Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation)
by Flip Video
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: Flip VideoDesigner: Flip Video
Model: M2120M
Color: Brushed Metal
Product features:
- All-new MinoHD is the world's sleekest HD camcorder
- Captures 120 minutes of stunning HD video on 8 GB of built-in memory; no additional memory needed
- Convenient flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your PC or Mac to launch pre-loaded FlipShare software
- FlipShare software makes it easy to email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still-image snapshots
- Large, 2-Inch anti-glare color display to play back and delete videos
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation)
Customer Review: Style over Features. IMPORTANT INFO about depleting battery! Charging Issues.
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
If you care more about the aesthetics, then the Flip MinoHD 2nd Gen. is hard to beat with its aluminum brush metal and USB flip-out switch, compared to the outside casing design, usually plastic, from other competitors. However, if you care about more features and convenience, there's better competition out there already, such as the Kodak and Creative.
If you do heavy shooting, especially being on a trip where you won't have quick access to a laptop, you'll definitely want an expandable memory and battery. If you want to shoot sports, you'll definitely want a wider lens! Both of which, the Flip MinoHD lacks.
Pros:
+ Stylish. Aluminum. Slim. (it would go well with a Mac)
+ HD, although 1280x720 resolution, looks really great in bright, well-lit places (like most HD cameras) -- but don't expect mind-blowing quality on a 50" TV from a pocket camera. This is good enough for sharing HQ video on YouTube and watching for its intended resolution or lower (not stretched/fit for bigger screens)
+ Recording Light/Startup sounds can be disabled (Thank you!)
+ Turns on/off relatively quick
+ Actually shows a seekbar when playing back videos (for the Vado, it just shows the time)
+ USB flip out switch is pretty cool and somewhat addicting to press (however, this design is also a con because it would just hang on the USB ports with more strain than it should)
+ LCD screen has very vivid colors (more so than the actual recording)
+ Delete Lock Button/Protect videos, so you don't accidentally delete things.
+ Tripod hole is centered (unlike with the Vado)
Cons:
- Unswappable Internal battery (if it dies, you're simply screwed! losing priceless video memories would be more devastating compared to simply losing music on an iPod, which could usually be more replaceable/redownloaded/usually have backup since you're importing onto that device; with these video cameras, you need to always have that ability to export it, not import your collection!)
- Not Wide Lens
- Touch-sensitive buttons can actually be more frustrating - may not always respond the way you like, especially holding on to the camera and touching to zoom in/out.
- The touch-sensitive buttons glow pretty bright, in addition to the LCD screen, so it causes too much attention shooting during concerts/dark rooms (wish the lights could be disabled)
- Like most lower-end HD cameras, quality suffers and becomes less impressive with lower light (starts to see lots of noise unless you reduce the video size to 50%)
- Only one recording option 720p
- 2x Digital Zoom (Not as awful as Creative Vado's 2x digital zoom, but it's still usually best to avoid as much as possible since you lose a lot of quality)
- Personally had annoying issues where the LCD would temporarily leave a "burn-in" image of the battery icon right in the center of the screen (although the actual recording would be unaffected)
- 90 Day Warranty (reliability is questionable, especially with picky internal batteries)
- Does not come with USB extension cable (would be nice, since the USB adds some strain to most ports) or HDMI-mini cable. (The Creative Vado 2nd Generation actually came with both accessories!)
*** Major Con:
- This device seems to REALLY rely on the state of the internal battery -- even when connecting to a computer/USB port that should be enough to power on the unit. If it's completely out of juice, it won't even have the ability to realize, or at least tell you, that it has to start charging itself! It was quite a nightmare. It was only my third day having the Flip MinoHD, and it would not turn on at all after the screen had previously shown that it was too low on battery. Even worse, I would connect it to my PC as usual (even tried it on a Mac), but nothing detected! The screen was blank; only the right side of the recording red LED indicator was lit; when I removed it from my PC, the LED would stay stuck and still had no response to any of the buttons. The only way for that stuck LED to turn off was to reset it (there is a reset button pinhole under the tripod hole). However, that still didn't solve my problem and the LED would be stuck every time I connected to the USB.
An advantage about having swappable battery, besides being able to shoot more, is if the unit ever freezes, you can usually take out the battery and put it back in to do a "reset"; however, if it's an internal battery like the Flip MinoHD, the only way to do so is by having a paper clip with you and sticking it into the pinhole. If the battery is faulty, the only way to fix would be to send it back to Cisco.
I also tried charging on a AC wall charger with USB, but it wouldn't charge at all because this device seems to require a communication on the USB data+/- signal for it to actually charge.
