The pocket-sized Flip camcorder has already been making waves in the camcorder market for its extra compact size and high quality recording capabilities. Of course, few expected Flip’s dominance to go unchallenged, and perhaps the most serious threat to the company’s popular Flip Ultra and Mino HD camcorders has arrived in the form of the Kodak Zi8 HD.

The tiny Kodak Zi8 HD can be accommodated in your pocket, shoots HD quality videos, is quite inexpensive, and uses SD memory cards for storage. In fact, the new camcorder models takes the already well-received Kodak Zi6 HD camcorder, and improves upon it with more features, an improved design, improved recording resolution, and a sharper screen. But, most people are wondering, how does it stack up head to head with its ever so popular Flip Ultra HD rival? As already mentioned, it essentially matches the Flip in terms of price and video resolution, though it’s not quite as pocket-able; however, this Kodak HD camcorder clearly has the Flip model beat with its extra impressive image stabilization. The Flip Ultra HD completely lacks any image stabilization whatsoever, whereas the Zi8’s image stabilization is not only present, but also remarkably effective.

Though each handheld HD camcorder has their respective strengths and weakness, the Kodak Zi8 has clearly established itself as one of the most formidable players in the market and as a great option for anyone looking for convenient, easy and cheap HD recording.