcorder), shooting the same indoors scene. Just hard to recommend that anyone buy this today, knowing that almost every digicam on the market does 720p video now (and several of the new gen point and shoots do 1080p!) I shot the same scene (outdoors, but in very cloudy conditions) with my iPhone 4 and the Flip. The iPhone's video was slightly less contrasty, and a little more shaky looking due to no optical image stabilization like the Flip has. BUT at least I could focus on certain areas with the iPhone. With the Flip, I have no way to focus on a particular object, which is tough. I would bet MOST people would not be able to tell much of a difference in the picture quality between the two (unless you were watching them side by side, and even then, was difficult to determine a clear winner) When these Flips first came out, they were a standout product because video in digicams was horrible at that time, and either nonexistent or poor on cel phones, but times have changed. For $200,today, you can buy an iPhone 4, or a point and shoot Sony digicam with a CMOS, low light sensor, that will shoot better video, plus you get the primary functions of those devices to boot. The video is just gravy. PROS: - Svelte, easy to carry and handle, outside black soft touch material very nice - Good to very good video quality - SO easy to use and hook up to another device for viewing the results. - optical image stabilization works surprisingly well considering form factor, weight and small size of the Flip - 60 fps great for outdoors/good light shooting CONS: - Hard to justify price when you can get at least as good video in other devices that do more than just video - No ability to focus - I wish the lens had more protection, or even a built in lens cap/cover. Note it does include a soft case, but I mean something like you see on most camcorders these days. - Not great in low light due to 60fps recording (at least give the option to switch to something slower for low light situations?)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the first FLIP video camera I've owned, but they're so popular, I figured they must be pretty good-and I'm not disappointed!! It's easy to use, synchs easily with the computer, charges rather quickly (4 hours on USB from completely dead), and takes AWESOME HD (720p) videos! The exterior is slim and rubbery, for easy gripping. It also has a wrist strap and a hole on the bottom to mount the camera on a tripod. It turns on quickly and only has a few buttons, which make it easy to use even for someone who isn't very tech-saavy! It synchs up with the computer immediately, uploads the videos and is easy to reset. It also has an HDMI port on the bottom, so you can plug it right into your HDTV to view the videos that way. It holds 2 hours of HD movies. When you turn the camera on it tells you how much time in free space remains, and when taking a video, it tells you how long you've been recording for. It has playback with sound, which is very clear. The video quality is better than anything I've seen on something this size and the audio quality is great too!
Now for the few things about it that make it 4 stars instead of 5. First off, I don't notice ANY image stabilization - the video I included pretty much shows that even the slightest of hand shaking can really make you feel woozy. There is no lens cover, which is a little concerning since this is the type of camera you'd like to be able to just toss in your purse or pocket, but without a lens cover, I get a little nervous that I might scratch the lens. It does NOT take still pictures, which isn't a big deal, but it would be nice to be able to switch back and forth from video to still, but again, not a deal breaker given the awesome quality of the video/audio. Lastly, it charges from the USB connection, which is not bad, but if you spend $40 more you can get the charger that plugs into a port at the bottom and then into the wall and it will charge twice as fast-it's just kind of annoying b/c I use a laptop and in order to charge it via USB, I have to leave the computer sitting open. I would also like to see a USB extension cable included with this camera because it is rather painful to see this thing plugged into my computer and hanging by it's little USB "arm". Bottom line: this camera could do SO MUCH more for the price you pay, and although it does perform well, it's just not that great a deal when you consider what else is out there. For $50 more, I can get a device that is the same size, takes the same quality video, but also takes pictures, surfs the web, plays music, has wifi, bluetooth, GPS, runs apps, etc etc . . .
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| 2. Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera Bundle (Black) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $189.00 -- our price: $149.00 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B00403MGKK Manufacturer: Eastman Kodak Company Sales Rank: 38 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (Model Zx3) video camcorder was offered to me through the Amazon Vine program and, even though I already had a Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL, which I like very much (and received just last month, also through Amazon Vine), I decided to order this Kodak one so I could have a camcorder to use and my wife could have one as well.
Let me state up front that I REALLY like this little camcorder. It is small, lightweight, convenient to slip into a pocket, and it is quick and easy to use. I think its price is very good also, certainly for what you get. (Of course just about the same can be said for the Creative Vado.) That said, and now that I have both of these camcorders, I have to say that it is hard for me to decide which of them I prefer. They both have small advantages and small disadvantages in their respective feature sets. For example, the Creative Vado has a built-in (attached) flexible USB connection which makes transferring videos to a computer REALLY easy. If you wish to transfer videos via USB with the Kodak, you must use a separate USB cable (which, by the way, IS supplied with the Kodak unit, as are ALL necessary cables, such as video cables, etc.). But, as the Kodak uses a separate SDHC card (such as this Kodak High-Speed 16 GB 60x Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card KSD16GHSBNA060), transferring video is a snap merely by removing the card from the camcorder and inserting it into the SD slot on your computer (or an external card reader if your computer is an older one which has no SD slot). (Please note that I have NO experience with the video software included with either of these camcorders. My wife and I use the Ubuntu Linux operating system on our computers; thus the included software is inoperative. In any case, Linux makes transferring files so easy and intuitive, we would have no need of the software even if it did work on our computers.) Unfortunately, the Kodak does NOT come with even a small SDHC card as standard equipment. If you want one (and you can't truly use the camcorder without one), you MUST buy it separately. This obviously adds to the cost. However, a MAJOR advantage of using a card is that you can choose the size you want and you can buy and carry several should you decide to do so; if, for example, you are on a vacation and do not wish to frequently transfer the videos to your computer, it is not necessary to do so with the Kodak. You can keep the video on your card and, when it is filled, you merely insert a fresh card. (The disadvantage of using cards is, of course, the cost involved.) With the Creative, which uses a built-in memory and has no means of expansion, you MUST periodically transfer the video to your computer - but, with it, there are no additional costs involved. (Another advantage of having more than one card is, if a card somehow becomes corrupted or damaged, you merely replace it with another, spare, card.) As far as picture quality goes (and, of course, that is THE most important thing!), both of these camcorders appear to be equal in the quality of the pictures they produce, that is to say, excellent. My wife and I have been surprised and pleased with the images produced from the Creative Vado (our first camcorder) and now with this new Kodak model. The images, as viewed on a computer screen, are really fine. I can't imagine anyone complaining about their overall quality. The auto-exposure works very well with both camcorders and the sound is about what you would expect (better if you are closer to the subject). (The Creative offers the option of using an external microphone, purchased separately, which would improve the sound quality.) The Creative Vado has three picture settings, two of which produce wide-screen (16:9) movies, and the third one which produces "standard" (4:3) images. All of the Kodak's picture settings (there are four) produce wide-screen movies. The Creative creates MP4 files and the Kodak creates MOV ones; in both cases I convert them to AVI files which I much prefer (AVI files are generally smaller - with no loss of quality that I can see). The Creative has a means of adjusting the picture brightness (sensitivity); the Kodak does not but the resulting videos, taken in varying degrees of brightness (indoors, outdoors) appear equal. The Creative has one fixed LCD-brightness (viewing) setting; the Kodak has three (normal, bright, and black-and-white); the bright LCD setting makes outdoor viewing of your subject easier but does not affect the resultant video. Both have a digital zoom (of minimal usefulness) and the Kodak offers image stabilization for stills (the Creative does not). (The Kodak can also be used under water.) Based on my admittedly limited use (thus far) of both, I should repeat that the video (and still) images are about equal in quality. (I did notice that, during one "shoot" of our granddaughter inside a local supermarket and using the Creative Vado, initially the image appeared WAY too red but, within about 10 seconds or so, it had "settled down" to look more naturally color-balanced; I have not yet had the opportunity to try a similar shoot using the Kodak.) The Kodak offers 1080p images as its top quality; the Creative offers 720p. For home movies, in my opinion, the difference is minor (but I have not looked at the images on a large screen as yet; I have watched them only on my computer). The Kodak at first appears to be lower-priced than the Creative but, as I indicated above, the initial price may be deceiving. The Creative has 4GB of built-in memory (and no means of expanding it) but the Kodak, with a minimal amount of built-in memory (29 seconds of video at the smallest file setting), MUST be used with an SDHC card. This can be any size you wish, up to a claimed 32 GB; the larger the card the more it can hold but, of course, the more it will cost. I bought the 16 GB Kodak card I mention above and it holds about 4 hours if shooting at 720p or 3 hours if shooting at 1080p. (The Creative holds about 2 hours at its 720p mid-setting, which is the one I use. Its maximum quality setting is 720p HD and, at that setting, it holds about 1 hour of video.) At this point, I do not know how long the battery will last between charges on either of these camcorders (I'll report my experiences in an update) but it seems to me (just empirically) that the Creative one will last longer. In any case, I bought (for both of them) spare batteries, spare chargers, and brand-specific camera cases. In addition I bought the necessary video cables for the Creative and a remote control for the Kodak. Some of my Kodak options are still in transit - the remote is on back order - and have not yet arrived. I have all of the Creative options I ordered. (By the way, both camcorders have removable and replaceable batteries - really a rarity, and a welcome one, these days.) Both camcorders offer similar features and adjustments but those on the Kodak appear to be more straightforward to use than those on the Creative. The Kodak offers real buttons as opposed to the Creative's touch areas and the presence of those buttons makes operation easier, at least for me. (The Creative does have a menu button as well as a "delete" button on the side and an on/off button on the top; the Kodak has all the buttons on the rear [facing the operator] except for the on/off button which is on the side.) The menu options on the Kodak are more intuitive and easier to access and change than are those on the Creative but the differences are not major. I want to mention that the Creative Vado is black all around (the "controls" are indicated with silver-on-black markings - except, of course, for the white "record" button which is actually a real button!) but the Kodak, though black (or purple or blue, as you choose) on the side facing the person being photographed, is white on the side facing the user and, at least for me, this makes seeing and using the buttons somewhat easier, though this too is not major. The Kodak comes with a wrist strap (the Creative does NOT - and it should!), a feature which I like very much, though the camcorder with the strap attached fits only rather clumsily into its Kodak 1047398 Pocket Video Case. The Creative fits perfectly and easily into its Creative Labs Vado VF0570APS Pocket Video Camera Mesh Pouch (Silver) and, in it, is smaller and thinner than the Kodak in ITS case. The Creative case has a belt loop and the Kodak case has a shoulder strap. The Kodak is noticeably heavier and slightly larger than the Creative. Its instruction manual (actually there are two - one printed, which comes with the camcorder, and an "extended" user manual which you download from Kodak's web site) is excellent, much better organized, more comprehensive, and easier to use and understand than that of the Creative. When you get down to brass tacks, with the Creative Vado, the only options you REALLY need are Creative Vado A/V Cable - Video / audio cable - composite video / audio - RCA (M) - mini-phone 3.5 mm 4-pole (M) - 4.6 ft if you want to play your videos through a standard television (an HDMI cable is optional yet even Creative itself does not appear to offer one specific to this unit - nor does Amazon!) and the case. With the Kodak, you should buy the case and, of course, you NEED an SDHC card. Overall, then, despite a lower "basic" price, the Kodak is probably somewhat more expensive overall (but it does come with all necessary cables including an HDMI one). If you are cash-strapped, you need buy NO options for the Creative but you WILL need an SDHC card for the Kodak. If you were to buy a 2-to-8 GB card, the Kodak would then be less expensive overall than the Creative; the 16GB (or 32 GB) card would make the Kodak the costlier of the two. I'm still mulling over the "problem" of which to give to my wife and which to use myself. At this point, due to the ease of transferring files to a computer, I may let my wife try the Creative Vado to see if she likes its operational characteristics; she would need only to plug in the attached USB cord; there is nothing extra she need use (with the Kodak, you need to use either an external USB cord or you need to remove the SDHC card from the camcorder and insert it into the slot on your computer). But, then again, with its buttons, the Kodak is much more straightforward to use when actually taking video or pictures. Decisions, decisions! I have to say that I like them both and I highly recommend them both. If I were really "pushed" to make a choice between the two, I think I would (very) slightly favor this Kodak model partly because of its real ease-of-use (including much better instructions), its removable storage, and its option to increase the brightness of the LCD screen for better outdoor viewing in bright sunlight (however neither the Kodak nor the Creative is easy to view in very bright sunlight) but someone else might feel differently. (Due to its heft, it feels more substantial to me but that's a VERY subjective opinion.) I want to state definitely however that this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (its "official" model name is Zx3) is a fine camcorder and I believe that everyone who buys one will be as pleased with it as I am. Thank you for reading this. I hope it has been of some help to you. ========== Update: April 23, 2010 Last night I "finally" got around to projecting images taken with this camcorder onto my 110" diagonal (16:9) screen using my PT-AE4000U LCD XGA 16:9 1600 Lumens HDmi Svid 16.1LBS Hdtv. As expected (see the relevant update to my review of the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL for more details), the images produced by the Kodak (taken, by the way, at 720P, NOT its "best quality" setting 1080P) were spectacular. They had excellent and accurate colors and sharpness; the monophonic sound was fine. The next time I take video with this camcorder I'm going to try the 1080P setting though I can't imagine that it will look much better than what I saw last night! You can't go wrong with this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and, to tell the truth, the same statement applies to the Creative Vado HD. Though they are different in their attributes, their "strengths" (all major), and their "weaknesses" (all minor), I really like them both very much. I thank you again for reading this. ========== Update: July 14, 2010 Having owned this Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL and using them side-by-side, overall I now prefer the Creative one. Really, it is just as easy to use as the Kodak, its images, at 720p, appear to be as good as Kodak's 1080p images, at least on our 110" screen, and the Creative's battery lasts much, much longer. Plus my wife prefers the Creative camcorder over this Kodak (though she can give no reason for her preference; as I have stated, I like them both). I myself have experienced the "freezing" anomaly mentioned by some other reviewers, but only once. That was early in the ownership period and it has not recurred (so far!). Even though the Kodak can hold, with a 16GB SD card, much more video than the Creative, its battery runs out well before you can take even a fraction of what the card can hold. I have a spare battery for the Kodak (as well as for the Creative) and I strongly recommend that you buy one or two spares also, especially if you buy this Kodak model. With the Kodak camcorder, even with two fully-charged batteries, the batteries BOTH run out well before the card is filled. This is somewhat disappointing, even though recharging (which can be done in your home or your car) does not take too long. Not so with the Creative camcorder. The battery lasts for quite a long period of time though I haven't actually measured it. During our four and one-half cross-country trip, during which we took several hours of video with the Creative, I replaced its first battery with my (previously charged) second battery only once. While I did recharge the first battery, it was not necessary to use it. In my opinion, this is excellent performance. (Recharging the Creative's battery takes longer than recharging the Kodak's battery though the Creative's, like the Kodak's, can be charged from an AC outlet or from your car's DC 'cigarette-lighter' port.) Neither camcorder is 'perfect' but both are very, very good and. frankly, I could be happy with either. I think most people would feel the same. But, now having extensively used both camcorders, overall I too slightly prefer the Creative. (Among other things, the Creative camcorder REALLY excels in low-light situations.) Of course if underwater or foul-weather video is of even slight importance to you, this Kodak is, of its type, the only game in town. Also don't forget one of its MAJOR advantages: the ability of its LCD screen to be adjusted to enable easier viewing in bright sunlight. And the Kodak's ease of use with dedicated buttons is not to be ignored. So do not misunderstand: I think this Kodak pocket camcorder is a fine product. I merely want readers of my review (really, just my opinions) to be aware of the 'battery-life problem' I have experienced with it. As always, it's your call. Thank you for reading this and I hope it has been of some help to you.