Zach Falch carries his Flip pocket camcorder wherever he goes. He uploads his video adventures for all his friends to see.
"If my Flip broke, I would be devastated. That would be something terrible," Falch said.
With the Flip no longer being made, what are the other choices at hand? Consumer Reports tested 16 of the newest pocket camcorders, ranging in price from $100 to $300.
Testers evaluated the camcorders primarily for photo and audio quality. They also looked at how easy it is to upload content to social media sites.
"Audio and picture quality isn't going to be as good as a full-size camcorder's. But some come with unique features that are worth checking out," said Terry Sullivan of Consumer Reports.
The Sony Bloggie Duo has two LCD screens - one on the front and one on the back. That lets you get great shots of yourself. And the ViewSonic DVP5 comes with a projector so you can show your video.
"That's a neat feature, but the overall picture quality was not that great," Sullivan said.
Consumer Reports also evaluated some 3D pocket camcorders, but none did well enough to be recommended.
Then there's Kodak's PlaySport ZX5, which claims it is waterproof and shockproof. It earned top ratings in Consumer Reports' tests, and at $150, it's a best buy.
The Zoom Q3HD also got top ratings. It's pricey at $300, but it has the best audio quality of all the pocket camcorders tested.
Be aware that pocket camcorders typically don't come with much memory; however, both of the recommended models are upgradeable. Consumer Reports says you'll want around eight gigabytes and that will cost about $20 extra.
