It's not even worth trying to keep track of the piles upon piles of pocket camcorders on the market today, but only a couple shoot 1080p (UPDATE: almost). And only one does it in such a minuscule package.
Spec for spec, the Picsio is a near-match for the Kodak Zi8—currently the best pocket camcorder on the market, to my mind. That means multiple video modes, from 30fps 1080p (UPDATE: Though it appears the actual resolution is 1440 x 1080, not the normal 1920 x 1080. More on that—which isn't actually a huge deal—here.) to 60fps 720p to regular old VGA, 8-megapixel still shooting, a mechanical macro mode switch, image stabilization, HDMI out and SD storage.
What it doesn't have in microphone inputs (the Zi8 had a line-in jack) it more than makes up for in MicroUSB charging (the Zi8 had a USB to DC charger). Price is also comparable, listing at $200 but shipping from Amazon for $180. Here it pictured next to a Zi6, which is roughly the same size as the Zi8. As you can see, JVC's camcorder is small—it's sized like some of the daintier Flip cams, but with much more impressive guts.
The most striking thing, though probably one of the least important, is the glittery, faceted backplate. You, the camera operator, won't notice it. Your subject, however, may think you're some kind of foppish dandy, or whatnot.
The Picsio is available now for $200. in Black, Blue, and Purple. A full Battlemodo, Picsio included, is forthcoming, but for now, here's a gallery. [JVC]
New JVC Pocket Camera Shoots HD Video & 8 Megapixel Stills
JVC enters pocket cam market with stylish, high-performance PICSIO.
WAYNE, NJ, October 13, 2009 – JVC today announced the launch of its first pocket flash memory camera, the new PICSIO GC-FM1. PICSIO is designed for those who want a small, simple, camera that allows easy sharing and delivers high quality video and still images.
PICSIO shoots true eight-megapixel stills and 1080p Full HD video for outstanding results even when viewed on an HDTV. Further enhancing the quality of PICSIO's video is image stabilization that minimizes camera shake, even when the 4X digital zoom is used. The camera is about the size of a small cell phone, and is available in three colors – Black Ice, Blue Steel and Purple Passion. It boasts a stylish design with a case that features a tone-on-tone geometric pattern and chrome accents for a jewel-like appearance.
PICSIO's high quality images result from the use of an eight-megapixel CMOS image sensor that captures JPEG stills with up to eight-megapixel native resolution – there's no image-degrading interpolation, so PICSIO images are sharp and vibrant, whether viewed on a screen or printed. In video mode, PICSIO records 1080p Full HD video that's easily enjoyed on an HDTV by using the camera's HDMI connection. Videos are recorded in the widely-used MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format and stored as .MOV files for easy sharing without the need for time-consuming and potentially damaging conversion. Storage is on readily-available SD/SDHC memory cards.