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (Model Zx3) video camcorder was offered to me through the Amazon Vine program and, even though I already had a Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL, which I like very much (and received just last month, also through Amazon Vine), I decided to order this Kodak one so I could have a camcorder to use and my wife could have one as well.
Let me state up front that I REALLY like this little camcorder. It is small, lightweight, convenient to slip into a pocket, and it is quick and easy to use. I think its price is very good also, certainly for what you get. (Of course just about the same can be said for the Creative Vado.) That said, and now that I have both of these camcorders, I have to say that it is hard for me to decide which of them I prefer. They both have small advantages and small disadvantages in their respective feature sets. For example, the Creative Vado has a built-in (attached) flexible USB connection which makes transferring videos to a computer REALLY easy. If you wish to transfer videos via USB with the Kodak, you must use a separate USB cable (which, by the way, IS supplied with the Kodak unit, as are ALL necessary cables, such as video cables, etc.). But, as the Kodak uses a separate SDHC card (such as this Kodak High-Speed 16 GB 60x Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card KSD16GHSBNA060), transferring video is a snap merely by removing the card from the camcorder and inserting it into the SD slot on your computer (or an external card reader if your computer is an older one which has no SD slot). (Please note that I have NO experience with the video software included with either of these camcorders. My wife and I use the Ubuntu Linux operating system on our computers; thus the included software is inoperative. In any case, Linux makes transferring files so easy and intuitive, we would have no need of the software even if it did work on our computers.) Unfortunately, the Kodak does NOT come with even a small SDHC card as standard equipment. If you want one (and you can't truly use the camcorder without one), you MUST buy it separately. This obviously adds to the cost. However, a MAJOR advantage of using a card is that you can choose the size you want and you can buy and carry several should you decide to do so; if, for example, you are on a vacation and do not wish to frequently transfer the videos to your computer, it is not necessary to do so with the Kodak. You can keep the video on your card and, when it is filled, you merely insert a fresh card. (The disadvantage of using cards is, of course, the cost involved.) With the Creative, which uses a built-in memory and has no means of expansion, you MUST periodically transfer the video to your computer - but, with it, there are no additional costs involved. (Another advantage of having more than one card is, if a card somehow becomes corrupted or damaged, you merely replace it with another, spare, card.) As far as picture quality goes (and, of course, that is THE most important thing!), both of these camcorders appear to be equal in the quality of the pictures they produce, that is to say, excellent. My wife and I have been surprised and pleased with the images produced from the Creative Vado (our first camcorder) and now with this new Kodak model. The images, as viewed on a computer screen, are really fine. I can't imagine anyone complaining about their overall quality. The auto-exposure works very well with both camcorders and the sound is about what you would expect (better if you are closer to the subject). (The Creative offers the option of using an external microphone, purchased separately, which would improve the sound quality.) The Creative Vado has three picture settings, two of which produce wide-screen (16:9) movies, and the third one which produces "standard" (4:3) images. All of the Kodak's picture settings (there are four) produce wide-screen movies. The Creative creates MP4 files and the Kodak creates MOV ones; in both cases I convert them to AVI files which I much prefer (AVI files are generally smaller - with no loss of quality that I can see). The Creative has a means of adjusting the picture brightness (sensitivity); the Kodak does not but the resulting videos, taken in varying degrees of brightness (indoors, outdoors) appear equal. The Creative has one fixed LCD-brightness (viewing) setting; the Kodak has three (normal, bright, and black-and-white); the bright LCD setting makes outdoor viewing of your subject easier but does not affect the resultant video. Both have a digital zoom (of minimal usefulness) and the Kodak offers image stabilization for stills (the Creative does not). (The Kodak can also be used under water.) Based on my admittedly limited use (thus far) of both, I should repeat that the video (and still) images are about equal in quality. (I did notice that, during one "shoot" of our granddaughter inside a local supermarket and using the Creative Vado, initially the image appeared WAY too red but, within about 10 seconds or so, it had "settled down" to look more naturally color-balanced; I have not yet had the opportunity to try a similar shoot using the Kodak.) The Kodak offers 1080p images as its top quality; the Creative offers 720p. For home movies, in my opinion, the difference is minor (but I have not looked at the images on a large screen as yet; I have watched them only on my computer). The Kodak at first appears to be lower-priced than the Creative but, as I indicated above, the initial price may be deceiving. The Creative has 4GB of built-in memory (and no means of expanding it) but the Kodak, with a minimal amount of built-in memory (29 seconds of video at the smallest file setting), MUST be used with an SDHC card. This can be any size you wish, up to a claimed 32 GB; the larger the card the more it can hold but, of course, the more it will cost. I bought the 16 GB Kodak card I mention above and it holds about 4 hours if shooting at 720p or 3 hours if shooting at 1080p. (The Creative holds about 2 hours at its 720p mid-setting, which is the one I use. Its maximum quality setting is 720p HD and, at that setting, it holds about 1 hour of video.) At this point, I do not know how long the battery will last between charges on either of these camcorders (I'll report my experiences in an update) but it seems to me (just empirically) that the Creative one will last longer. In any case, I bought (for both of them) spare batteries, spare chargers, and brand-specific camera cases. In addition I bought the necessary video cables for the Creative and a remote control for the Kodak. Some of my Kodak options are still in transit - the remote is on back order - and have not yet arrived. I have all of the Creative options I ordered. (By the way, both camcorders have removable and replaceable batteries - really a rarity, and a welcome one, these days.) Both camcorders offer similar features and adjustments but those on the Kodak appear to be more straightforward to use than those on the Creative. The Kodak offers real buttons as opposed to the Creative's touch areas and the presence of those buttons makes operation easier, at least for me. (The Creative does have a menu button as well as a "delete" button on the side and an on/off button on the top; the Kodak has all the buttons on the rear [facing the operator] except for the on/off button which is on the side.) The menu options on the Kodak are more intuitive and easier to access and change than are those on the Creative but the differences are not major. I want to mention that the Creative Vado is black all around (the "controls" are indicated with silver-on-black markings - except, of course, for the white "record" button which is actually a real button!) but the Kodak, though black (or purple or blue, as you choose) on the side facing the person being photographed, is white on the side facing the user and, at least for me, this makes seeing and using the buttons somewhat easier, though this too is not major. The Kodak comes with a wrist strap (the Creative does NOT - and it should!), a feature which I like very much, though the camcorder with the strap attached fits only rather clumsily into its Kodak 1047398 Pocket Video Case. The Creative fits perfectly and easily into its Creative Labs Vado VF0570APS Pocket Video Camera Mesh Pouch (Silver) and, in it, is smaller and thinner than the Kodak in ITS case. The Creative case has a belt loop and the Kodak case has a shoulder strap. The Kodak is noticeably heavier and slightly larger than the Creative. Its instruction manual (actually there are two - one printed, which comes with the camcorder, and an "extended" user manual which you download from Kodak's web site) is excellent, much better organized, more comprehensive, and easier to use and understand than that of the Creative. When you get down to brass tacks, with the Creative Vado, the only options you REALLY need are Creative Vado A/V Cable - Video / audio cable - composite video / audio - RCA (M) - mini-phone 3.5 mm 4-pole (M) - 4.6 ft if you want to play your videos through a standard television (an HDMI cable is optional yet even Creative itself does not appear to offer one specific to this unit - nor does Amazon!) and the case. With the Kodak, you should buy the case and, of course, you NEED an SDHC card. Overall, then, despite a lower "basic" price, the Kodak is probably somewhat more expensive overall (but it does come with all necessary cables including an HDMI one). If you are cash-strapped, you need buy NO options for the Creative but you WILL need an SDHC card for the Kodak. If you were to buy a 2-to-8 GB card, the Kodak would then be less expensive overall than the Creative; the 16GB (or 32 GB) card would make the Kodak the costlier of the two. I'm still mulling over the "problem" of which to give to my wife and which to use myself. At this point, due to the ease of transferring files to a computer, I may let my wife try the Creative Vado to see if she likes its operational characteristics; she would need only to plug in the attached USB cord; there is nothing extra she need use (with the Kodak, you need to use either an external USB cord or you need to remove the SDHC card from the camcorder and insert it into the slot on your computer). But, then again, with its buttons, the Kodak is much more straightforward to use when actually taking video or pictures. Decisions, decisions! I have to say that I like them both and I highly recommend them both. If I were really "pushed" to make a choice between the two, I think I would (very) slightly favor this Kodak model partly because of its real ease-of-use (including much better instructions), its removable storage, and its option to increase the brightness of the LCD screen for better outdoor viewing in bright sunlight (however neither the Kodak nor the Creative is easy to view in very bright sunlight) but someone else might feel differently. (Due to its heft, it feels more substantial to me but that's a VERY subjective opinion.) I want to state definitely however that this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (its "official" model name is Zx3) is a fine camcorder and I believe that everyone who buys one will be as pleased with it as I am. Thank you for reading this. I hope it has been of some help to you. ========== Update: April 23, 2010 Last night I "finally" got around to projecting images taken with this camcorder onto my 110" diagonal (16:9) screen using my PT-AE4000U LCD XGA 16:9 1600 Lumens HDmi Svid 16.1LBS Hdtv. As expected (see the relevant update to my review of the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL for more details), the images produced by the Kodak (taken, by the way, at 720P, NOT its "best quality" setting 1080P) were spectacular. They had excellent and accurate colors and sharpness; the monophonic sound was fine. The next time I take video with this camcorder I'm going to try the 1080P setting though I can't imagine that it will look much better than what I saw last night! You can't go wrong with this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and, to tell the truth, the same statement applies to the Creative Vado HD. Though they are different in their attributes, their "strengths" (all major), and their "weaknesses" (all minor), I really like them both very much. I thank you again for reading this. ========== Update: July 14, 2010 Having owned this Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL and using them side-by-side, overall I now prefer the Creative one. Really, it is just as easy to use as the Kodak, its images, at 720p, appear to be as good as Kodak's 1080p images, at least on our 110" screen, and the Creative's battery lasts much, much longer. Plus my wife prefers the Creative camcorder over this Kodak (though she can give no reason for her preference; as I have stated, I like them both). I myself have experienced the "freezing" anomaly mentioned by some other reviewers, but only once. That was early in the ownership period and it has not recurred (so far!). Even though the Kodak can hold, with a 16GB SD card, much more video than the Creative, its battery runs out well before you can take even a fraction of what the card can hold. I have a spare battery for the Kodak (as well as for the Creative) and I strongly recommend that you buy one or two spares also, especially if you buy this Kodak model. With the Kodak camcorder, even with two fully-charged batteries, the batteries BOTH run out well before the card is filled. This is somewhat disappointing, even though recharging (which can be done in your home or your car) does not take too long. Not so with the Creative camcorder. The battery lasts for quite a long period of time though I haven't actually measured it. During our four and one-half cross-country trip, during which we took several hours of video with the Creative, I replaced its first battery with my (previously charged) second battery only once. While I did recharge the first battery, it was not necessary to use it. In my opinion, this is excellent performance. (Recharging the Creative's battery takes longer than recharging the Kodak's battery though the Creative's, like the Kodak's, can be charged from an AC outlet or from your car's DC 'cigarette-lighter' port.) Neither camcorder is 'perfect' but both are very, very good and. frankly, I could be happy with either. I think most people would feel the same. But, now having extensively used both camcorders, overall I too slightly prefer the Creative. (Among other things, the Creative camcorder REALLY excels in low-light situations.) Of course if underwater or foul-weather video is of even slight importance to you, this Kodak is, of its type, the only game in town. Also don't forget one of its MAJOR advantages: the ability of its LCD screen to be adjusted to enable easier viewing in bright sunlight. And the Kodak's ease of use with dedicated buttons is not to be ignored. So do not misunderstand: I think this Kodak pocket camcorder is a fine product. I merely want readers of my review (really, just my opinions) to be aware of the 'battery-life problem' I have experienced with it. As always, it's your call. Thank you for reading this and I hope it has been of some help to you.
