but it can take only 3 minutes of 320x240 video

Buy a bigger memory card. That's the only thing that's limiting the amount of time you can record. I forget the resolution mine can record at, I think it's 640x480. With a 2 gig card I get like 10 minutes of recording time.

I have a Canon powershot s2 IS, and I've used it to record a few videos. Works well!

I think the Flip would be a good idea, but I'm pretty sure it lacks any sort of zoom function, so you're severely limited as far as that goes. The good thing is it's 640x480.

I have an Ultra and just got it, and I feel no envy for the Mino. AA batteries are definitely part of what makes the Ultra attractive to me, and the Mino uses an internal battery. Boo. In fact, part of the reason I bought the Flip in the first place is that my old Canon S230, which is small and does video, no longer holds a charge on it's internal lithium battery. So yeah, going away from AAs was a mistake for Flip IMHO. And charging only via USB seems like a terrible choice for the Mino. Sure, works great at home but I just took a month long roadtrip. Did we have a computer with USB to plug into every time we needed power? No! Sure, there are plug-into-the-wall USB chargers but you know what? AAs work great in the Ultra. I find one set works for maybe 2-3 hours worth of video shooting. That's a lot!

There seems to be no discernible increase in resolution, quality, or capacity in the Mino. Just a physical size decrease. And the Ultra is already pocket sized. It's not as small as a cell-phone, but fer crikey's sake, if this is a fun thing for your kid to use in a project kind of way, it doesn't need to be pocket-slim. The Ultra is grand and I'm glad I own one. It played nice with iMovie on my Mac, too. Get one now while you can. You'll get the best deal ever on one right now.

CitrusFreak12, scarabic,

Thanks for your comments. I do like AA batteries, so that's certainly a plus for the Ultra. I guess that makes it the ne plus Ultra :-)

For a super cheap solution, you should check out the CHDK for canon cameras. Its a bunch of files you copy to the flash memory of the camera that allows greater control including unlimited filming.

I looked at an Ultra this morning, and was surprised how much bulkier it was than digital cameras that take VGA video. So I'm back on the fence....

There's the Kodak Easyshare V1253 that records HD on a budget. If you're not set on HD, then consider the Canon ZR800 which records Mini-DV. I plan to get the V1253 later this summer.

If you want to look at video from popular cameras, I like searching Vimeo for the model number. (V1253, ZR800)

seanyboy, Thanks a bunch for the tip.