Mini HD Video Cameras

[Gad-Westy]

Now that I've ditched the D5000 in favour of a D300 I have no option for videoing. Mini Gad-westy is due to arrive in the world in December and my wife and I would quite a like a low cost video camera to capture some memories.

I'm looking for something sub £100 ideally. 1080p resolution and ideally some built in stabilisation if this is as effective as I'd imagine it to be. I seem to remember reading that Flip were the market leaders with these things but did I hear that they had gone bust?

Anyway, all suggestions welcome...

[Gad-Westy]

And another question, would I be better just buying a compact stills camera that does 1080p video? Just wondering if the dedicated video camera offer anything a compact camera won't?

[Gad-Westy]

Overwhelmed!

So maybe just go get the ball rolling, a question that is troubling me. Is there any fundamental reason why a 1080p mini camcorder will shoot better video than a compact stills camera that has 1080p video functionality? Frame rate, sound quality, low light etc..?

[londonagent]

IIR Flip were bought by Cisco and then they stopped production. I have the one of the mini HD ones, the quality is good, however not as good as the video on my 550D, and it is a bit pants in low light. However on the plus side it is really light and easy to use and is excellent for a quick video of Londonagent jnr.

[Nick Grant]

Do you have an iphone? The video on the 4 or 4S is probably good enough for what you need

[chopper602]

I have a Samsung compact, which I use for HD video, it's a lot smaller than a dedicated camcorder and IMO the quality is incredible. I have a D5000 too and never use the video - it's pants!!

[Gad-Westy]

Nick Grant said:

Do you have an iphone? The video on the 4 or 4S is probably good enough for what you need

My wife and I both have iPhone 3s's but are due upgrades. Unfortunately O2 have no stock of the 16gb 4s whatsoever so it could be some time before we get our hands on one. To be honest I might not even bother as I'm perfectly happy with the 3S in general.

What are the sound and low light performance like on the 4s? I'm just a little suspicious that such a small device can do so much without compromising on something but it would be great if that isn't the case.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Monday 14th November 12:51

[Kudos]

Gad-Westy said:

My wife and I both have iPhone 3s's but are due upgrades. Unfortunately O2 have no stock of the 16gb 4s whatsoever so it could be some time before we get our hands on one. To be honest I might not even bother as I'm perfectly happy with the 3S in general.

What are the sound and low light performance like on the 4s? I'm just a little suspicious that such a small device can do so much without compromising on something but it would be great if that isn't the case.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Monday 14th November 12:51

It is night and day with 3gs and 4s. I have just upgraded and am astounded by the improvement in quality and am actually a bit annoyed when viewing older pics of Kudos Jnr that the quality is nowhere near as good.

Saying that, I haven't compared it against a proper device