camcorder comparisons

Good to know that there are some models of cheaper camcorders out there that have a line-in for external microphone:
http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/blog/entry/side-by-side-comparison-of-kodak-zi8-sony-z5-and-flip/

Good job JISC digital media!

http://tinyurl.com/lskodakzi8 for the Kodak Zi8 recommended by JISC. Not enough suppliers clearly state that their camcorders can record ext mic input. And very few of them tell you what format the video is recorded to. The Kodak's record to .mov and software is included with the camcorder to convert to wmv or avi to edit using Windows Movie Maker on a PC.

The Flips record to mp4 and these also need conversion for editing on a Windows PC.

For those who prefer to use it, there's Super which is a free converter and works with many formats:
(http://www.erightsoft.com/S6Kg1.html, scroll to the bottom and download)

The PSP with a camera attachment records surprisingly good video and has external mic socket. I would actually recommend this over all others simply because the swivel lens allows you to easily record reflections as well as being used as a normal camcorder or camera. And it captures AVI which can be edited using Windows Movie Maker. (need to actually test this - should be fine in theory!) And as James Clay said in a comment on another post, reviewing the video on the PSPs is much better with its bigger screen compared to the Flip.