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| 3. Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $229.00 -- our price: $199.00 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0040702I4 Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 1 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL is well-constructed and takes decent video and sound. It was offered to me by Amazon Vine and I wanted to obtain it to see why it has been stated that Flip Video 'rules' the pocket camcorder field.
Unfortunately I am very disappointed with this model for the following reasons: 1. It offers only one level of picture quality: 720P [1280 x 720 60fps H.264/AVC with an MP4 file extension]; while this is good, the files obtained are quite large - I took just 143 seconds of video and the total file size is 169.9 MB. A person could convert this to something smaller if desired but that is, at the very least, time-consuming and I think that many persons for whom this camcorder is intended might be intimidated by the necessity of doing this. A choice should be offered as it is on other similarly-priced pocket camcorders. 2. It does not take still pictures. If you have a Microsoft Windows or Mac-equipped computer, you can extract stills from your videos using the free included software - but, again, this is an extra and time-consuming step and may also be intimidating for some. 3. Its USB connector is very badly designed; unless you have one laying about, you MUST purchase an AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to A-Female Extension Cable (9.8 Feet / 3.0 Meters) or similar. If you attach the camcorder directly to your computer, you will find that the weight of the camcorder puts an inordinate strain on the USB port as well as the USB connector on the camcorder. 4. I appreciate that the camcorder comes with a cloth bag as standard but this bag offers no real protection to the camcorder nor any means of attaching it to a belt or other connection point. The bag could have been much better designed and I'm sure that many, if not most, people will want to buy an after-market case. ---> The following is the most important design defect, in my opinion, and would be a 'deal-breaker' for me: 5. This camcorder uses a built-in rechargeable battery instead of a user-replaceable one. Not only that, its battery life appears to be somewhat short and the camcorder CANNOT be operated when connected to either AC or a USB port (these can be used only for recharging the battery). I did not know that it came with such a battery prior to ordering it and, had I known, I would NEVER have ordered it! What does this mean to the user? It means that, if you want to take video for an extended period of time and your battery goes flat, you will have to wait while you recharge it, possibly missing some situations you would have liked to capture. Just imagine having that happen during the middle of recording a wedding ceremony and reception, or your daughter's first dance recital, or your son's first school play, or your children opening their Christmas presents ... And don't think "it can't happen to me" - oh yes it can! I can't stress enough that this is a MAJOR disadvantage and is the main reason for my disappointment with this unit. In addition, these built-in rechargeable batteries have a finite and relatively short service life, generally about three or four years. After that, you will either have to send the camcorder back to the manufacturer (at a high cost including shipping) for battery replacement or, more likely, you will just discard it. In other words, after only a few years, you will probably have just an expensive paperweight. If this were some twenty-dollar 'wonder' the defects I list above might be acceptable (even the short battery life in use; at twenty dollars you could afford to buy two, using one while the other is recharging). But this camcorder costs TEN TIMES that! And at that price it does not offer good value for money, again in my opinion. So for whom is this camcorder intended? As it is extremely easy to set up (with few choices to have to consider in its menu) and very easy-to-use when 'filming,' it may be fine for someone's great-grandmother (no offense intended) or for someone who is completely technophobic. A wealthy person could buy one for a small child as a first camcorder. After all, as I stated, it does produce decent video and sound (stereo, by the way). But at its price it faces formidable competition, two of which I own (both courtesy of Amazon Vine): the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL and the Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL. both of which I consider to be five-star products. Neither of those two have any of the functional shortcomings of the Flip MinoHD; they both feature relatively inexpensive user-replaceable batteries (I have bought spares for both) and you can buy an external charger for them. Thus you can recharge one battery while using the camcorder with the other, something you CANNOT do with this Flip model. (If you are interested in further details about either or both of these two, I refer you to my and others' reviews on Amazon's product detail pages.) In addition they offer the user a choice of multiple levels of video quality (three levels in the case of the Creative, four with the Kodak). Plus both can take still pictures. And the Creative's low-light performance is exemplary, mostly due, I think, to its very fast f2.0 lens. The Flip does not use a media card; it holds about two hours of video. The Creative also does not use a media card; via its three quality options, it holds from one to four hours of video (at the Flip's quality level, the Creative also holds about two hours - but with HALF the file size!). The Kodak does use a media card and it is an absolutely necessary option; at the same video quality level as the Flip, a 16 GB SD card holds over four hours and twenty minutes of video. Transferring the video to a computer is easy with all of them; some may find removing an SD card and inserting it into your computer's card reader to be somewhat more convenient than needing to physically attach the entire unit to a USB port, but that's a matter of personal preference and would not affect my own choice in any way (though the necessity of buying an SD card is indeed an extra expense). At the same level of video quality, the images produced by all three are similar. But, if you wish, you can take full 1080P video with the Kodak. And you can take VGA-format [640 x 480] video with the Creative (this size is appropriate for placing videos on YouTube). While this Flip Video camcorder has an image stabilization circuit, it appears to do little; the images produced by all three, when taken at the same quality level the Flip offers, are practically the same (except under those low-light situations where the Creative REALLY shines; if low-light performance is important to you, I believe that the Creative Vado is the best one to buy). You will see a number of videos taken with the Flip MinoHD contained in reviews here; I do not say that this camcorder cannot produce fine videos - it certainly can, but it won't do so for long! Once the battery goes, goodbye Flip! (In the reviews for the other two camcorders you can also see some of their video examples and you will see that there are no real differences in overall picture quality.) I do like the fact that the controls light up on the Flip when the camcorder is in use - but I wish there were some way to turn off the lights when they're not necessary; they do drain the battery unnecessarily. They would be helpful only at night or in a dark room. All in all, I find the Flip MinoHD to be an unsatisfactory product, at least for me. In order to make it 'easy to use,' Cisco (Flip) has left off too many features. Since the other two cost no more (when tricked out with recommended accessories), I suggest that anyone interested in such a pocket camcorder investigate them. They are just as easy to use as this Flip but they offer more operational choices for the user should s/he desire to take advantage of them. While I have purchased many accessories for the Creative and the Kodak (thus bringing their overall price to the same level as the Flip MinoHD with no accessories), I have no intentions of buying anything extra for this Flip as it will become useless in just a few years. (Of course, as I own it and did not pay for it, I'll use it from time to time until it does 'die' completely.) In conclusion, for all the reasons I mentioned above but primarily because of the fact that a user will NEVER know on any given day whether s/he will have enough power to be able to record all that s/he would want, I am sorry to say that I CANNOT give this Flip camcorder my recommendation. I wish it were otherwise. Thank you for reading my opinions and I hope they have been of some interest to you.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL
The presentation after opening the outer box is really nice and certainly makes for a great gift! We didn't even have to read the directions. My 13 year old just started using it right away. The set up (time and date, etc) was a breeze. I love the fact that it had a charge right out of the box and is immediately ready to use. No media card needed. We played around with it for quite awhile and the video here shows the quality and zoom. The size is so convenient and easy to hold, it fits in the palm of your hand. All you have to do is turn it on and click the red button to start recording. Even though the screen is small (approx less than 2 inches) it has a quality display to see what you are taping. The sound quality is excellent as well. You can zoom with this but I don't know by how much. It didn't seem like a lot to me. I show that on the video attached here. Also, every time that you plug in the camera it automatically turns itself on and charges. As far as the software goes, it allows you to make a movie and edit it by adding a title, credits and music. You can add more effects with Windows Movie Maker. You also use the software to share videos by emailing them or putting them online.We emailed a 48 second video and it took 6 minutes to send using the Flip software. There is also an option for making greeting cards. You can select holidays, birthdays, new baby, love and friendship, travel, etc The video is placed in the greeting card and then you can share it. All this is done with a couple of clicks. I absolutely love this flip video camera. It is simple to use and makes sharing videos super easy. I think the quality of the video is better than some regular cameras and definitely better than my cell phone. If you go to their website you can purchase the Flip and customize your flip's look. I love the idea that you can customize it with your own picture. If you have any questions feel free to comment and I will answer them as best as I can.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This isn't my first flip and overall I'm impressed with most of the updates since my previous model. This flip is a hand held HD video camera that will record about 2hrs of video with remarkable sound quality for the size of the unit. The image stabilization is really nice since the unit so small and light that it's easy to wiggle and shake when holding it "steady" for a shot. It's really an all in one video camera that houses some basic video editing software and the drivers for the unit. I've taken several video's, which are high quality and therefore large in size and uploaded them to Facebook and YouTube to share without any issues. This is really a great little camera for a throw in the backpack or stroller type of events. Ease of setup, ease of use, ease of sharing and product are all excellent. To that end, while you could shoot you wedding with this camera, it's not a professional cinematographic tool...
