Yes please fill me in on how it does.  I will need one in the future for travels and with you being the guinea pig with the flip video mcam that will let me know if it can hold up to the rigors of the road.  Cool can't wait to hear more info on it.

Well here is my opinion with it.  It shoots very sharp pictures and it's easy to use.  There's no changing of batteries, or media, and I don't have to worry too much about dirt and dust getting inside and ruining things.  But, the bad part is that it does not have a macro ability and therefore things that are closer than about 2.5 ft. can never be completely in focus.  Well unfortunately that isn't a good thing for many things I want in this hobby.  I will no doubt continue using it, however, it will mainly be used as backup until I find something similar that will take HD and macro.  Looks like I'm going to have to lay down some cash after all.

After hearing about your flip camera and it's problems with macro and the fact they quit producing them I went to my buddy jamey over at GA and asked him what he thought a good camera that took video was.  He taught me most of what I know about photoing gems and the little nuiances and tricks certain cameras do and don't do.


This was the question posed:

"Jamey, do you have a recommendation or suggestion on a decent video camera or camera that takes video?  I want one that would be good for outdoor use.  My buddy Scott just got the Flip for the simple reason that it has few moving parts and is fairly solid.  His other camera got jacked up twice from getting dirt in it from being out in the field.  Well, now they discontinued the flip plus he said it didn't do close-ups very well.  Do you have any suggestions?

and the responses from him..
"Panasonic is still tops for both still and hd video in a p & s camera. But Pentax makes a nice impact, dust, and waterproof camera now.

This would be first choice:
http://www.adorama.com/IPCDMCTS3SL.html

Second:
http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-Adventure-Waterproof-Digital-Wide-Angle/dp/B004MKNJEI/

Olympus also makes one, cheaper price, but not very well reviewed, very slow camera.
P.s. The Panasonic also is resistant to cold temps.

  and then he added

"Here's the details..


Panasonic:
Image stabilization: Optical
Lens focal length    28 – 128 mm
Macro focus range    5 cm (1.97")
Maximum aperture    F3.3 - F5.9
Format    MPEG4   
Audio channels    Mono   
Clips    Yes (1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps))
http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmcts3

Pentax:
Image stabilization    No
Macro focus range    1 cm (.39")
Lens focal length    28 – 140 mm
Format    MotionJPEG   
Audio channels    Mono   
Clips    Yes (1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps))
http://www.dpreview.com/products/pentax/compacts/pentax_optiowg1

What this means is the Panasonic does true 1080 HD where as the Pentax only does 720 and uses MotionJPEG which is an inferior method. The Panasonic has image stabilization to allow clear shots in lower light where the Pentax does not. The Panasonic only focuses as close as 1.97" where as the Pentax focuses as close as .39", but this does not necessarily mean the Pentax macros will be larger then the Panasonic, sadly neither lists the magnification they offer. .

Sample Panasonic videos:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Panasonic+Lumix+DMC-TS3+samples&aq=f

Sample Pentax:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Pentax+Optio+WG-1+samples&aq=f

So on the surface the Pentax probably takes a better macro but everything else is leaps and bounds better on the Panasonic." 

Hope this helps.  I am going to probably get one of tghese here in the future if possible..unless Scott finds another one he really likes