The pocket camcorder market is heating up. Pure Digital Technologies got the ball rolling with its $130 Flip Video camcorder and eventually moved to the slimmer and higher-capacity $150 Flip Ultra. Not satisfied that the Ultra was slim enough, along came the $180 Flip Mino, a camera smaller than the Ultra. Scant weeks later, Kodak jumped in with its $180 Zi6, a pocket camcorder larger than the Flip models but capable of shooting 720p HD video.
Pure Digital's response is the $229 Flip MinoHD -- a pocket camcorder with little different from the Flip Mino other than the fact that it encodes movies as H.264 files rather than in the 3ivx format and shoots in 1280-by-720 HD (720p). Bundled with the MinoHD is a new and fairly limited editing application, FlipShare.
Because the operation of the Flip MinoHD is exactly the same as the Flip Mino, allow me to refer those who are curious about its workings to my Flip Mino review. And because you're likely interested in how the MinoHD stacks up to the Zi6, might I suggest a look at that review as well?
Let's get physical
If you haven't yet decided which way to turn in this recent pocket camcorder war, you may wonder how the MinoHD compares to the Kodak Zi6. In terms of physical features, the Zi6 has the clear advantage.
While the MinoHD is a smaller handful than the Kodak camcorder, it lacks some of the Zi6's attractive physical features. The MinoHD has an internal, rechargeable battery. When you run out of juice you have to jack its USB connector into a power source such as your computer's powered USB port or a USB power supply such as one that comes with an iPhone or, optionally, iPod. The Zi6 uses two AA batteries, thus allowing you to swap in new batteries when you need them.
The MinoHD is limited to 4GB of internal memory--60 minutes of shooting. The Zi6 has paltry-to-the-point-of-useless internal memory but includes an SD slot for inserting a card with a capacity as high as 32GB. You can connect the output of each camera to your TV, but the MinoHD includes only composite video output. The Zi6 includes both composite and the higher-quality component video outputs. The MinoHD shoots at 30 frames per second. The Zi6 allows you to shoot HD video at either 30 or 60 frames per second (it will also shoot in standard definition). The Zi6's display, at 2.4-inches, is larger than the MinoHD's 1.5-inch LCD. The Zi6 can take still shots, the MinoHD can't. The Zi6 includes a macro switch for taking close-ups. There's no such feature on the MinoHD.
Vision and sound
But how does each camera's video look? They both shoot 720p video using H.264 yet their results are not the same. Each has advantages depending on the kind and quantity of light you have at your disposal and one has a clear edge when using the 2x digital zoom.
Generally, the Flip MinoHD's video is warmer (yellower) than the Zi6, which tends toward cooler blue tones. It's for this reason that when you shoot indoors at night under typical house lighting (which tends to be yellow to a camera and camcorder) your MinoHD video is going to display a yellow cast. The Zi6's blue tendencies compensate for this yellow lighting and the results look more natural.
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