It's incredibly easy to use... however I'm a bit disappointed that the USB arm is still fixed. I've thought this to be a flaw with flip for a while and while it's nice to not have to look for a USB cord to dump the camera, the arm doesn't rest well for any of my USB ports so I'm always holding the camera if I don't have a USB cord handy. With a must plug in to recharge requirement you pretty much have to have a USB extension cable for this camera to work well. The buttons on this model are also lacking in function. The giant red record button is great, but the rest of the buttons are all super sensitive and have no feedback, they are just rub your thumb over the marking on the case and stuff happens... which happens a lot (at least if you are me) when I'm setting up or trying to get my two year old to start doing whatever I want to record I find myself playing back the last thing I did, or trying not to delete it. The buttons need some work on sensitivity or spacing or something. -1/2 start for USB arm; -1/2 star for the buttons Other reviews have commented on the rechargeable battery life and not being replaceable... who cares? The lifecycle of technology these days means that when these batteries die I'll be lucky if I'm only two generations behind the current state of the art. What I want to know is can I get to the batteries easily for recycling the unit? Is the unit built to be easily recycled? How green is it? I can't find any lifecycle information on the Flip camera... -1 star (very green product packaging BTW!)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I've been using a flip for quite some time.
The benefit is you can carry it in your pocket and shoot video anywhere and everywhere. However with today having cell phones with video recording capability, a device such as this needs to set up to the plate and offer something new or offer the same but cheaper. Where the flip comes in (ahead) is the built in software, which is quite wonderful, especially for windows users who may have to buy other software were it not for the flip software that comes on the device. Mac users can use iMovie or Final cut to edit the video to great effect. The device shoots video easily, the file size is a bit large (so be warned), compressing the footage into something usable will take time and it's not as quick as the process could be. I enjoy the larger filesize, it allows me to compress, add effects, and work on the video (if needed) and still maintain the integrity of the file. The reason this unit gets 4 out of 5 stars is stated above. The reason for a 4 and not a 5 is the device really needs to do something to differentiate itself from the market. The device started the whole mobile camera industry, however, Sony (with the bloggie) and apple (with both the iphone and ipod touch) have taken the game to a whole new level. The sony works great and offers very high quality pictures (something this device nor the iphone can match) and the iphone (thanks to buying imovie) offers editing software that is nothing short of phenomenal. I enjoy the flip, it doesn't leave my bag, I just hope in the future (the next model) they find some way to innovate, either through software, or design (such as a newer slimmer design). All in all I'm not disappointed at all with this device, the image quality is spectacular and meets most of my needs. If the device were slimmer, offered the ability for larger resolution or offered a larger capacity, the device would be merit 5 stars. I enjoy this mature product, and hope the next evolution is indeed evolved. A+
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The least you need to know: Get this, it's a wonderful performer; takes stunning video and the sound is incredible. The lack of included accessories as well as some other features below are the only downers for which I took off a full star.
The Flip MinoHD is truly a big performer in a small body. After an initial charging, I started using it immediately and the first thing I noticed is how much easier it is to hold and move around than the Kodak Zi8 I also own. Even when moving, the MinoHD is ultra stable, something I can't say for the Zi8 even with that product's electronic stabilizer turned on. The video results capture great video and I've used it to shoot everything from low-light Halloween trick or treating to the 150-mile-per-hour landing sequence of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 landing in Las Vegas. The Flip digested all this without so much as a hiccup, even when I was pointing it directly at the sun in the 737. The other aspect I was pleased with was the sound. This thing captures just about every nuance of what's happening around you--the leaves rustling on the ground as we walked up a driveway to a door on Halloween night was an amazing experience when I reviewed the video afterward. I've already discussed the size of the MinoHD, but it's truly astounding that both wonderful video and sound can be captured by this matchbox-looking device. The software included in the MinoHD, the Flipshare, is intuitive and easy. Within seconds of plugging it into a computer, I was using the Flipshare to upload video to several places including Flip's own video sharing site as well as the ubiquitous YouTube and Facebook. Flipshare also allows you to create a movie and a DVD. The "Magic Movie" mode is quite good at creating a movie from clips you've selected, add titles and credits then add music. Right now, it's done a better job than I could! One other advantage it has out-of-the-box against the Kodak Zi8: built-in 8GB memory enough for two hours of continuous recording so you're ready to go immediately. The only downer is the lack of included peripherals, such as an HD out cable and a charger! You can only charge the MinoHD connected to a PC via USB out of the box. From what I've read, the manufacturers have made the claim there's no real difference--except file size!--between the 720p HD movie and the full 1080p so all you get is the 720; I'd like to be able to make the decision (like you can with the Zi8) but I understand design constraints so I don't hold that against them. Besides, the video is just so incredible anyway! In addition, I would recommend you get a USB cable extender so you don't have the device suspended in mid-air when plugged into the computer. [Update: The more I think about it, the more I think that optical zoom capability is a necessary thing for the price. Include the ability to swap out batteries and the lack of both not present in the Flip MinoHD and it is enough to bump this review down to a still-respectable four stars.] In summary, I like both the size and performance of the MinoHD and recommend it!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I was really skeptical at first about the usefulness of a Flip camera - after all, virtually every cell phone and digital camera comes equipped with video capabilities. However, after using the Flip camera for a few weeks now, I've been proven wrong: the Flip MinoHD Video Camera is seriously fun and easy to use - so easy, in fact, that even my technology-phobic family can use it.
About the size of a cell phone, the Flip can be tossed into a purse or put into a pocket without taking up much space. It comes with both a strap and a small carrying bag - I usually store ours in the little bag so it won't get scratched. To film, you push the large red button in the center. To stop filming, you push the large red button in the center. There are zoom in/zoom out buttons (+ and - signs), a trash button, and a playback button on the Flip that are similar to the type of buttons found a LG Chocolate cell phone. I'm not too crazy about those buttons, however they do the job. Because of the shape of the Flip, it's easy to film things without much shaking - you can also attach the Flip to a tripod. To upload and charge, you simply plug the camera in using the pop out USB connector. The video quality is much better than a cell phone and about the same as a digital camera (I have a Nikon Coolpix S8000 with HD video). The included software is as easy to use as the camera itself. I was able to create a video with a title page, a 50 second video, end credits, and background music in less than 5 minutes. The software allows you share the video via email, Flip Channel, greeting card, or social networking site. While there are a lot of things I like about the Flip, there are also several things about it that I don't particularly care for. First off, you can't charge your Flip without having a computer nearby or without buying a USB charger. I tried using my iPad USB charger and it didn't work (gave me an incompatible notice on the camera). This is a problem as I don't like carrying around my laptop when I travel, and the iPad does not have a USB port. Secondly, the zoom on this camera is so weak that I hardly use it. I can say that the zoom is very smooth in comparison to my digital camera, however. Thirdly, if you have all in one computer like a iMac or a Vaio, your camera will be dangling off the side of the computer. While I haven't had any disconnect issues, it doesn't seem to be something that would be good for the camera in the long run. One of the biggest gripes I have about the Flip is that you can't take a still picture without loading the video up to your computer and picking out a single frame to use as the photo. While I know that the Flip is designed to be a video camera, it would've been nice to have a snapshot function to use directly from the camera. All in all, I like using the Flip. I can take quick videos of my kids without having to lug around a bunch of heavy equipment with me, it's easy enough for my 3 year old son to figure out, and the included software makes it easy for me to create videos with little work. However, if I had a choice between this and my digital camera, I would take the camera with me. Recommended!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I had the original Flip video camera and really liked it, but this new one blows it out of the water. It could not be easier to use. You charge it with the pop-up USB plug (use the same to download your video). It keeps a charge really well. To operate it, just turn it on and press record. There are easy buttons for zooming in and out, navigating videos saved, etc. The included software isn't necessary to play videos, but its super easy to install on both mac & pc, and lets you edit and email videos. Even my boyfriend who can barely email an attachment had no trouble figuring it out.
The video quality is limited but nice and clear, and decent at full screen on my 27" mac. It's not overly sophisticated or loaded with features, but that's kind of nice--you can spend more time shooting and less time futzing with settings. It's smaller than a deck of cars, weighs next to nothing, and can be operated with zero brain power. And it holds 2 hours of pretty darn good video! You could give this to anyone who can send email or use an ipod and feel confident they could use it without incident. ... Read more | |
| 4. Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $229.99 -- our price: $124.99 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B002R5AM7C Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 10 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 5. Flip UltraHD Video Camera - White, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $199.00 -- our price: Too low to display (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0040702HK Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 8 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is a powerful, easy-to-use, fairly cheap video camera; it records @ 1280 x 720, 60 FPS, and can hold about two full hours of video at that capacity. It fits neatly in a shirt pocket and is pretty much ideal for recording anything that doesn't need to be professionally produced film, from home movies to recording interviews. It comes packaged with a basic editing program that's designed to make it as easy as possible to produce basic home movies and post them to the web.
So far as that goes, it's a great camera, especially at the price. The only real problem with it is that the overall interface is fairly dumbed down -- for the sake of ease of use, they've traded away a *lot* of functionality. For example, it's easy to view the clips you've just recorded in the viewfinder, but you can't "fast forward" or "rewind" to a specific frame when you're not actively playing back videos, because there's only one set of "forward" and "reverse" buttons, and they also fill the "skip to next/previous clip" functions. Similarly, the editing software is clean and easy to use, but lacks a lot of options. It's fairly easy to take a chunk of video, yank out a selection of favorite clips, and string them together into a movie, and maybe even put a title on the front and credits at the end, but anything more complicated than that ain't happening without third-party editing software. Perhaps most critical is the lack of a "resize" feature -- because this camera records at such a high resolution, even fairly short videos taken with it can quickly reach prohibitively high file sizes (two minutes of video from this camera took me approximately two hours to upload to YouTube, over a DSL connection). All that's an issue because it seems, to me at least, that the only reason to purchase a dedicated video camera, in an era when everyone and their brother's cellphone already has video recording capability, is if you're at minimum a dedicated hobbyist. And if you're such a dedicated hobbyist, I would suspect that you'd want more bells and whistles (like focus and exposure controls, or better bundled editing software) than this thing has. What it does, it does great, I'm just having a hard time figuring out who the expected market is for this -- it records in higher resolution and better FPS than anyone who wants a casual camera for posting web videos really needs, and it lacks the advanced features that would make it appealing to dedicated hobbyists. The two-hour recording time and easy portability might make it very useful for people who want to record interviews or meetings, but archiving those recordings would be prohibitively difficult without, again, 3rd-party editing tools, due to the massive file size of the recordings this thing generates. The camera's best feature is probably the image stabilization, which works very well -- indeed, so well that I forgot about it, and just waved the camera around without even worrying about image shake at all. Because of that, this camera might be ideal for hobbyists who already have a full suite of editing software and are looking to shoot in uncontrolled conditions without a tripod. The video to the left is an example of the sort of thing it's fairly easy to turn out with this camera -- you can see how it deals fairly well with indoor lighting conditions, has good color, etc., and you can see the "image stabilization" at work. I should note, however, that I did make two changes to this video using third-party software -- I reduced its resolution from 1280 x 720 to 640 x 360 and converted it to a .wmv file so that it would fit within Amazon's file size & format requirements for video reviews.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I wavered between giving this three or four stars, but settled on four because it delivers what it promises in spades: EASY to use, high quality video recording in a small package. If I could, I would give a 3.5. There's a BIG "but" though:
The caveat here is that this is now a single-purpose, niche product, whose single purpose can be found on a number of different devices, from DSLR's, to point and shoot cameras, to smartphones (and probably non smart phones). You would be hard pressed to find even the lowliest point and shoot digital camera that doesn't record 720p video these days. The one differentiator here is that this Flip shoots video at 60 frames per second, which is great if you are mostly going to be shooting outdoors, in bright light (because you SHOULD get smoother looking action, although most people can't see the difference). But it can actually be a disadvantage (vs the more standard 24 or 30fps) when shooting in lower light situations. I found this to be true as I compared several gadgets of mine (iPhone 4, Canon S95 digital camera, Canon HV30 HD camcorder), shooting the same indoors scene. Just hard to recommend that anyone buy this today, knowing that almost every digicam on the market does 720p video now (and several of the new gen point and shoots do 1080p!) I shot the same scene (outdoors, but in very cloudy conditions) with my iPhone 4 and the Flip. The iPhone's video was slightly less contrasty, and a little more shaky looking due to no optical image stabilization like the Flip has. BUT at least I could focus on certain areas with the iPhone. With the Flip, I have no way to focus on a particular object, which is tough. I would bet MOST people would not be able to tell much of a difference in the picture quality between the two (unless you were watching them side by side, and even then, was difficult to determine a clear winner) When these Flips first came out, they were a standout product because video in digicams was horrible at that time, and either nonexistent or poor on cel phones, but times have changed. For $200,today, you can buy an iPhone 4, or a point and shoot Sony digicam with a CMOS, low light sensor, that will shoot better video, plus you get the primary functions of those devices to boot. The video is just gravy. PROS: - Svelte, easy to carry and handle, outside black soft touch material very nice - Good to very good video quality - SO easy to use and hook up to another device for viewing the results. - optical image stabilization works surprisingly well considering form factor, weight and small size of the Flip - 60 fps great for outdoors/good light shooting CONS: - Hard to justify price when you can get at least as good video in other devices that do more than just video - No ability to focus - I wish the lens had more protection, or even a built in lens cap/cover. Note it does include a soft case, but I mean something like you see on most camcorders these days. - Not great in low light due to 60fps recording (at least give the option to switch to something slower for low light situations?)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the first FLIP video camera I've owned, but they're so popular, I figured they must be pretty good-and I'm not disappointed!! It's easy to use, synchs easily with the computer, charges rather quickly (4 hours on USB from completely dead), and takes AWESOME HD (720p) videos! The exterior is slim and rubbery, for easy gripping. It also has a wrist strap and a hole on the bottom to mount the camera on a tripod. It turns on quickly and only has a few buttons, which make it easy to use even for someone who isn't very tech-saavy! It synchs up with the computer immediately, uploads the videos and is easy to reset. It also has an HDMI port on the bottom, so you can plug it right into your HDTV to view the videos that way. It holds 2 hours of HD movies. When you turn the camera on it tells you how much time in free space remains, and when taking a video, it tells you how long you've been recording for. It has playback with sound, which is very clear. The video quality is better than anything I've seen on something this size and the audio quality is great too!
