There was this one time, it was great, you gotta believe me....No, I don't have proof.

November 26, 2011 8:51 PM

Help me decide on a pocket video recorder.

I want a relatively cheap pocket video recorder. Less than $80 would be ideal, but this time of the year I can probably find most things on sale, anyway.
I've been looking at the Flip line, and they look like what I'm going for, but I can't tell which one I should buy. And then theres the SlideHD version that isn't even on their website. I read over the reviews, and they seem to be split down the middle between "this is pretty awesome!" and "it's sub-par, but not the worst thing ever." Or, is there something better out there that I'm missing?
I just want something that I can carry around in my purse and whip-out to capture funny moments with friends, or cute things my cats are doing, or weird stuff I need video proof of, or crappy home movies to show to my kids 15 years down the line. I'm not planning on using this for any kind of production, not even youtube, really I just want a portable means to help me remember my life.

posted by FirstMateKate to Technology (7 answers total)

I would honestly recommend a new iPod touch for this role. You can record video from it out of the box, buy the iMovie app and edit it together (which is probably a bit kludgy, my own iPod touch is pre-cameras), and then upload stuff to YouTube or twitter or facebook or whatever. The downside of the iPod solution would be a lack of expandable storage, so you'd have to pull videos off and onto your computer periodically (and that HD video is going to fill space fast, even compressed); it's about twice as expensive as a Flip is currently. The video resolution is 720p (which qualifies as HD I guess), the still photos are relatively crappy (less than a megapixel). But of course it also does all the other things an iPod touch does. Like play games or whatever.

Also, Flips are all discounted from their MSRPs right now because Cisco is shutting down the product line (two years after purchasing it), so ongoing tech support could be problematic.

Also if you really want to show stuff to your kids in 15 years you need to figure out how you're going to preserve your video through 15 years of file formats becoming obsolete. It may be a challenge. Keep things organized and backed up.
posted by silby at 9:20 PM on November 26, 2011

On preview, seconding Silby: Have you considered upgrading your cell phone to a smartphone? I take all of my videos of the cats & kids on an iPhone 4. It's handy because it's always charged and I always have it with me. Video quality is excellent, although the microphone is not up to par when compared to a true camcorder (don't know how it fares vs. a Flip). Using your phone for video would save you the hassle of carrying around an extra device.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:22 PM on November 26, 2011

Kodak PlaySport Zx3 refurbished or used is less than $80, but you can get a new model, Zx5 for a bit more than $100. I haven't tested the waterproof capabilties of it, or any of its "rugged" features, but it takes decent video.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:38 PM on November 26, 2011

I have a Playsport that I use to record auditions and rehearsals. It's a solid, basic camera and it's cheap.

However, you could just go with a Smartphone too.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:11 PM on November 26, 2011

Best answer: I don't think a smartphone is the best answer. The batteries are always dying, the image/audio quality is crap and getting files off them is not simple. There are a lot of things you can do with a cheap, non-precious camera that you would not do with a smartphone/touch.

Given your description, I would use the following criteria to select a camera:
1. Charges from USB. (Yay, no special charger!)
2. Has USB connector or cable built in. (yay, no special cables!)
3 . Reviewers mention good battery life. (Alive when you need it!)
4. Has a fair amount of storage (say 8gb - so you can forget to unload most of the time)
5. Appears to the computer as a disk drive or mass storage(doesn't have special software).
6. Not EVERY review says bad things about image quality. (Most are acceptable, some are awful.. look at YT clips to get a feel)
7. As physically small and waterproof/shockproof as possible. (Stays in pocket or purse w/o burden and lives you long time)

Last I looked, there were kodak playsports that did all this. Oh, buttons over touchscreens. Both my touchscreen Kodak and Sony had problems.
posted by fake at 5:56 AM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nthing the Playsport, especially at that price. I have a Zi8 and I love it, so simple to use with good quality. I wish it was waterproof/water resistant.
posted by Sphinx at 12:43 PM on November 27, 2011

Best answer: I've got a flip video and I think it has a better microphone for recording sounds with the video. I recorded my friends band Double Muscle playing in the pub and he said that it was a decent recording.
posted by koolkat at 2:02 AM on November 28, 2011