Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Black, 4 GB, 1 Hour (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
by Flip Video
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Black, 4 GB, 1 Hour (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: A great improvement on an already fantastic device
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
First I should tell you that I would give the flip mino 5 stars even without hd. The jump to high definition is fabulous though and I can see the difference right away.
Since I now own BOTH players I can tell you the difference is as noticable as one would hope. Neither player quite blows up to the capacity of my 30 inch 2500 x 1600 res monitor, but I can make the hd picture several times as large as I can the original standard and still like what I am seeing very much. Also the HD flip mino records in
widescreen and plays back in widescreen as well.
The sound on these are fabulous. One of my key uses is to tape my two sons' suzuki violin lessons so we can play them back and really get the most out of their lessons. We like the sound well enough that we can listen to the music and follow. That is saying a lot!
Battery life is outstanding, and I run out of my hour recording time long before I need to power up again. I wish sometimes I could record more. Then again, I am much more likely to grab 5 and 10 minute clips with this little gem. To power back up, just plug it into your computer usb port. Do the same to transfer video clips to your had drive for longer term storage.
I had a full size camquarter before my Minos. I have to tell you, it came out of its case out for birthdays and school shows. It was just big enough and seemed fragile enough, that I would never just toss it in my bag and leave it there, like I do the flip.
I still like the big one for school shows because there is no add on light or super zoom on the Flip Mino -- but because it is so easy to carry, the Mino is allowing me to capture my kids in real life. I have become a candid camera mama.
When I only had the standard definition version, I was a little sad that I was capturing all of these fabulous moments in so so picture quality. That was better than before, when I captured none of them, but certainly less than ideal.
So if you already have a flip mino, I do think it is worth upgrading to this new model. If you don't have one at all, this is the place to jump in. the price difference is about 30% but the images this will allow you to capture are priceless. I love the kind of impulse recording this little machine is making possible.
These are movies I'd never have taken and I am so grateful to have them.
I do wish Flip would consider a replaceable battery. I really never liked the ipod model. Still, I am not complaining.
Oh, and just so you know, using ONLY the little microfiber pouch the Mino comes with. I have tossed the standard version in my backpack and carried it daily since last June. It works perfectly still. I will probably abuse the hd version just as much and I love that I can do that. It is this ultra portability that makes these cameras so useful. Now useful with a better picture.
So the babysitter will get the standard version and hopefully will spend lots of time taping my kids when she has them. The HD version will stay with Mom. Both will get good use.
I now think of these as standard parenting equipment.
Customer Review: Great only for ease of use & convenience of size
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
You can't beat this in terms of ease of use for those who aren't tech savy or hate long instruction manuals. There are only the most necessary buttons & it's mistake proof. It's sleek & stylish looking.
The thick, black matte box inside the thin cardboard box is reminiscent of an expensive watch box & the lid opens up the same way or like a piece of jewelry. The microfiber pouch w/drawstring cord it comes with is silky smooth & thin so as not to take another mm of room & stylish, small metallic silver wrist strap.
It starts up in exactly 3 seconds from the second you hit the power button.
It's the length & width of the average cell phone.
There are no unnecessary extra parts whatsoever except for a headphone size jack 2.5mm that are a/v cables to your tv, though those are disappointingly only composite yellow white/red cables. (** Con: Considering it's HD, why can't they even have made the video an S-video out?)
The camcorder takes decent sound considering.
It automatically changes for low or bright light & does decently well in dim light.
It doesn't make you dizzy if you move a lot.
The color tint is way too warm, but it's better then the Kodak's Zi6's ultra white which hurts the eyes & bleeds out.
It comes with internal memory of 60 min, but there is no way to expand it.
It doesn't take AA batteries like the Ultra did, but it does charge the up to 2 hrs long internal li-ion through the standard USB port, but that's the ONLY way.
It could have sharper images, but the Kodak shows with that, you will get nauseated with small movements & it can hurt the eyes.
It's only 30 fps, but there is no frame loss in dim light unlike the Kodak zi6.
You can't take video of yourself, not even a mirror on the front like a cell phone camera.
Touch sensitive buttons works very well.
Auto shut off after 90 seconds of non-use.
Software for clipping the footage, editing w/music & text, greeting cards, taking a still photo from footage & help to upload it to well-known video sites or email.
Only 2x digital zoom, but the image doesn't degrade.