Now for the few things about it that make it 4 stars instead of 5. First off, I don't notice ANY image stabilization - the video I included pretty much shows that even the slightest of hand shaking can really make you feel woozy. There is no lens cover, which is a little concerning since this is the type of camera you'd like to be able to just toss in your purse or pocket, but without a lens cover, I get a little nervous that I might scratch the lens. It does NOT take still pictures, which isn't a big deal, but it would be nice to be able to switch back and forth from video to still, but again, not a deal breaker given the awesome quality of the video/audio. Lastly, it charges from the USB connection, which is not bad, but if you spend $40 more you can get the charger that plugs into a port at the bottom and then into the wall and it will charge twice as fast-it's just kind of annoying b/c I use a laptop and in order to charge it via USB, I have to leave the computer sitting open. I would also like to see a USB extension cable included with this camera because it is rather painful to see this thing plugged into my computer and hanging by it's little USB "arm". Bottom line: this camera could do SO MUCH more for the price you pay, and although it does perform well, it's just not that great a deal when you consider what else is out there. For $50 more, I can get a device that is the same size, takes the same quality video, but also takes pictures, surfs the web, plays music, has wifi, bluetooth, GPS, runs apps, etc etc . . .
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is a powerful, easy-to-use, fairly cheap video camera; it records @ 1280 x 720, 60 FPS, and can hold about two full hours of video at that capacity. It fits neatly in a shirt pocket and is pretty much ideal for recording anything that doesn't need to be professionally produced film, from home movies to recording interviews. It comes packaged with a basic editing program that's designed to make it as easy as possible to produce basic home movies and post them to the web.
So far as that goes, it's a great camera, especially at the price. The only real problem with it is that the overall interface is fairly dumbed down -- for the sake of ease of use, they've traded away a *lot* of functionality. For example, it's easy to view the clips you've just recorded in the viewfinder, but you can't "fast forward" or "rewind" to a specific frame when you're not actively playing back videos, because there's only one set of "forward" and "reverse" buttons, and they also fill the "skip to next/previous clip" functions. Similarly, the editing software is clean and easy to use, but lacks a lot of options. It's fairly easy to take a chunk of video, yank out a selection of favorite clips, and string them together into a movie, and maybe even put a title on the front and credits at the end, but anything more complicated than that ain't happening without third-party editing software. Perhaps most critical is the lack of a "resize" feature -- because this camera records at such a high resolution, even fairly short videos taken with it can quickly reach prohibitively high file sizes (two minutes of video from this camera took me approximately two hours to upload to YouTube, over a DSL connection). All that's an issue because it seems, to me at least, that the only reason to purchase a dedicated video camera, in an era when everyone and their brother's cellphone already has video recording capability, is if you're at minimum a dedicated hobbyist. And if you're such a dedicated hobbyist, I would suspect that you'd want more bells and whistles (like focus and exposure controls, or better bundled editing software) than this thing has. What it does, it does great, I'm just having a hard time figuring out who the expected market is for this -- it records in higher resolution and better FPS than anyone who wants a casual camera for posting web videos really needs, and it lacks the advanced features that would make it appealing to dedicated hobbyists. The two-hour recording time and easy portability might make it very useful for people who want to record interviews or meetings, but archiving those recordings would be prohibitively difficult without, again, 3rd-party editing tools, due to the massive file size of the recordings this thing generates. The camera's best feature is probably the image stabilization, which works very well -- indeed, so well that I forgot about it, and just waved the camera around without even worrying about image shake at all. Because of that, this camera might be ideal for hobbyists who already have a full suite of editing software and are looking to shoot in uncontrolled conditions without a tripod. The video to the left is an example of the sort of thing it's fairly easy to turn out with this camera -- you can see how it deals fairly well with indoor lighting conditions, has good color, etc., and you can see the "image stabilization" at work. I should note, however, that I did make two changes to this video using third-party software -- I reduced its resolution from 1280 x 720 to 640 x 360 and converted it to a .wmv file so that it would fit within Amazon's file size & format requirements for video reviews.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I wavered between giving this three or four stars, but settled on four because it delivers what it promises in spades: EASY to use, high quality video recording in a small package. If I could, I would give a 3.5. There's a BIG "but" though:
The caveat here is that this is now a single-purpose, niche product, whose single purpose can be found on a number of different devices, from DSLR's, to point and shoot cameras, to smartphones (and probably non smart phones). You would be hard pressed to find even the lowliest point and shoot digital camera that doesn't record 720p video these days. The one differentiator here is that this Flip shoots video at 60 frames per second, which is great if you are mostly going to be shooting outdoors, in bright light (because you SHOULD get smoother looking action, although most people can't see the difference). But it can actually be a disadvantage (vs the more standard 24 or 30fps) when shooting in lower light situations. I found this to be true as I compared several gadgets of mine (iPhone 4, Canon S95 digital camera, Canon HV30 HD camcorder), shooting the same indoors scene. Just hard to recommend that anyone buy this today, knowing that almost every digicam on the market does 720p video now (and several of the new gen point and shoots do 1080p!) I shot the same scene (outdoors, but in very cloudy conditions) with my iPhone 4 and the Flip. The iPhone's video was slightly less contrasty, and a little more shaky looking due to no optical image stabilization like the Flip has. BUT at least I could focus on certain areas with the iPhone. With the Flip, I have no way to focus on a particular object, which is tough. I would bet MOST people would not be able to tell much of a difference in the picture quality between the two (unless you were watching them side by side, and even then, was difficult to determine a clear winner) When these Flips first came out, they were a standout product because video in digicams was horrible at that time, and either nonexistent or poor on cel phones, but times have changed. For $200,today, you can buy an iPhone 4, or a point and shoot Sony digicam with a CMOS, low light sensor, that will shoot better video, plus you get the primary functions of those devices to boot. The video is just gravy. PROS: - Svelte, easy to carry and handle, outside black soft touch material very nice - Good to very good video quality - SO easy to use and hook up to another device for viewing the results. - optical image stabilization works surprisingly well considering form factor, weight and small size of the Flip - 60 fps great for outdoors/good light shooting CONS: - Hard to justify price when you can get at least as good video in other devices that do more than just video - No ability to focus - I wish the lens had more protection, or even a built in lens cap/cover. Note it does include a soft case, but I mean something like you see on most camcorders these days. - Not great in low light due to 60fps recording (at least give the option to switch to something slower for low light situations?)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the first FLIP video camera I've owned, but they're so popular, I figured they must be pretty good-and I'm not disappointed!! It's easy to use, synchs easily with the computer, charges rather quickly (4 hours on USB from completely dead), and takes AWESOME HD (720p) videos! The exterior is slim and rubbery, for easy gripping. It also has a wrist strap and a hole on the bottom to mount the camera on a tripod. It turns on quickly and only has a few buttons, which make it easy to use even for someone who isn't very tech-saavy! It synchs up with the computer immediately, uploads the videos and is easy to reset. It also has an HDMI port on the bottom, so you can plug it right into your HDTV to view the videos that way. It holds 2 hours of HD movies. When you turn the camera on it tells you how much time in free space remains, and when taking a video, it tells you how long you've been recording for. It has playback with sound, which is very clear. The video quality is better than anything I've seen on something this size and the audio quality is great too!
Now for the few things about it that make it 4 stars instead of 5. First off, I don't notice ANY image stabilization - the video I included pretty much shows that even the slightest of hand shaking can really make you feel woozy. There is no lens cover, which is a little concerning since this is the type of camera you'd like to be able to just toss in your purse or pocket, but without a lens cover, I get a little nervous that I might scratch the lens. It does NOT take still pictures, which isn't a big deal, but it would be nice to be able to switch back and forth from video to still, but again, not a deal breaker given the awesome quality of the video/audio. Lastly, it charges from the USB connection, which is not bad, but if you spend $40 more you can get the charger that plugs into a port at the bottom and then into the wall and it will charge twice as fast-it's just kind of annoying b/c I use a laptop and in order to charge it via USB, I have to leave the computer sitting open. I would also like to see a USB extension cable included with this camera because it is rather painful to see this thing plugged into my computer and hanging by it's little USB "arm". Bottom line: this camera could do SO MUCH more for the price you pay, and although it does perform well, it's just not that great a deal when you consider what else is out there. For $50 more, I can get a device that is the same size, takes the same quality video, but also takes pictures, surfs the web, plays music, has wifi, bluetooth, GPS, runs apps, etc etc . . .
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| 6. Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera (Black) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $179.00 -- our price: Too low to display (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B002HOPUPC Manufacturer: Eastman Kodak Company Sales Rank: 7 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 7. Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Blue) NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $149.00 -- our price: Too low to display (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0030MITLW Manufacturer: Eastman Kodak Company Sales Rank: 9 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (Model Zx3) video camcorder was offered to me through the Amazon Vine program and, even though I already had a Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL, which I like very much (and received just last month, also through Amazon Vine), I decided to order this Kodak one so I could have a camcorder to use and my wife could have one as well.
