Compact HD Camcorders

Tiny HD camcorders fit in your pocket

After Cisco bought -- and abruptly killed -- the Flip company that started the pocket camcorder craze, rival manufacturers began battling to grab would-be Flip buyers. Some digital cameras and smartphones can fill the void -- notably the Apple iPhone 4S (*Est. $200 and up with contract), which shoots in full 1080p HD. But overall, the Samsung HMX-W200 (*Est. $145) emerges as the critics' choice, with better full 1080p HD video quality than the rest in most tests.

"Most impressive was the W200's ability to capture sharp video in bright light -- sharper than any other budget camcorder we tested in the past year," CamcorderInfo.com says. TrustedReviews.com adds that the W200 "offers the best performance in low light that we've seen in any camcorder costing under £100, making it particularly well suited to its intended aquatic shooting task."

Like many other pocket camcorders these days, the W200 is waterproof, shockproof and dustproof, although testers say it doesn't inspire much confidence in that regard. It freezes after a PCMag.com tester drops it 5 feet, and CNET's Joshua Goldman finds it silly that Samsung's owner's manual warns users not to use this so-called dustproof camcorder near sand. Only a few owners have reviewed it so far at Amazon.com. Some say it works underwater with no problems, but one says it did start to leak around the LCD after it was dropped once.

Not all testers are equally impressed. PCMag.com says the W200 smears away details -- "trees ... looked like gobs of green." CamcorderInfo.com says the rival Kodak Playsport Zx5 (*Est. $165), another waterproof/dustproof/shockproof pocket camcorder, is easier to use than the W200, which has an "awkward grip" and "sloppy" interface at times. Still, experts there give their Best Budget Camcorder of 2011 award to the W200, which delivers accurate colors even in dim light (tester Jeremy Stamas says color accuracy is "abysmal" on the Zx5).

The Kodak Playsport Zx5 is an updated version of last year's top pocket camcorder pick, the Kodak Playsport Zx3 (*Est. $125). Expert testers like both of these camcorders: They're waterproof to 10 feet like the Samsung, and the Zx5 is also dustproof and made to withstand a 5-foot drop. Like the Samsung, the Kodak camcorders shoot in full 1080p HD. But owner reviews for these camcorders are mixed: We found plenty of complaints from users at Amazon.com that the Kodaks leaked underwater, froze up (even after a firmware update that was supposed to fix the problem) or simply quit working.