Cheap Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Black)

Had I merely purchased the Flip Mino HD, I would have been happy, never knowing what I would have missed by not buying the Creative Vado HD..
For two evenings I had both cameras in hand so that I could see if I could come to a definitive decision as to which of these two very comprable cameras I would prefer.
Yes..everyone has subjective needs...so...
For two groups the Flip Mino HD would seem to be the preferable unit.

If you are a Mac user, it seems that from what I have read from other's experiences, the Flip Mino HD has the more user friendly software.

If you USUALLY use the camera in very very low light situations (by that I mean SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER light levels than you would find in a indoor living room at night lit be a few lamps)..then the Flip Mino HD might be better for you.

If you usually use the camera in outdoor settings and in typical night indoor settings with average light bulb illumination, the Vado HD would be the better choice. Why?

In typical outdoor and indoor situations the Vado HD produces sharper images with notably less noise than the Filp Mino HD does. The difference is notable.

One thing that is surely personal prefernce is that the Flip Mino HD produces slightly warmer images and the Vado HD slightly cooler images.
The differences are NOT major and sometimes very slight.

The other differences in battery changing ability and twice the memory size, twice the video time, larger LCD..are in favor of the Vado HD and are icing on the cake.

I finally tried both the HD+ and HD settings on the Vado HD, and found some (not great)loss in detail when using the HD mode (which gives you 4 hours instead of 2 hours recording time).

I noted that the Flip Mino HD has a 90 day warranty while the Creative Vado HD has a full year warranty with a $29.99 option to extend the warranty to two years.

The wider angle of coverage with the Vado HD vs. the narrower angle of coverage of the Flip Mino HD is significant. Which you prefer is subjective.

If your computer's CPU is not fast enough to process HD+ files, you can use the HD setting on the Vado HD.
If your CPU is not fast enough to process the Flip Mino HD files, you have no option.
See the follwing discussion over at the Flip Mino HD board concerning 'jerkey videos':

http://www.amazon.com/Mino-HD-Jerkey-Video-Playback/forum/Fx3VCBC2ZMADAHJ/Tx1589ELDPDO4SD/1/ref=cm_cd_et_up_redir?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B001HSOFI2&newContentID=MxOJHLKSG5RX9A#Mx1QQT1MPXUDVT

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