Let me state up front that I REALLY like this little camcorder. It is small, lightweight, convenient to slip into a pocket, and it is quick and easy to use. I think its price is very good also, certainly for what you get. (Of course just about the same can be said for the Creative Vado.) That said, and now that I have both of these camcorders, I have to say that it is hard for me to decide which of them I prefer. They both have small advantages and small disadvantages in their respective feature sets. For example, the Creative Vado has a built-in (attached) flexible USB connection which makes transferring videos to a computer REALLY easy. If you wish to transfer videos via USB with the Kodak, you must use a separate USB cable (which, by the way, IS supplied with the Kodak unit, as are ALL necessary cables, such as video cables, etc.). But, as the Kodak uses a separate SDHC card (such as this Kodak High-Speed 16 GB 60x Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card KSD16GHSBNA060), transferring video is a snap merely by removing the card from the camcorder and inserting it into the SD slot on your computer (or an external card reader if your computer is an older one which has no SD slot). (Please note that I have NO experience with the video software included with either of these camcorders. My wife and I use the Ubuntu Linux operating system on our computers; thus the included software is inoperative. In any case, Linux makes transferring files so easy and intuitive, we would have no need of the software even if it did work on our computers.) Unfortunately, the Kodak does NOT come with even a small SDHC card as standard equipment. If you want one (and you can't truly use the camcorder without one), you MUST buy it separately. This obviously adds to the cost. However, a MAJOR advantage of using a card is that you can choose the size you want and you can buy and carry several should you decide to do so; if, for example, you are on a vacation and do not wish to frequently transfer the videos to your computer, it is not necessary to do so with the Kodak. You can keep the video on your card and, when it is filled, you merely insert a fresh card. (The disadvantage of using cards is, of course, the cost involved.) With the Creative, which uses a built-in memory and has no means of expansion, you MUST periodically transfer the video to your computer - but, with it, there are no additional costs involved. (Another advantage of having more than one card is, if a card somehow becomes corrupted or damaged, you merely replace it with another, spare, card.) As far as picture quality goes (and, of course, that is THE most important thing!), both of these camcorders appear to be equal in the quality of the pictures they produce, that is to say, excellent. My wife and I have been surprised and pleased with the images produced from the Creative Vado (our first camcorder) and now with this new Kodak model. The images, as viewed on a computer screen, are really fine. I can't imagine anyone complaining about their overall quality. The auto-exposure works very well with both camcorders and the sound is about what you would expect (better if you are closer to the subject). (The Creative offers the option of using an external microphone, purchased separately, which would improve the sound quality.) The Creative Vado has three picture settings, two of which produce wide-screen (16:9) movies, and the third one which produces "standard" (4:3) images. All of the Kodak's picture settings (there are four) produce wide-screen movies. The Creative creates MP4 files and the Kodak creates MOV ones; in both cases I convert them to AVI files which I much prefer (AVI files are generally smaller - with no loss of quality that I can see). The Creative has a means of adjusting the picture brightness (sensitivity); the Kodak does not but the resulting videos, taken in varying degrees of brightness (indoors, outdoors) appear equal. The Creative has one fixed LCD-brightness (viewing) setting; the Kodak has three (normal, bright, and black-and-white); the bright LCD setting makes outdoor viewing of your subject easier but does not affect the resultant video. Both have a digital zoom (of minimal usefulness) and the Kodak offers image stabilization for stills (the Creative does not). (The Kodak can also be used under water.) Based on my admittedly limited use (thus far) of both, I should repeat that the video (and still) images are about equal in quality. (I did notice that, during one "shoot" of our granddaughter inside a local supermarket and using the Creative Vado, initially the image appeared WAY too red but, within about 10 seconds or so, it had "settled down" to look more naturally color-balanced; I have not yet had the opportunity to try a similar shoot using the Kodak.) The Kodak offers 1080p images as its top quality; the Creative offers 720p. For home movies, in my opinion, the difference is minor (but I have not looked at the images on a large screen as yet; I have watched them only on my computer). The Kodak at first appears to be lower-priced than the Creative but, as I indicated above, the initial price may be deceiving. The Creative has 4GB of built-in memory (and no means of expanding it) but the Kodak, with a minimal amount of built-in memory (29 seconds of video at the smallest file setting), MUST be used with an SDHC card. This can be any size you wish, up to a claimed 32 GB; the larger the card the more it can hold but, of course, the more it will cost. I bought the 16 GB Kodak card I mention above and it holds about 4 hours if shooting at 720p or 3 hours if shooting at 1080p. (The Creative holds about 2 hours at its 720p mid-setting, which is the one I use. Its maximum quality setting is 720p HD and, at that setting, it holds about 1 hour of video.) At this point, I do not know how long the battery will last between charges on either of these camcorders (I'll report my experiences in an update) but it seems to me (just empirically) that the Creative one will last longer. In any case, I bought (for both of them) spare batteries, spare chargers, and brand-specific camera cases. In addition I bought the necessary video cables for the Creative and a remote control for the Kodak. Some of my Kodak options are still in transit - the remote is on back order - and have not yet arrived. I have all of the Creative options I ordered. (By the way, both camcorders have removable and replaceable batteries - really a rarity, and a welcome one, these days.) Both camcorders offer similar features and adjustments but those on the Kodak appear to be more straightforward to use than those on the Creative. The Kodak offers real buttons as opposed to the Creative's touch areas and the presence of those buttons makes operation easier, at least for me. (The Creative does have a menu button as well as a "delete" button on the side and an on/off button on the top; the Kodak has all the buttons on the rear [facing the operator] except for the on/off button which is on the side.) The menu options on the Kodak are more intuitive and easier to access and change than are those on the Creative but the differences are not major. I want to mention that the Creative Vado is black all around (the "controls" are indicated with silver-on-black markings - except, of course, for the white "record" button which is actually a real button!) but the Kodak, though black (or purple or blue, as you choose) on the side facing the person being photographed, is white on the side facing the user and, at least for me, this makes seeing and using the buttons somewhat easier, though this too is not major. The Kodak comes with a wrist strap (the Creative does NOT - and it should!), a feature which I like very much, though the camcorder with the strap attached fits only rather clumsily into its Kodak 1047398 Pocket Video Case. The Creative fits perfectly and easily into its Creative Labs Vado VF0570APS Pocket Video Camera Mesh Pouch (Silver) and, in it, is smaller and thinner than the Kodak in ITS case. The Creative case has a belt loop and the Kodak case has a shoulder strap. The Kodak is noticeably heavier and slightly larger than the Creative. Its instruction manual (actually there are two - one printed, which comes with the camcorder, and an "extended" user manual which you download from Kodak's web site) is excellent, much better organized, more comprehensive, and easier to use and understand than that of the Creative. When you get down to brass tacks, with the Creative Vado, the only options you REALLY need are Creative Vado A/V Cable - Video / audio cable - composite video / audio - RCA (M) - mini-phone 3.5 mm 4-pole (M) - 4.6 ft if you want to play your videos through a standard television (an HDMI cable is optional yet even Creative itself does not appear to offer one specific to this unit - nor does Amazon!) and the case. With the Kodak, you should buy the case and, of course, you NEED an SDHC card. Overall, then, despite a lower "basic" price, the Kodak is probably somewhat more expensive overall (but it does come with all necessary cables including an HDMI one). If you are cash-strapped, you need buy NO options for the Creative but you WILL need an SDHC card for the Kodak. If you were to buy a 2-to-8 GB card, the Kodak would then be less expensive overall than the Creative; the 16GB (or 32 GB) card would make the Kodak the costlier of the two. I'm still mulling over the "problem" of which to give to my wife and which to use myself. At this point, due to the ease of transferring files to a computer, I may let my wife try the Creative Vado to see if she likes its operational characteristics; she would need only to plug in the attached USB cord; there is nothing extra she need use (with the Kodak, you need to use either an external USB cord or you need to remove the SDHC card from the camcorder and insert it into the slot on your computer). But, then again, with its buttons, the Kodak is much more straightforward to use when actually taking video or pictures. Decisions, decisions! I have to say that I like them both and I highly recommend them both. If I were really "pushed" to make a choice between the two, I think I would (very) slightly favor this Kodak model partly because of its real ease-of-use (including much better instructions), its removable storage, and its option to increase the brightness of the LCD screen for better outdoor viewing in bright sunlight (however neither the Kodak nor the Creative is easy to view in very bright sunlight) but someone else might feel differently. (Due to its heft, it feels more substantial to me but that's a VERY subjective opinion.) I want to state definitely however that this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (its "official" model name is Zx3) is a fine camcorder and I believe that everyone who buys one will be as pleased with it as I am. Thank you for reading this. I hope it has been of some help to you. ========== Update: April 23, 2010 Last night I "finally" got around to projecting images taken with this camcorder onto my 110" diagonal (16:9) screen using my PT-AE4000U LCD XGA 16:9 1600 Lumens HDmi Svid 16.1LBS Hdtv. As expected (see the relevant update to my review of the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL for more details), the images produced by the Kodak (taken, by the way, at 720P, NOT its "best quality" setting 1080P) were spectacular. They had excellent and accurate colors and sharpness; the monophonic sound was fine. The next time I take video with this camcorder I'm going to try the 1080P setting though I can't imagine that it will look much better than what I saw last night! You can't go wrong with this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and, to tell the truth, the same statement applies to the Creative Vado HD. Though they are different in their attributes, their "strengths" (all major), and their "weaknesses" (all minor), I really like them both very much. I thank you again for reading this. ========== Update: July 14, 2010 Having owned this Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL and using them side-by-side, overall I now prefer the Creative one. Really, it is just as easy to use as the Kodak, its images, at 720p, appear to be as good as Kodak's 1080p images, at least on our 110" screen, and the Creative's battery lasts much, much longer. Plus my wife prefers the Creative camcorder over this Kodak (though she can give no reason for her preference; as I have stated, I like them both). I myself have experienced the "freezing" anomaly mentioned by some other reviewers, but only once. That was early in the ownership period and it has not recurred (so far!). Even though the Kodak can hold, with a 16GB SD card, much more video than the Creative, its battery runs out well before you can take even a fraction of what the card can hold. I have a spare battery for the Kodak (as well as for the Creative) and I strongly recommend that you buy one or two spares also, especially if you buy this Kodak model. With the Kodak camcorder, even with two fully-charged batteries, the batteries BOTH run out well before the card is filled. This is somewhat disappointing, even though recharging (which can be done in your home or your car) does not take too long. Not so with the Creative camcorder. The battery lasts for quite a long period of time though I haven't actually measured it. During our four and one-half cross-country trip, during which we took several hours of video with the Creative, I replaced its first battery with my (previously charged) second battery only once. While I did recharge the first battery, it was not necessary to use it. In my opinion, this is excellent performance. (Recharging the Creative's battery takes longer than recharging the Kodak's battery though the Creative's, like the Kodak's, can be charged from an AC outlet or from your car's DC 'cigarette-lighter' port.) Neither camcorder is 'perfect' but both are very, very good and. frankly, I could be happy with either. I think most people would feel the same. But, now having extensively used both camcorders, overall I too slightly prefer the Creative. (Among other things, the Creative camcorder REALLY excels in low-light situations.) Of course if underwater or foul-weather video is of even slight importance to you, this Kodak is, of its type, the only game in town. Also don't forget one of its MAJOR advantages: the ability of its LCD screen to be adjusted to enable easier viewing in bright sunlight. And the Kodak's ease of use with dedicated buttons is not to be ignored. So do not misunderstand: I think this Kodak pocket camcorder is a fine product. I merely want readers of my review (really, just my opinions) to be aware of the 'battery-life problem' I have experienced with it. As always, it's your call. Thank you for reading this and I hope it has been of some help to you.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (Model Zx3) video camcorder was offered to me through the Amazon Vine program and, even though I already had a Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL, which I like very much (and received just last month, also through Amazon Vine), I decided to order this Kodak one so I could have a camcorder to use and my wife could have one as well.