Has ability to screw in a tripod.
You also can get designer cool images (their samples, your own images or an image generator) on the mino from the Flip website.
Accessories include tripod, action mount to bike, etc., underwater case, silicone skins, etc.
There are a couple of great review sites with great footage of different lighting, indoors & out with the Mino HD. There is even a large amount of footage with the Mino HD being held next to the Kodak Zi6 HD for comparison.
laptopmag com reviews camcorders kodak-zi6 pocket video-camera aspx
gizmodo com 5055576 kodak-zi6-pocket-camcorder-lightning-review
vimeo com 2254096
ihnatko com index php 2008 11 16 showcase showdown flip-mino-hd versus kodak-zi6
Like any electronic purchase, do comparison shopping to see what features are the best for you. Nowadays with the internet, you can see it's performance through videos for yourself.
Customer Review: It is what it is
Summary: 3 Stars
Disclaimer: I do not own a Flip MinoHD or any other Flip device. This review is based on a week's heavy use of an HD that I borrowed to take on vacation.
It is stretching a point to call this an HD camera as the video it produces scarcely resembles anything that consumers have learned to expect when the letters HD are involved. As might be expected from the nature of the sensor used in the camera, images are grainy and focus is vague--just what one would anticipate from a fixed focus lens. It reminds me of the images that used to be produced by 8mm consumer film cameras a couple of generations ago.
Low light sensitivity is surprisingly good although white balance pretty much goes away and colors are shifted toward blue.
Audio quality is likewise surprisingly good although the device suffers the usual problems of camera-mounted microphones. That is to say that it faithfully reproduces every movement of your fingers on the camera, not to mention your inadvertently mumbled, "Hold still, dammit," The apparent lack of effective AGC means that if you turn up the playback volume loud enough to hear gramma's quavering thanks for such a wonderful 90th birthday party and then someone next to the camera speaks in a normal voice you'll get bounced out of your chair.
Frame rate, either of the recording or the playback software is erratic. Sometimes the video is quite smooth and sometimes it has a Keystone Cops jerkiness to it. This was noticeable even when playing the video on a pretty powerful graphics PC and is most apparent during fast pans. Of course, panning is one of those things that ought to be avoided by home videographers but...
Ergonomically, the Flip is first rate. Controls are simple, logical, intuitive, and they just work. Build quality, at least on the outside, is excellent though I share with others a measure of befuddlement over the choice of piano black unless Flip assumes that owners are interested in collecting not just videos but fingerprints.
I found the limited battery endurance an issue in a vacation setting where I was away from my hotel from morning to night. For more typical home use (drag it out for Junior's christening party; film the kids making the first snowman of the year) it probably is just fine.
I had no problems with the PC software though I understand some Mac owners are having indigestion.
Bottom line? This is a nice looking, easy to use video camera, stripped to its bare essentials, capable to capturing very mediocre images. It is inexpensive and readily accessible to both your 12 year old granddaughter and your 80 year old palsied uncle.
And therein lies its brilliance and the reason for its stunning success. John and Mary Lunchbucket have never demanded excellence in either video or still photography. They don't want on-screen menus that are six levels deep or handfuls of accessories and add-ons certain to be lost when needed. They don't want to be confronted with an 85 page on-line user's manual. What they want, for the most part, is easy access to memories. This is exactly what the Flip provides. It is a niche product with a very large niche. It fills that niche well.
As an absolute video recorder...one star.
As a stroke of marketing genius...five stars.
If it suits you, go for it.
Customer Review: Mino versus Ultra -- Pros and Cons, especially in Low Light Situations
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered both the Mino HD and the Ultra HD to see which one would suit me best. I was looking for the one that would be best in low-light situations because I plan to record my sets on stage in dark clubs. I haven't yet tested it for that purpose yet but I just took some shots of the sunset and here are my results:
Bright-Light Pick: Ultra
The lens on the Ultra is set way back and that is to give the Ultra a much better advantage in bright light situations. And indeed, in my video of the sunset, the Ultra captured the image of the sun and preserved the mountain vistas whereas the Mino couldn't handle it and washed out the sun, the sky and the vistas. It also created sun spots in the frame the closer I got to the sun. If I had the time, I would have edited the videos to show you comparison shots with voiceovers and what-have-you but you'll just have to take my word for it.
Image Sharpness and Color Vividness: Ultra
The Ultra is noticeably better in picking up colors.
