I've been a big fan of the RCA Small Wonder line of digital camcorders (see earlier post) -- they're simple, and fun, and compact, and dead easy to use, especially for shooting quick Web videos to upload and share.
And now there's more options along this line from the company from which RCA licenses the design -- with the Pure Digital Flip Video camcorders.
Everything is included: they run on two ordinary AA batteries; operate with simple controls to record, review, and delete clips; connect to a PC with a built-in pop-out USB connector; and even include onboard software (for Windows and Mac) to edit and share your clips.
And they shoot presentable VGA-res video (640 × 480), at full rate (30 fps), using MPEG-4 compression, and saved as an AVI file. You then can use the built-in software, or other recent consumer software, to play, edit, convert, and share these clips.
The Flip Video, released in May 2007, goes even simpler and smaller than the latest RCA Small Wonder design, by eliminating the flip-out viewfinder and memory card expansion slot.
It's available in a 30-minute model for $119.99 (512 MB), and 60-minute for $149.99 (1 GB), in white and black.
And the newer Flip Video Ultra from September 2007 adds a no-glare viewfinder and beefs up the video quality (from 2.8 to 4.5 Mbps).
It's available in a 30-minute model for $149.99 (1 GB), in white and black, and 60-minute for $179.99 (2 GB), in white, black, orange, and pink.
The Flip Video Ultra also adds an enhanced video processing engine to improve the color fidelity, exposure control, and dynamic range, plus a built-in tripod mount. And it improves the battery life from 2 to 2.5 hours (Alkaline), and 5 to 6.5 hours (Energizer e2).
See my Digital Video Camcorders Gallery for details and related products
Find the Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra on Amazon.com