Let me state up front that I REALLY like this little camcorder. It is small, lightweight, convenient to slip into a pocket, and it is quick and easy to use. I think its price is very good also, certainly for what you get. (Of course just about the same can be said for the Creative Vado.) That said, and now that I have both of these camcorders, I have to say that it is hard for me to decide which of them I prefer. They both have small advantages and small disadvantages in their respective feature sets. For example, the Creative Vado has a built-in (attached) flexible USB connection which makes transferring videos to a computer REALLY easy. If you wish to transfer videos via USB with the Kodak, you must use a separate USB cable (which, by the way, IS supplied with the Kodak unit, as are ALL necessary cables, such as video cables, etc.). But, as the Kodak uses a separate SDHC card (such as this Kodak High-Speed 16 GB 60x Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card KSD16GHSBNA060), transferring video is a snap merely by removing the card from the camcorder and inserting it into the SD slot on your computer (or an external card reader if your computer is an older one which has no SD slot). (Please note that I have NO experience with the video software included with either of these camcorders. My wife and I use the Ubuntu Linux operating system on our computers; thus the included software is inoperative. In any case, Linux makes transferring files so easy and intuitive, we would have no need of the software even if it did work on our computers.) Unfortunately, the Kodak does NOT come with even a small SDHC card as standard equipment. If you want one (and you can't truly use the camcorder without one), you MUST buy it separately. This obviously adds to the cost. However, a MAJOR advantage of using a card is that you can choose the size you want and you can buy and carry several should you decide to do so; if, for example, you are on a vacation and do not wish to frequently transfer the videos to your computer, it is not necessary to do so with the Kodak. You can keep the video on your card and, when it is filled, you merely insert a fresh card. (The disadvantage of using cards is, of course, the cost involved.) With the Creative, which uses a built-in memory and has no means of expansion, you MUST periodically transfer the video to your computer - but, with it, there are no additional costs involved. (Another advantage of having more than one card is, if a card somehow becomes corrupted or damaged, you merely replace it with another, spare, card.) As far as picture quality goes (and, of course, that is THE most important thing!), both of these camcorders appear to be equal in the quality of the pictures they produce, that is to say, excellent. My wife and I have been surprised and pleased with the images produced from the Creative Vado (our first camcorder) and now with this new Kodak model. The images, as viewed on a computer screen, are really fine. I can't imagine anyone complaining about their overall quality. The auto-exposure works very well with both camcorders and the sound is about what you would expect (better if you are closer to the subject). (The Creative offers the option of using an external microphone, purchased separately, which would improve the sound quality.) The Creative Vado has three picture settings, two of which produce wide-screen (16:9) movies, and the third one which produces "standard" (4:3) images. All of the Kodak's picture settings (there are four) produce wide-screen movies. The Creative creates MP4 files and the Kodak creates MOV ones; in both cases I convert them to AVI files which I much prefer (AVI files are generally smaller - with no loss of quality that I can see). The Creative has a means of adjusting the picture brightness (sensitivity); the Kodak does not but the resulting videos, taken in varying degrees of brightness (indoors, outdoors) appear equal. The Creative has one fixed LCD-brightness (viewing) setting; the Kodak has three (normal, bright, and black-and-white); the bright LCD setting makes outdoor viewing of your subject easier but does not affect the resultant video. Both have a digital zoom (of minimal usefulness) and the Kodak offers image stabilization for stills (the Creative does not). (The Kodak can also be used under water.) Based on my admittedly limited use (thus far) of both, I should repeat that the video (and still) images are about equal in quality. (I did notice that, during one "shoot" of our granddaughter inside a local supermarket and using the Creative Vado, initially the image appeared WAY too red but, within about 10 seconds or so, it had "settled down" to look more naturally color-balanced; I have not yet had the opportunity to try a similar shoot using the Kodak.) The Kodak offers 1080p images as its top quality; the Creative offers 720p. For home movies, in my opinion, the difference is minor (but I have not looked at the images on a large screen as yet; I have watched them only on my computer). The Kodak at first appears to be lower-priced than the Creative but, as I indicated above, the initial price may be deceiving. The Creative has 4GB of built-in memory (and no means of expanding it) but the Kodak, with a minimal amount of built-in memory (29 seconds of video at the smallest file setting), MUST be used with an SDHC card. This can be any size you wish, up to a claimed 32 GB; the larger the card the more it can hold but, of course, the more it will cost. I bought the 16 GB Kodak card I mention above and it holds about 4 hours if shooting at 720p or 3 hours if shooting at 1080p. (The Creative holds about 2 hours at its 720p mid-setting, which is the one I use. Its maximum quality setting is 720p HD and, at that setting, it holds about 1 hour of video.) At this point, I do not know how long the battery will last between charges on either of these camcorders (I'll report my experiences in an update) but it seems to me (just empirically) that the Creative one will last longer. In any case, I bought (for both of them) spare batteries, spare chargers, and brand-specific camera cases. In addition I bought the necessary video cables for the Creative and a remote control for the Kodak. Some of my Kodak options are still in transit - the remote is on back order - and have not yet arrived. I have all of the Creative options I ordered. (By the way, both camcorders have removable and replaceable batteries - really a rarity, and a welcome one, these days.) Both camcorders offer similar features and adjustments but those on the Kodak appear to be more straightforward to use than those on the Creative. The Kodak offers real buttons as opposed to the Creative's touch areas and the presence of those buttons makes operation easier, at least for me. (The Creative does have a menu button as well as a "delete" button on the side and an on/off button on the top; the Kodak has all the buttons on the rear [facing the operator] except for the on/off button which is on the side.) The menu options on the Kodak are more intuitive and easier to access and change than are those on the Creative but the differences are not major. I want to mention that the Creative Vado is black all around (the "controls" are indicated with silver-on-black markings - except, of course, for the white "record" button which is actually a real button!) but the Kodak, though black (or purple or blue, as you choose) on the side facing the person being photographed, is white on the side facing the user and, at least for me, this makes seeing and using the buttons somewhat easier, though this too is not major. The Kodak comes with a wrist strap (the Creative does NOT - and it should!), a feature which I like very much, though the camcorder with the strap attached fits only rather clumsily into its Kodak 1047398 Pocket Video Case. The Creative fits perfectly and easily into its Creative Labs Vado VF0570APS Pocket Video Camera Mesh Pouch (Silver) and, in it, is smaller and thinner than the Kodak in ITS case. The Creative case has a belt loop and the Kodak case has a shoulder strap. The Kodak is noticeably heavier and slightly larger than the Creative. Its instruction manual (actually there are two - one printed, which comes with the camcorder, and an "extended" user manual which you download from Kodak's web site) is excellent, much better organized, more comprehensive, and easier to use and understand than that of the Creative. When you get down to brass tacks, with the Creative Vado, the only options you REALLY need are Creative Vado A/V Cable - Video / audio cable - composite video / audio - RCA (M) - mini-phone 3.5 mm 4-pole (M) - 4.6 ft if you want to play your videos through a standard television (an HDMI cable is optional yet even Creative itself does not appear to offer one specific to this unit - nor does Amazon!) and the case. With the Kodak, you should buy the case and, of course, you NEED an SDHC card. Overall, then, despite a lower "basic" price, the Kodak is probably somewhat more expensive overall (but it does come with all necessary cables including an HDMI one). If you are cash-strapped, you need buy NO options for the Creative but you WILL need an SDHC card for the Kodak. If you were to buy a 2-to-8 GB card, the Kodak would then be less expensive overall than the Creative; the 16GB (or 32 GB) card would make the Kodak the costlier of the two. I'm still mulling over the "problem" of which to give to my wife and which to use myself. At this point, due to the ease of transferring files to a computer, I may let my wife try the Creative Vado to see if she likes its operational characteristics; she would need only to plug in the attached USB cord; there is nothing extra she need use (with the Kodak, you need to use either an external USB cord or you need to remove the SDHC card from the camcorder and insert it into the slot on your computer). But, then again, with its buttons, the Kodak is much more straightforward to use when actually taking video or pictures. Decisions, decisions! I have to say that I like them both and I highly recommend them both. If I were really "pushed" to make a choice between the two, I think I would (very) slightly favor this Kodak model partly because of its real ease-of-use (including much better instructions), its removable storage, and its option to increase the brightness of the LCD screen for better outdoor viewing in bright sunlight (however neither the Kodak nor the Creative is easy to view in very bright sunlight) but someone else might feel differently. (Due to its heft, it feels more substantial to me but that's a VERY subjective opinion.) I want to state definitely however that this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (its "official" model name is Zx3) is a fine camcorder and I believe that everyone who buys one will be as pleased with it as I am. Thank you for reading this. I hope it has been of some help to you. ========== Update: April 23, 2010 Last night I "finally" got around to projecting images taken with this camcorder onto my 110" diagonal (16:9) screen using my PT-AE4000U LCD XGA 16:9 1600 Lumens HDmi Svid 16.1LBS Hdtv. As expected (see the relevant update to my review of the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL for more details), the images produced by the Kodak (taken, by the way, at 720P, NOT its "best quality" setting 1080P) were spectacular. They had excellent and accurate colors and sharpness; the monophonic sound was fine. The next time I take video with this camcorder I'm going to try the 1080P setting though I can't imagine that it will look much better than what I saw last night! You can't go wrong with this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and, to tell the truth, the same statement applies to the Creative Vado HD. Though they are different in their attributes, their "strengths" (all major), and their "weaknesses" (all minor), I really like them both very much. I thank you again for reading this. ========== Update: July 14, 2010 Having owned this Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL and using them side-by-side, overall I now prefer the Creative one. Really, it is just as easy to use as the Kodak, its images, at 720p, appear to be as good as Kodak's 1080p images, at least on our 110" screen, and the Creative's battery lasts much, much longer. Plus my wife prefers the Creative camcorder over this Kodak (though she can give no reason for her preference; as I have stated, I like them both). I myself have experienced the "freezing" anomaly mentioned by some other reviewers, but only once. That was early in the ownership period and it has not recurred (so far!). Even though the Kodak can hold, with a 16GB SD card, much more video than the Creative, its battery runs out well before you can take even a fraction of what the card can hold. I have a spare battery for the Kodak (as well as for the Creative) and I strongly recommend that you buy one or two spares also, especially if you buy this Kodak model. With the Kodak camcorder, even with two fully-charged batteries, the batteries BOTH run out well before the card is filled. This is somewhat disappointing, even though recharging (which can be done in your home or your car) does not take too long. Not so with the Creative camcorder. The battery lasts for quite a long period of time though I haven't actually measured it. During our four and one-half cross-country trip, during which we took several hours of video with the Creative, I replaced its first battery with my (previously charged) second battery only once. While I did recharge the first battery, it was not necessary to use it. In my opinion, this is excellent performance. (Recharging the Creative's battery takes longer than recharging the Kodak's battery though the Creative's, like the Kodak's, can be charged from an AC outlet or from your car's DC 'cigarette-lighter' port.) Neither camcorder is 'perfect' but both are very, very good and. frankly, I could be happy with either. I think most people would feel the same. But, now having extensively used both camcorders, overall I too slightly prefer the Creative. (Among other things, the Creative camcorder REALLY excels in low-light situations.) Of course if underwater or foul-weather video is of even slight importance to you, this Kodak is, of its type, the only game in town. Also don't forget one of its MAJOR advantages: the ability of its LCD screen to be adjusted to enable easier viewing in bright sunlight. And the Kodak's ease of use with dedicated buttons is not to be ignored. So do not misunderstand: I think this Kodak pocket camcorder is a fine product. I merely want readers of my review (really, just my opinions) to be aware of the 'battery-life problem' I have experienced with it. As always, it's your call. Thank you for reading this and I hope it has been of some help to you.
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| 8. Flip UltraHD Video Camera - White, 4 GB, 1 Hour NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $149.00 -- our price: $99.99 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0040702IE Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 18 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review | |
| 9. Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $149.00 -- our price: Too low to display (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0030MITDK Manufacturer: Eastman Kodak Company Sales Rank: 12 Average Customer Review: 
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (Model Zx3) video camcorder was offered to me through the Amazon Vine program and, even though I already had a Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL, which I like very much (and received just last month, also through Amazon Vine), I decided to order this Kodak one so I could have a camcorder to use and my wife could have one as well.
