camcorder

The PlaySport Zx5 is Kodak's update to 2010's PlaySport Zx3. The two look nearly identical, but the Zx5 ups the ante on durability. The Zx3 was merely waterproof and dustproof but now the Zx5 adds shockproofing. There are a couple of other feature differences, too, most for the better. Unfortunately, the battery is no longer removable.

The video quality from the Zx5 doesn't change much from the Zx3, but the few changes are mildly for the worse, which brought its rating down. On the other hand, the video is still very nice and the camera is a … Read more

The Cisco/Flip Video saga continues. After the April announcement that the FlipShare desktop and mobile software will continue to be functional and supported until December 31, 2013, comes word on the fate of all your videos stored on the company's FlipShare service.

As of May 12, 2011, any videos shared with "an individual, group, Flip Channel, or Twitter will only be available online for viewing and downloading for up to 30 days after being sent." Sent something before that date? Well, you've got 30, err, 29 days to get 'em before they're gone.

Clips … Read more

Flip Video is no more. If you're ready to bail on Flip, too, then you'll want to make sure your video clips are archived for future access. We'll show you how to find where the video files are located on your computer so that you can save them to an external hard drive or another folder on your computer that you can more easily locate. We'll also show you how to save them so that each file is named by date and time.

When the FlipShare program imports videos from … Read more

In my more cynical moments, I'm convinced that camera and camcorder manufacturers conspire to make buying decisions confusing by overwhelming us with unnecessary choice. Example: Canon currently lists 20 HD camcorders on its site, eight of which are 2011 models, 11 from 2010, and one is older. All are still available, and the overlap in prices--not to mention the $50 price increments--is enough to make your head spin.

Today's befuddling trio of camcorders in the $650 to $800 (list) range are the Canon Vixia HF M400, M40, and M41. They're pretty much the same, except the M400 … Read more

Back on April 19, I suggested that people hold off on buying a Flip minicamcorder after Cisco decided to close the business. Cisco's public relations gave me a wishy-washy answer about support for current and future users, saying it would have a transition plan "in the coming weeks" instead of, you know, immediately. Thankfully, weeks turned into days, and Cisco now has a plan in place for the future of Flip.

Sadly, there is still no plan to sell the business to another manufacturer. But, you're safe to buy up the models currently available with full … Read more

You might think that pocket video cameras are doomed because of smartphones and the iPhone, but there are some things those devices just can't do. The Samsung HMX-W200, for example, can survive a 6.5-foot drop, a swim down to 10 feet, and it's dustproof. It joins competitors from Kodak and Panasonic, among others, that are rugged, not just waterproof.

The W200 is essentially the same as the company's P100 pocket video camera, but rugged. It has a backside-illuminated 5-megapixel CMOS sensor for better low-light recording; records in full HD (1,920x1,080/30p) in MPEG-4 AVC/… Read more

Editors' note (April 26, 2011): Since this post, Cisco has announced it will continue to support Flip devices within the terms of the company's one-year warranty. Technical support for both the video cameras and the FlipShare software and sharing services will be available until December 31, 2013. Sharing services will also end on this date. As long as they're still available on the market, you may want to consider buying one and if not, here are some alternatives.

When Cisco closed its Flip business last week, I was treating it just like any other product that gets discontinued … Read more

What do you do when you buy a cool new gadget, and the company that makes it suddenly and without warning announces it's canceling it, even though that device is the hottest one in its category?

That's what millions of Flip camcorder customers are asking themselves this week. Despite being ranked as the No. 1 mini camcorder on Amazon, Cisco Systems shocked loyal Flip fans this week when it announced it was killing the product line. Cisco bought Pure Digital, the maker of the popular Flip mini video camera a couple of years ago, as part of its … Read more

First, congrats to Kyle of Astoria, N.Y., for winning last week's Seagate Slim drive. Now onto this week, which has an extreme theme.

For those who are into shooting action sports--or just like the idea of a wearable camcorder--we're serving up the ContourGPS, a tube-style HD video camera that's helmet-mountable. When we reviewed an earlier version of it a couple of years ago, we liked its design and thought it offered great performance for a helmet cam (other mounts are also offered) but was a little lacking in the features department.

Well, since then Contour has … Read more