Low Light Pick: Ultra
If you just hit record and make no adjustments, the Mino will give you a lot more detail than the Ultra in a low light setting. A good video example of this is found on the [...] website.
BUT HERE'S THE TRICK: If you zoom in with the Ultra, the lens emerges from its little cave and you get BETTER quality images than the Mino. I posted this review specifically to explain this little trick because if someone else had said that, it would have saved me the trouble of researching for hours, then ordering both to do my own comparison and having to return one.
Mac Users:
I'm using a MacBook Pro and iPhoto reads both the mino and the ultra as cameras so it opened automatically when I plugged these units in (separately, of course!). I was able to import the video through iPhoto and then import into iMovie and work with it the same as any other video so if you're on a Mac, don't even bother with installing the Flip software. In future, I will open iMovie before plugging in to see if I can import directly into iMovie.
CORRECTION: I am now using Flipshare and I really like working with it. iPhoto still opens automatically but I just close it out and import the videos using Flipshare. The flipshare editing software keeps crashing my computer so you'll still have to use iMovie or quicktime pro for that.
SUMMARY:
Mino Pros: small, easy to hold and carry, comes with TV component cable.
Mino Cons: only 1 hour of recording, not able to capture detail in bright-light settings, proprietary battery is built in (like the iPod).
Ultra Pros: crisper better quality images, stereo audio (instead of the mono audio on the Mino), 2 hours of recording, direct hdmi connection for the TV, can use any NiMH AA batteries which means you can carry spares for longer usage, bigger screen, cheaper than the Mino.
Ultra Cons: bigger and bulkier than the Mino, doesn't come with HDMI cable.
I agree with the Fast Company reviewer: If you don't mind the bulk of the Ultra, and you want really good images in a small package with usage time that lasts for as long as your supply of spare NiMH batteries, go for the Ultra. Just remember to zoom in when you have low-light situations.
Customer Review: Pretty Flippin' Cool!
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm about as novice as it gets when it comes to video cameras, but this little Flip Video Mino HD Camcorder is as plug and play as it gets. It's super easy to use...just point and shoot.
The software that comes with it is built right in to the Camcorder...no CD installation. After you've taken a few videos, just plug it in to an available USB port; a short USB extension cable might make connecting the MinoHD to your PC (I own a Dell) a little easier, but in most cases will not be necessary. Once you connect the MinoHD to your PC, the software installs automatically and couldn't be easier to use.
A program to email videos is included right in the software. That's the best way to share videos. Otherwise you'll be storing very large-file videos on your computer, then attaching them to emails that would take up even more hard drive space. The Flip Video email program uploads your video from the MinoHD to a FlipVideo server, and sends the video as a link to your friends/family and cc's your own personal email account. Using Flip's built in email program uses no space on your PC's hard drive.
If you'd prefer to save videos to your computer and send them as attachments, the option is yours, but these HD files are BIG (avg 1 minute HD file = like 70 MB). You may want to (or depending on your personal email program you may HAVE to) reduce the files in order to send them. The Flip software has a program linked to it so that you can reduce file.
Strangely, my Flip software *automatically* copies some of the videos on my Camcorder to my Video folder on My Computer, and they are automatically reduced to like below 5MBs. When I manually want to save a video, if I drag and drop it over to my computer, it saves the video onto my computer at the full HD file size. There is an option in the software to manually save the file at a reduced size onto your computer, but when I do this the videos usually save at between 6 & 10 MBs. I don't how or why the automatic saving is happening, and I can't understand how they are being saved every time at below 5MBs. I think that I'll need to call or email Flip about this (or please comment to this review if you know what's up).
For all you Internet video nuts out there, the software also includes functionality to make it easy to upload videos to YouTube or pretty much whatever your favorite video site is. It comes with a standard Y/W/R video cable to connect to your TV to watch your videos, or you can watch and manage videos right on the Camcorder itself. With the software you can edit down the size of your videos and make movies before you watch or upload.
I've only had the Mino HD for a few weeks, but since it's so easy to use and its size is so convenient, I think I've almost used it as much as the (now prehistoric) hand-held DVD camcorder that I've had for years. I wish that I had the MinoHD years ago when my kids were younger; I'd have captured a lot more memories with such a convenient little gizmo like the MinoHD than I did with my old, clunky DVD camcorder. Oh well, time to make up for lost time!