Camcorder/flip style video camera suggestion

[slackerinabox]

Baby = need a dedicated video camera. Suggestions? Mostly for web video but I'd probably plop important events on DVD.

Any suggestions? Nothing too fancy required, just decent low-light (in door lighting, not a candle)

Thanks!

 

[Kaido]

My current recommendation for a Flip-style camera is the new iPod Touch:

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/

It has a 720p camera and you can edit directly on the camera with a variety of inexpensive apps such as iMovie ($5). Fits in your pocket so it's always with you. Joby makes a great little flexible tripod case for it too: (wraps around the crib easily & goes down to the baby's eye level on a flat surface)

http://joby.com/gorillamobile/touch/

The larger question to ask when choosing a camera is workflow. How are you planning on storing the footage, editing the footage, and exporting the footage? Are you going to make DVD's to send to Grandma, or short movies to upload to Facebook? This is where a dedicated camera starts to get tricky, and why I recommend the new iPod for a quickie camera - low requirements for a support environment to actually spit out video projects. I have an iPhone 3GS (similiar video functions to the new iPod) and it's really handy with my 3-month-old because I always have it with me and don't need a computer to cut clips or do editing (although you can import the footage into whatever editing program you like).

If you are looking for more of a dedicated camera, the Kodak Zx5 has pretty decent low-light:

http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/PLAYSPORT_Video_Camera__Zx5/productID.221644700

I have the Zx3 (similar older model), which I have since donated to my sister (due to the iPhone) and she takes it to concerts all the time with great low-light results. Amazon has them in a variety of colors for around $110: (they take SD cards; 32-gig cards are getting pretty cheap, such as a Transcend model)

http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-PlaySpor.../dp/B004FLL5BI

 

[queequeg99]

Another possibility is the Samsung HMX-W200. Costco has been selling a kit with this unit bundled with an 8GB microSDHC card and floating wrist strap (the unit is rated to a depth of 3 meters). Price has been $99. I see that it is no longer available online for that price (it isn't available at all). But I picked one up at a local Portland Costco this past weekend and there were tons of them still on the shelf.

Camcorderinfo.com gave it pretty high marks for the price point (which was $150 in the review).

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Samsung-HMX-W200-Camcorder-Review.htm