Let me state up front that I REALLY like this little camcorder. It is small, lightweight, convenient to slip into a pocket, and it is quick and easy to use. I think its price is very good also, certainly for what you get. (Of course just about the same can be said for the Creative Vado.) That said, and now that I have both of these camcorders, I have to say that it is hard for me to decide which of them I prefer. They both have small advantages and small disadvantages in their respective feature sets. For example, the Creative Vado has a built-in (attached) flexible USB connection which makes transferring videos to a computer REALLY easy. If you wish to transfer videos via USB with the Kodak, you must use a separate USB cable (which, by the way, IS supplied with the Kodak unit, as are ALL necessary cables, such as video cables, etc.). But, as the Kodak uses a separate SDHC card (such as this Kodak High-Speed 16 GB 60x Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card KSD16GHSBNA060), transferring video is a snap merely by removing the card from the camcorder and inserting it into the SD slot on your computer (or an external card reader if your computer is an older one which has no SD slot). (Please note that I have NO experience with the video software included with either of these camcorders. My wife and I use the Ubuntu Linux operating system on our computers; thus the included software is inoperative. In any case, Linux makes transferring files so easy and intuitive, we would have no need of the software even if it did work on our computers.) Unfortunately, the Kodak does NOT come with even a small SDHC card as standard equipment. If you want one (and you can't truly use the camcorder without one), you MUST buy it separately. This obviously adds to the cost. However, a MAJOR advantage of using a card is that you can choose the size you want and you can buy and carry several should you decide to do so; if, for example, you are on a vacation and do not wish to frequently transfer the videos to your computer, it is not necessary to do so with the Kodak. You can keep the video on your card and, when it is filled, you merely insert a fresh card. (The disadvantage of using cards is, of course, the cost involved.) With the Creative, which uses a built-in memory and has no means of expansion, you MUST periodically transfer the video to your computer - but, with it, there are no additional costs involved. (Another advantage of having more than one card is, if a card somehow becomes corrupted or damaged, you merely replace it with another, spare, card.) As far as picture quality goes (and, of course, that is THE most important thing!), both of these camcorders appear to be equal in the quality of the pictures they produce, that is to say, excellent. My wife and I have been surprised and pleased with the images produced from the Creative Vado (our first camcorder) and now with this new Kodak model. The images, as viewed on a computer screen, are really fine. I can't imagine anyone complaining about their overall quality. The auto-exposure works very well with both camcorders and the sound is about what you would expect (better if you are closer to the subject). (The Creative offers the option of using an external microphone, purchased separately, which would improve the sound quality.) The Creative Vado has three picture settings, two of which produce wide-screen (16:9) movies, and the third one which produces "standard" (4:3) images. All of the Kodak's picture settings (there are four) produce wide-screen movies. The Creative creates MP4 files and the Kodak creates MOV ones; in both cases I convert them to AVI files which I much prefer (AVI files are generally smaller - with no loss of quality that I can see). The Creative has a means of adjusting the picture brightness (sensitivity); the Kodak does not but the resulting videos, taken in varying degrees of brightness (indoors, outdoors) appear equal. The Creative has one fixed LCD-brightness (viewing) setting; the Kodak has three (normal, bright, and black-and-white); the bright LCD setting makes outdoor viewing of your subject easier but does not affect the resultant video. Both have a digital zoom (of minimal usefulness) and the Kodak offers image stabilization for stills (the Creative does not). (The Kodak can also be used under water.) Based on my admittedly limited use (thus far) of both, I should repeat that the video (and still) images are about equal in quality. (I did notice that, during one "shoot" of our granddaughter inside a local supermarket and using the Creative Vado, initially the image appeared WAY too red but, within about 10 seconds or so, it had "settled down" to look more naturally color-balanced; I have not yet had the opportunity to try a similar shoot using the Kodak.) The Kodak offers 1080p images as its top quality; the Creative offers 720p. For home movies, in my opinion, the difference is minor (but I have not looked at the images on a large screen as yet; I have watched them only on my computer). The Kodak at first appears to be lower-priced than the Creative but, as I indicated above, the initial price may be deceiving. The Creative has 4GB of built-in memory (and no means of expanding it) but the Kodak, with a minimal amount of built-in memory (29 seconds of video at the smallest file setting), MUST be used with an SDHC card. This can be any size you wish, up to a claimed 32 GB; the larger the card the more it can hold but, of course, the more it will cost. I bought the 16 GB Kodak card I mention above and it holds about 4 hours if shooting at 720p or 3 hours if shooting at 1080p. (The Creative holds about 2 hours at its 720p mid-setting, which is the one I use. Its maximum quality setting is 720p HD and, at that setting, it holds about 1 hour of video.) At this point, I do not know how long the battery will last between charges on either of these camcorders (I'll report my experiences in an update) but it seems to me (just empirically) that the Creative one will last longer. In any case, I bought (for both of them) spare batteries, spare chargers, and brand-specific camera cases. In addition I bought the necessary video cables for the Creative and a remote control for the Kodak. Some of my Kodak options are still in transit - the remote is on back order - and have not yet arrived. I have all of the Creative options I ordered. (By the way, both camcorders have removable and replaceable batteries - really a rarity, and a welcome one, these days.) Both camcorders offer similar features and adjustments but those on the Kodak appear to be more straightforward to use than those on the Creative. The Kodak offers real buttons as opposed to the Creative's touch areas and the presence of those buttons makes operation easier, at least for me. (The Creative does have a menu button as well as a "delete" button on the side and an on/off button on the top; the Kodak has all the buttons on the rear [facing the operator] except for the on/off button which is on the side.) The menu options on the Kodak are more intuitive and easier to access and change than are those on the Creative but the differences are not major. I want to mention that the Creative Vado is black all around (the "controls" are indicated with silver-on-black markings - except, of course, for the white "record" button which is actually a real button!) but the Kodak, though black (or purple or blue, as you choose) on the side facing the person being photographed, is white on the side facing the user and, at least for me, this makes seeing and using the buttons somewhat easier, though this too is not major. The Kodak comes with a wrist strap (the Creative does NOT - and it should!), a feature which I like very much, though the camcorder with the strap attached fits only rather clumsily into its Kodak 1047398 Pocket Video Case. The Creative fits perfectly and easily into its Creative Labs Vado VF0570APS Pocket Video Camera Mesh Pouch (Silver) and, in it, is smaller and thinner than the Kodak in ITS case. The Creative case has a belt loop and the Kodak case has a shoulder strap. The Kodak is noticeably heavier and slightly larger than the Creative. Its instruction manual (actually there are two - one printed, which comes with the camcorder, and an "extended" user manual which you download from Kodak's web site) is excellent, much better organized, more comprehensive, and easier to use and understand than that of the Creative. When you get down to brass tacks, with the Creative Vado, the only options you REALLY need are Creative Vado A/V Cable - Video / audio cable - composite video / audio - RCA (M) - mini-phone 3.5 mm 4-pole (M) - 4.6 ft if you want to play your videos through a standard television (an HDMI cable is optional yet even Creative itself does not appear to offer one specific to this unit - nor does Amazon!) and the case. With the Kodak, you should buy the case and, of course, you NEED an SDHC card. Overall, then, despite a lower "basic" price, the Kodak is probably somewhat more expensive overall (but it does come with all necessary cables including an HDMI one). If you are cash-strapped, you need buy NO options for the Creative but you WILL need an SDHC card for the Kodak. If you were to buy a 2-to-8 GB card, the Kodak would then be less expensive overall than the Creative; the 16GB (or 32 GB) card would make the Kodak the costlier of the two. I'm still mulling over the "problem" of which to give to my wife and which to use myself. At this point, due to the ease of transferring files to a computer, I may let my wife try the Creative Vado to see if she likes its operational characteristics; she would need only to plug in the attached USB cord; there is nothing extra she need use (with the Kodak, you need to use either an external USB cord or you need to remove the SDHC card from the camcorder and insert it into the slot on your computer). But, then again, with its buttons, the Kodak is much more straightforward to use when actually taking video or pictures. Decisions, decisions! I have to say that I like them both and I highly recommend them both. If I were really "pushed" to make a choice between the two, I think I would (very) slightly favor this Kodak model partly because of its real ease-of-use (including much better instructions), its removable storage, and its option to increase the brightness of the LCD screen for better outdoor viewing in bright sunlight (however neither the Kodak nor the Creative is easy to view in very bright sunlight) but someone else might feel differently. (Due to its heft, it feels more substantial to me but that's a VERY subjective opinion.) I want to state definitely however that this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL (its "official" model name is Zx3) is a fine camcorder and I believe that everyone who buys one will be as pleased with it as I am. Thank you for reading this. I hope it has been of some help to you. ========== Update: April 23, 2010 Last night I "finally" got around to projecting images taken with this camcorder onto my 110" diagonal (16:9) screen using my PT-AE4000U LCD XGA 16:9 1600 Lumens HDmi Svid 16.1LBS Hdtv. As expected (see the relevant update to my review of the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL for more details), the images produced by the Kodak (taken, by the way, at 720P, NOT its "best quality" setting 1080P) were spectacular. They had excellent and accurate colors and sharpness; the monophonic sound was fine. The next time I take video with this camcorder I'm going to try the 1080P setting though I can't imagine that it will look much better than what I saw last night! You can't go wrong with this Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and, to tell the truth, the same statement applies to the Creative Vado HD. Though they are different in their attributes, their "strengths" (all major), and their "weaknesses" (all minor), I really like them both very much. I thank you again for reading this. ========== Update: July 14, 2010 Having owned this Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and the Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL and using them side-by-side, overall I now prefer the Creative one. Really, it is just as easy to use as the Kodak, its images, at 720p, appear to be as good as Kodak's 1080p images, at least on our 110" screen, and the Creative's battery lasts much, much longer. Plus my wife prefers the Creative camcorder over this Kodak (though she can give no reason for her preference; as I have stated, I like them both). I myself have experienced the "freezing" anomaly mentioned by some other reviewers, but only once. That was early in the ownership period and it has not recurred (so far!). Even though the Kodak can hold, with a 16GB SD card, much more video than the Creative, its battery runs out well before you can take even a fraction of what the card can hold. I have a spare battery for the Kodak (as well as for the Creative) and I strongly recommend that you buy one or two spares also, especially if you buy this Kodak model. With the Kodak camcorder, even with two fully-charged batteries, the batteries BOTH run out well before the card is filled. This is somewhat disappointing, even though recharging (which can be done in your home or your car) does not take too long. Not so with the Creative camcorder. The battery lasts for quite a long period of time though I haven't actually measured it. During our four and one-half cross-country trip, during which we took several hours of video with the Creative, I replaced its first battery with my (previously charged) second battery only once. While I did recharge the first battery, it was not necessary to use it. In my opinion, this is excellent performance. (Recharging the Creative's battery takes longer than recharging the Kodak's battery though the Creative's, like the Kodak's, can be charged from an AC outlet or from your car's DC 'cigarette-lighter' port.) Neither camcorder is 'perfect' but both are very, very good and. frankly, I could be happy with either. I think most people would feel the same. But, now having extensively used both camcorders, overall I too slightly prefer the Creative. (Among other things, the Creative camcorder REALLY excels in low-light situations.) Of course if underwater or foul-weather video is of even slight importance to you, this Kodak is, of its type, the only game in town. Also don't forget one of its MAJOR advantages: the ability of its LCD screen to be adjusted to enable easier viewing in bright sunlight. And the Kodak's ease of use with dedicated buttons is not to be ignored. So do not misunderstand: I think this Kodak pocket camcorder is a fine product. I merely want readers of my review (really, just my opinions) to be aware of the 'battery-life problem' I have experienced with it. As always, it's your call. Thank you for reading this and I hope it has been of some help to you.
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| 10. Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Purple) NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $149.00 -- our price: Too low to display (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0030MITUS Manufacturer: Eastman Kodak Company Sales Rank: 35 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
|
Editorial Review | |
| 11. Toshiba Camileo S20 Full-HD Pocket Camcorder (Silver/Black) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $179.99 -- our price: $149.00 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B003DZ122O Manufacturer: Toshiba Sales Rank: 59 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
|
Editorial Review | |
| 12. Panasonic HDC-SD60K SD Based Hi-Def Camcorder with 35X Intelligent Zoom (Black) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $449.00 -- our price: Too low to display (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0035LCZSG Manufacturer: Panasonic Sales Rank: 49 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review | |
| 13. Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Blue, 4 GB, 1 Hour NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $149.00 -- our price: $99.99 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0040702IO Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 26 Average Customer Review: 
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 14. Flip UltraHD Video Camera - White, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $199.99 -- our price: $119.99 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0023B14TU Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 46 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review | |
| 15. Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Magenta, 4 GB, 1 Hour NEWEST MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $149.00 -- our price: $99.99 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0040702IY Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 31 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review | |
| 16. Flip SlideHD Video Camera - White, 16 GB, 4 Hours | |
 | Electronics
list price: $229.00 -- our price: $199.00 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B003FMUPA0 Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 53 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review | |
| 17. Sony Bloggie Touch (MHS-TS20/B) - 8 GB, 2 Hours NEWEST MODEL (Black) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $199.00 -- our price: $149.99 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0043CVH2Q Manufacturer: Sony Sales Rank: 95 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review | |
| 18. Kodak Mini Video Camera with SD Card (Grey) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $99.00 -- our price: Too low to display (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B003WOLOLU Manufacturer: Eastman Kodak Company Sales Rank: 71 Average Customer Review:
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 19. Flip Ultra Video Camera - Black, 4 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL | |
 | Electronics
list price: $149.00 -- our price: $169.89 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0023B14U4 Manufacturer: Flip Video Sales Rank: 309 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review | |
| 20. Samsung F40 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Black) | |
 | Electronics
list price: $199.00 -- our price: $129.00 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B0032UWTGI Manufacturer: Samsung Sales Rank: 79 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review
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The Best Flip once again so far...., September 22, 2010
Do the some of the reviewers work for FLIP?, October 2, 2010
Video of the USB Flaw on Both Mac AND Acer Laptops, January 10, 2010