As we get closer to the high-definition television standard becoming reality, HD is no longer an option that we look at in awe, or even something that we necessarily pay extra for.
Consumer electronics, probably more than most commercial products, tend to hit rock bottom prices like a lead weight, shortly after being released. If you don't want to pay $500 for that new top-of-the-line, full-featured digital camera, well, wait for a few months and it will probably be half that price.
A short time ago, high-definition was only offered in the best consumer model camcorders, and at a price that usually kept the higher resolution out of reach for many. Now there's more than one manufacturer producing solid-state memory, HD mini-camcorders that are equivalent in price to a mediocre digital still camera. Although the feature list on these cameras is very short, it is supposed to be. These cameras are meant to be fit-in-your-pocket (any pocket), shoot-a-video-by-pushing-a-single-button, convenience cameras. This is a niche they fill very well also.
Having seen the quality of video captured by two of the present offerings, the minoHD (Pure Digital Technologies), and the Vado HD (Creative Labs), I can say that, although they won't replace your larger, full-featured camera, they do offer very good quality at an even better price. They are right at home shooting a quick 2 minute video to quickly be uploaded to YouTube or one of the many similar sites. However, they also allow you to capture video in excellent quality that can be used for enjoyable viewing on a large screen.
Going back to the limited features: these cameras won't be the ones you grab if you need to have up-close-and-personal video capture. Nor will they fill the need if you're going to record something needing other special capabilities. They do what they do, and they do it well, but they are limited.
When you can have this video quality available in such a small, convenient, inexpensive package, it only increases the amount of amazing video clips that will be available online for all to see, and also the amount of quality digital images that most people will be able to capture, archive and enjoy for many years to come.
The minoHD is the most current offering in the quality video products being released by newcomer Pure Digital Technologies.
The Vado HD is a product from Creative Labs, and is very similar in price, performance and features to the MinoHD. As of this writing there were also solid-state memory, mini HD camcorders from Kodak and RCA.
Jeffrey Norris is a freelance writer and amateur digital photographer and videographer.
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