Window to my Digital Soul

A few months ago I did a Digital Soul Hour episode about Vlogging and I promised to do a review of the different pocket camcorders that I own. This is the promised review. As I was starting my review process, I noticed JVC came out with the JVC Picsio and I tweeted out that I would love to include it in my review. JVC contacted me and sent me a blue Picsio (yes, in the name of disclosure, that means free). For the FTC, here is the list of the 4 pocket camcorders I will be reviewing and how I came to have them in my possession.

Kodak Zi6 – This camcorder was in my swag bag from the SocialLuxe party at Blogher

Flip Mino HD 60 – I won this one through a random contest at yourtribute.com

Sony Webbie PM-1 – We purchased this one ourselves last year.

JVC Picsio GC FM-1 – JVC sent to me to include in this review

I have included the iPhone 3Gs in the video comparisons at the very end, but it was because I was curious how it compared. I didn’t expect it to do as well and I am not “officially” including it in the review, but it’s there if you’d like to see how the video looks.

I spent at least 2 weeks with each of the 4 camcorders. Using it as I normally would, carrying it in my purse, taking to dance, school, vlogging, etc.

All of the videos below were recorded at the same time using the highest quality HD setting for each camcorder. I uploaded them to my 24″ iMac and used iMovie to put together the short clips. I uploaded directly to YouTube using the default HD settings. All 4 cameras allow you to put the camcorder on a tripod. The still pictures were not all taken at the same time, but are here to give you an idea of the quality of still pictures that are available with each camcorder. Once again, I used the highest settings for each still picture and resized for the web.

Comparison of Basic Features

Here are my findings and at the end I’ll let you know which one I am ultimately going to use as my camcorder.

Read the full article »