FOR THE DEVICE TO ACTUALLY BE CHARGING PROPERLY: It should have BOTH red LEDs on the front (next to the lens) LIT and the back LCD screen should show a battery icon with a LIGHTNING BOLT flashing!
If you see only the right side of the LED lit or the LCD screen just shows a static battery icon, then it's not really charging!
Most people, like me, at this point would assume their Flip MinoHD just turned into a brick! I own other devices that charge via USB, and even when I completely run out of battery, the computer would at least recognize it right away because it would turn on by USB power and not wait for the internal battery to fill up a little first; the Creative Vado (which has swappable lithium-ion battery) would still have the ability to power on just from the USB power alone -- even when I don't even stick in a battery on the device!
I was really devastated because I couldn't even retrieve my footage if I had to send it back to Cisco for a replacement. I actually called Cisco and got a RMA and was about to send it back. After all the talk on the phone and was about to fill out the RMA form, I actually tried one last luck of just keeping the device connected to my computer again... it was blank and no response, but miraculously, both red LED on the front turned on and the device showed up on the computer!
This is direct from Cisco's page:
"NOTE: You may see ***no activity*** on the camcorder - neither lights nor indication that the camcorder is charging - for the first 30 minutes. Once the initial 30 minutes has concluded, you should see some indication that the camcorder is charging and be able to power the camcorder on. Continue charging for the full amount of time (we suggest three hours) to ensure that the battery is completely charged before recording again."
Well, isn't that nice to know? I mean seriously, most people would assume they have a brick unit if they don't see any response/indication/connection on the computer for at least half an hour! I really believe this is a major design flaw: that in cases where you end up running the battery too low, you'll have to wait several minutes for the device battery to fill up a certain amount FIRST, before you could simply transfer the files off to the computer -- due to the unit heavily relying on the state of the internal battery, as opposed to the USB power going directly to the CPU hardware, so you could at least access the device from the get-go while it also begins to fill up the empty tank. The nice thing about removable memory, which the Flip MinoHD lacks, is even if the device fails, you can still transfer it off by simply getting any type of card reader.
I'll have to remember to charge my FlipMino HD like I would fill up my car with gas before it runs empty to avoid greater headaches. Always try to unload footage immediately instead of keeping it on the device! You never know what would happen to it!
As stylish as this Flip MinoHD device is compared to all the pocket HD cameras out there, I still feel the Creative Vado is superior with having a wide lens (you have no idea how great it is to be able to capture a wider picture of everyone and surroundings), better performance in low light, removable battery (also not picky when it comes to charging and detecting right away on the PC), and the USB connection not putting as much strain on the USB ports (since it's rubber). However, I do really like that the Flip gives an option of disabling the recording light and startup sounds! (with the Vado, it isn't possible... the startup/shutdown sound is annoying for it, especially when you need to film during a concert!). I feel the reliability of this device isn't quite there (and we know Flip previously also had a major USB connection size issue); I also had temporary issues when using the device after connected/charging for awhile, there would be "burn-in" image left of the battery icon on the LCD screen when shooting!
Moreover, when you look at the competition out there (such as the Kodak with expandable memory and 1080), it really is average underneath all the beauty of the casing. This device is probably suited more towards people who prefer aesthetics over features and do not do as much heavy shooting. If you're the type who loves to shoot everything, you'll want expandable battery and memory. The advantage of having removable memory is even if the device turns into a brick, you'll have better chance of saving your priceless footage by just simply removing the SD card (or whatever card it uses) from the device.
The Flipshare software actually needs to be installed and not a software that can simply run off the device. It's okay and nothing extraordinary. On the software, you can see thumbnails of the videos and play it back, but I wish the software would allow multiple video playback at once. Also when you play it full screen on the software, there is no seek bar!
Also note, the sharing videos by email feature on the FlipShare software is not as private as you may think. It does not actually convert the video to an email file size for you, but instead it actually just uploads the video directly to Flip company's ONLINE server where you and the email recipient will receive a "private" link to the video. Who knows what's going to happen to those videos.
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Description of Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation)
With the all-new Flip MinoHD, it-Feets now even easier to capture incredible HD video and share it with the world. MinoHD features 120 minutes of record time, so you-Feetll never have to miss another minute. A super-slim, pocket-sized design means you can take your MinoHD with you everywhere you go. And a large, 2-Inch anti-glare display lets you enjoy your videos directly on your camcorder. Plus, MinoHD comes pre-loaded with FlipShare software, which makes it easy to organize, create and share your videos.Camcorders
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