Small wonders

Till about a few years back, a video camera, even for the most casual, meant contending with a bulky device with an even bulkier battery pack. And then came the Pure Digital Flip, which took a familiar form factor—the candy bar — and packed in camera optics, some flash memory and small batteries to create a video camera that fit into your front shirt pocket.

What it lost in imaging chip quality and low-light performance was more than made up with its carry-anywhere design. Also, it made uploading and sharing videos dead simple, thanks to the flip-out USB connector and on-board software which readied the videos for PC (and web use).

With the recent launches of the Kodak Zi8 and the Creative Vado HD in India, this segment has blown wide open, and we look at the top contenders and pick one pocket-mein-rocket!

Kodak Zi8

For a company with as strong an association with the modern day camera, Kodak’s digital camera business has been far from spectacular. With the Zi8, Kodak seems to have put the demons of the past behind itself, and launched a feature-rich camera that stands its ground against the best.

At around 2.4in x 4.5in x 0.9in in size and 115gm in weight, the diminutive Zi8’s standout feature is its ability to record high-definition video at a maximum resolution of 1080p, the current highest end of high definition. You also get the option of shooting at a slightly lower 720p resolution, either at 30 frames per second, or 60 frames per second, the latter delivering sharper images of fast-moving objects but consuming more memory to store each video.

Speaking of which, the built- in memory isn’t much to write home about, but the Zi8 lets you add upto 32GB memory cards, excellent if you’re planning on shooting in high-def. If you’re going to be uploading to Youtube or other video sharing sites, standard definition should be sufficient.

Transferring video to your Windows or Mac computer is as simple as plugging the Zi8 in, which then installs software to handle the transfer, and even helps you with the upload onto popular video sites. I was more interested in using the built-in HDMI jack on the Zi8 to connect directly to the LCD TV, and the results were pleasing. Maybe not as good as a full-fledged camcorder, but crisp and sharp enough to please most, and clearly the best of the lot.

The inbuilt image stabilisation is a great add-on feature, as is the external mic jack which accepts stereo microphones for better audio quality, say in the case of an interview. And ah yes, who can ignore the attractive price, which at Rs 9,999 helps its case immensely.

Creative Vado HD

Looks are deceptive with the Vado HD, which looks more like a media player and less like a camcorder. It’s smaller and lighter than the Zi8, but the glossy body is prone to scratches and fingerprints. Like the Zi8, the Vado HD has an external microphone and a HDMI jack, and offers pretty good in-camera settings to manually adjust your exposure etc. The field of view is the widest of the lot, something to keep in mind if you’re planning on capturing a lot of landscape video.

The video output is good and performs rather well under low-light conditions. There’s motion-detection to grab video only when movement is detected, and one-click uploading to Facebook, Youtube, etc.

Operation is largely simple, but some of the buttons are confusing in their function. Oddly enough, the new Vado HD tops out at 4GB of storage, which at its highest 720 resolution translates to about a megabyte per second. Even so, the Vado HD would have given the others in this category sleepless nights if it hadn’t been priced at the Rs 14,999 price point. At this price, you could pick up the Kodak and have enough left over for a 32GB memory card.

Flip Mino HD

The one that started it all, the Flip has stayed away from Indian shores even though it was acquired by Cisco last year. The Mino HD is the luxurious one in this pack — brushed metal body, slightly heavier and the most solid feeling trademark flip-out USB connector. At $229, this model is only available in black and silver, but if you order it via Flip’s website, you can get a custom version at no extra cost. The Flip MinoHD slots itself right in the middle of the Vado HD and the Zi8 in terms of quality and bundled memory, though I personally prefer the Flip’s Flipshare software above the rest.

You may ask, are any of these replacements for a conventional camcorder? My view is that having these devices with you all the time is half the battle won (for them). Sure, the camcorder trumps them on image quality, but if all you’re going to do is upload them to Youtube, wouldn’t you pick a device that you don’t actually have to remember to carry with you?

Kodak Zi8

Rating: 9/10

Price: Rs 9,999

Creative Vado HD

Rating: 7/10

Price: Rs 14,999

Flip Mino HD

Rating: 8/10

Price: US $229      

A sporty number

Support your sportswear brand, and your planet! The Puma Phone features a ton of features such as a 2.8-in capacitive touchscreen, a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, along with GPS, a compass and geo-tagging. It’s from Puma, so you know you’re going to get a ton of sporty features like a pedometer, stopwatch and GPS tracker for your morning jogs. And while you’re out and about, you can use the integrated solar cell for charging this baby — one hour of sunlight can provide upto 15 minutes of talk time or two hours of music playback!
 
Price: To be announced


Graphiti