Norma Desmonds of the YouTube age, get ready for your close-up.

Consumers may love 60-inch plasma televisions, but when it comes to personal electronics, it's the age of the incredible shrinking camcorder. The pictures are still big, it's just the cameras that got small.

"This was technology waiting to happen," said Jerry Magee, future product marketing manager for Kodak. "The sensors and the video readoffs and the controlling chips inside these products have come down in cost."

Marketed to teens, tweens and their college-age counterparts, a wave of pocket-sized, high-definition digital recorders is rolling into the market now, just in time for the holidays.

These mini-camcorders are not ones you'd chance taking to your wedding or a college commencement ceremony -- compared with larger camcorders, they have inferior lenses, less storage, and, even with stabilization features, there's a whole lot of shaking going on.

But they are fun, relatively cheap -- most cost between $150 and $200 -- and best of all, convenient. No "lugging" these cameras around: They're made to throw into a pocket or purse.

Some familiar names, such as Kodak and Sony, are banking on name brand and cool features to lure away tweens coveting the dazzling array of exterior options offered by Flip Video's Mino (pronounced "minnow").

Flip Video, which was acquired by Cisco in May, offers thousands of exterior choices for its MinoHD and UltraHD lines. Its products are the size of a candy bar, with shiny, colorful wrappings.

Shoppers can browse the Web site (www.theflip.com), where choices fall into four categories: brushed metal, use the "pattern generator," choose from the design gallery, or submit your own photo or design.

There are "theme" designs, such as the pink "Susan G. Komen for the Cure" versions, a black-and-yellow "LiveStrong" version, tons of goth designs and puppies-kittens-and-unicorns versions.

There are even two versions based on the upcoming "New Moon" movie: One says "Twilight Fanpire," the other, "Twilight Junkie." These exteriors are not plastic skins, they're "literally custom-painted ... the plastic is heated up, and the ink is almost tattooed into the metal," said Simon Fleming-Wood of Cisco's consumer division.

Beneath the colorful candy coating, Flip promises a choice of 1280p or 720p high-def resolution. Like many smaller camcorders, it saves recordings as MP4 files and has a swing-up USB port that attaches to your computer for downloading/editing.

Videos can be sent straight to postings on sites like YouTube or Facebook. The camera runs on an internal lithium ion battery, like many of the other popular models in this guide.

"As a little company, Flip started a new category," Mr. Fleming-Wood said. "We clearly struck a chord in making video simple and fun for everyone."

Since Flip Video's first Mino in May 2007, more than 2.5 million of the camcorders have been sold. "As a brand, Flip has two markets," Mr. Fleming-Wood said. "One is youth, of course, but the other is young families, the 'e-mail moms.' We sell equally across the two."

Kodak is working hard to make its line of tiny camcorders relevant to young consumers. Its "A Thousand Words" blog (www.1000words.Kodak.com) offers everything from product information to cool stuff you can do with cameras, and Kodak is running a promotion involving "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien."

Last week, Mr. O'Brien was hyping Kodak's newest entry into the market, the Zi8, an HD camera the show used to film a segment with a member of the Universal IT staff.

Mr. O'Brien's sidekick, Andy Richter, piped up that the camera also took great 5 megapixel still shots: "I used it earlier today to tape you accepting a briefcase full of money from Kodak."

Kodak offers three versions of HD mini-camcorders, each is about 2.4 inches wide by 4.5 inches long and about .9 inches thick. The cheapest version, ZX1, is built more for outdoor adventurers, for shooting on the ski slopes or at the beach.

The highest-quality video comes from highest-end Zi8, with the Zi6 falling somewhere in between. The Zi8 runs on a rechargeable Li-Ion battery; the other two use AA-sized Ni-MH rechargeables.

Unlike most such camcorders on the market, the Zi8 allows you to attach an external microphone. It also has direct-to-TV capability via HDMI cable.

"This product will continue to grow for us. It's Kodak's way of getting its brand and product to the next generation," Mr. Magee said.

Sony's "Webbie" is a colorful entry into the market. Its HD model has two versions, both in buyer's choice of shiny silver, orange or purple. One (MHS-CM1) resembles a very tiny standard videocamera, the other (MHS-PM1) is a "vertical" version that stands upright.

Sony products record to Memory Sticks, unlike many of its competitors' use of high-def SD cards. Its Web site (www.sonystyle.com) provides spec details.

Worth a mention is Apple's foray into tiny video. The fifth-generation Nano comes with a recording function that is not HD but novel in design. The Nano is just 3.6 inches high, 1.5 inches wide and a quarter-inch thick, weighing just 1.28 ounces.

It offers 15 special effects, including sepia, motion blur, X-ray, and black and white. The Nano itself comes in jewel-toned anodized aluminum shell and is, after all, an iPod. You might get better video quality from your digital still camera or even a camera phone, but the coolness factor is off the charts with this one.

These stocking stuffers are more "toys" than serious cameras, said Paul Wesko, a digital technology specialist for retailer BestBuy at the Waterfront. "Most older people coming in to purchase a camcorder are looking at hard drives and flash memory cameras."

Although many of the current mini-models feature image stabilization, the shooter must hold steady or the video will wind up looking like something from "The Blair Witch Project."

"It's a technique they have to learn: Let the motion come to you. That, and holding it steady," Mr. Magee said. "I coach a lot of people on this, even at our trade shows."

A sampling of other popular HD camcorders now on the market:

• JVC's Picsio (www.camcorder.jvc.com) takes 8 megapixel stills, has a 4x digital zoom, 1080p recording and features digital image stabilization.

• The second generation of Creative's Vado HD camcorder (www.us.creative.com) has a "flexible USB" tab to easily connect to your computer but also allows for HDMI connection to your high-def television.

• The Memorex MyVideo HD camcorder takes 5 megapixel stills and connects directly to your television (www.memorex.com).

• Twenty20's ContourHD camera has one-button operation. It had better be easy -- the camera, which features a choice of 1080p or 720p models, mounts to your snowboard helmet, your bike handles or wherever you figure the best place to shoot yourself during extreme sports (www.vholdr.com).

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