[music_man]

it seems all the reviews that praise these are from newbs. i mean like the flip.  i have never tried one. so i ask, are these viable or does the picture quality stink? if they are no good, what is the smallest thing that is really good?
 
thanks

 

[El_Doug]

of course the picture quality stinks on the flip cams - they are a convenience device.  though admittedly, they are VERY convenient for quickly snapping something with one hand, and then throwing into your pocket

 

[JadeEast]

All cameras are compromised in some way. I've seen some pretty good video come from small point and shoot still cameras: canon s95, Leica LX5, Sony HX9v. Big problems with most still cameras video are moire, rolling shutter, and noise. Limits to the data rate of codecs can limit the cameras video quality but most have adapted h264 and a better data rate. One camera that I have a feeling may have very good video will be the upcoming Panasonic GF3. 
 
Allot of the quality of video is how you handle the camera. It's amazing what good lighting and a tripod will do. 

 

[Crazy Sam]

You should note that "HD" cams are not always capable of shooting in HD . I own a flip cam HD, its very convenient, however the video is, while decent, not HD. While the camera's components are HD capable, the actual chip in them is not powerful enough to shoot and process HD at any reasonable framerate. The simple reality is a chip in that small a package would overheat if it had to shoot and process HD.

 

[music_man]

thanks guys. this is what i thought. the s95 does shoot decent video but that is one heck of a pocket camera. i guess if you go any smaller the quality is gone. i am not going to get one now. it appears my phone is basicly the same thing. it seems any time anything is tiny the tradeoff is in performance. i just went through this with pcm recorders. the smallest ones stink. the larger you go the better things get. like the 5d mkii. i honestly never use it though. the s95 is just much easier to handle. so with everything i try to get as small as possible before the performance completely goes out the window.