The Digital Consultant

There's a lot of hype around the Flip. In fact it seems to me the education world has "Flipped out" (sorry, it was bad, I know) so I'll try to set the record if not straight, at least less crooked.

I recently had the fortune of being asked to run a few flash memory cameras through their paces and compile a critical comparison. The Flip Mino and the Kodak Zi6 were among them. Now I haven't quite understood all the buzz surrounding these things (my Panasonic SD5 ain't much bigger!) so this was a great opportunity for me to see what all the "cool kids" were talking about.

It's important to set the terms of reference at this point. Both devices are being analysed from a "classroom deployment" perspective. The question I was presented with was along the lines of, "I want a class set of compact video cameras, what do I get?" So please note this is a very different question to, "I want to buy a compact video camera for my own use." I will also make this quick. If you want more in depth treatment a number of gadget sites provide ample detail. So here goes.

Video quality

Both cameras record through tiny little lenses so neither perform particularly well in low light conditions. The Zi6 outperforms the Mino in well lt conditions, particularly outdoors, which is no doubt largely due to shooting in HD. The Zi6 also has the "bonus feature" of being able to capture still images. Why the Flip doesn't escapes me. The killer Zi6 feature for the classroom (if taking photos wasn't enough) is the macro function. At the flick of a switch you can get up close and personal with whatever organism or mineral deposit takes your fancy.

Form

The Kodak initially felt much lighter but that was due to having no batteries (it runs on two AA's) With batteries on board there was no noticeable difference. There is very little difference in size as can be seen in the photo.

Usage factors

The version of the Flip I had did not have removable batteries and could only charge via the "flip out" USB connector. This is a deal breaker for school applications requiring a camera to be passed from one class to another through the day with little "charge time." The Flip also lacks an expandable memory slot which is also vital for schools. No card means the Mino is tied up with logging footage as well as capture. In a time precious environment it's much better if you can pop the card and hand hand the camera on. A criticism of the Zi6 is low "on board" storage making it card reliant but when you can score a 4GB SDHC card for AU$13 (at time of writing) your being a bit picky. Students should have their own.

Recommendation

Well it should be clear with HD, macro function, removable AA batteries and SDHC card the Zi6 is an obvious choice for school deployment. Add that it's cheaper and available in pink what more needs to be said? Watch for the Kodak Zi8.