Rugged minicamcorders compared
Joshua Goldman
Senior editor August 10, 2011
If you wanted a candy-bar-style waterproof minicamcorder a year ago, there wasn't a lot to choose from outside of Kodak's PlaySport Zx3 and JVC's waterproof WP10. But with smartphones stealing at least some of the nonwaterproof minicamcorder market, other manufacturers decided to get in on the action.
Now, along with the newest PlaySport, the Zx5, there are models from Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, and GE. Plus, all but one, the Toshiba BW10, is shockproof as well as waterproof.
| Product name | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $89.96 to $109.95 | $70.01 to $139.95 | $103.95 to $149.99 | $154.95 to $169.00 | $88.00 to $179.95 |
| CNET editors' rating | |||||
| Average user rating |  | | | | |
| Release date | October 01, 2010 | April 14, 2011 | May 20, 2011 | June 15, 2011 | January 03, 2011 |
| The Bottom Line | The rugged GE DV1minicamcorder is OK for casual Web videos. If you need more than that, look elsewhere. | The Toshiba Camileo BW10 is a basic, waterproof minicamcorder that's good enough to capture a casual cannonball into a pool, but not more treasured memories. | The Samsung HMX-W200 might be a little less impressive than its specs, but it's still a very good rugged minicamcorder for the money. | As rugged minicamcorders go, the Panasonic HM-TA20 is very good and definitely deserves consideration. | The rugged Kodak PlaySport Zx5 is a very good minicamcorder, but falls just shy of improving on last year's model, despite being more durable. |
| Features | |||||
| Lens aperture | F/2.8 | F/2.8 | F/2.2 | F/2.8 | F/2.8 |
| Media type | Flash card | Flash card | Flash card | Flash card | Flash card |
| Optical sensor type | CMOS | CMOS | BSI-CMOS | MOS | CMOS |
| Video input type | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder |
| Digital zoom | 4 x | 10 x | 3 x | 4 x | 4 x |
| Image stabilizer | Electronic | Electronic | Electronic | Electronic | Electronic |
| Weight | 5.1 oz | 3.5 oz | 4.6 oz | 5.5 oz | 4.4 oz |
| Manual focus | Focus free | Focus free | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Buying choices | | | | | |
7 comments
Join the conversation! Add your comment- Are there no standard video clips available that we could use to compare picture quality between these units? You guys go to the trouble of posting a REVIEW video but no SAMPLE videos! Seems like a no-brainer to develop a standard video scene test to benchmark all your camcorders against...
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- We do have a standard video test, but to post it we'd have to convert/compress the video. You're correct that it's a no-brainer to post, but it also wouldn't be accurate.
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- Well that certainly makes a lot of sense to me!
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- What's the resolution on these camcorders?
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- They all record at resolutions up to 1080p @30fps.
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- Agreed that a simple standard video would be of immense value. The reviews are ok, but I'd be able to pick just from seeing the video difference. They do that to show camera phone picture quality.
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- Which of these rugged mini-cams has the best low-light video?
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