Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Black, 4 GB, 1 Hour (1st Generation) OLD MODEL by Flip Video
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Digital camera reviews of Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Black, 4 GB, 1 Hour (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
Digital camera Review: A Total Waste of Money
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this camera for my daughter for Christmas '08. After the first 30 seconds of use it quit working. It would not turn on and it wouldn't charge when plugged into the USB. When it would come on for a few seconds, it had the low battery indication and like I said wouldn't charge. So, I e-mailed the Pure Digital customer support and got an RMA number for return. I paid to have it sent to them and they sent the same camera back to me a few weeks later saying it had been fixed. It did work for about 10 more minutes of recording. Then, it went completely dead, completely. The 90 day warranty has now run out. I have just written it off as a complete loss because I'm not spending any more money on this totally useless rip-off. My advice - BUY SOMETHING ELSE!Digital camera Review: A good camera.
Summary: 4 Stars
I am definitely enjoying this camera. It takes good quality videos, given that it is held still.
However, I was disappointed when cheaper, higher resolution cameras came out right after I bought it.
Still, it is very convenient, and good for what I use it for (filming for a vlog).
The software isn't completely compatible with Windows Vista (it changes the theme to Windows Classic), and so far it hasn't successfully uploaded a video to YouTube for me, and I haven't found any solutions to this online (if you have one, I'd love to hear your ideas).
Digital camera 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.
Digital camera Review: A little bit buggy
Summary: 4 Stars
I will echo what most of the other positive reviews say:
- Pros: always have it with me, great video quality for computer display/pretty good for burning to standard DVD and TV display.
- Cons: small size makes it difficult to hold steadily so the video is often jerky. Small screen makes it tough to monitor. I shoot my daughter's swim events and sometimes lose track of which tiny dot in the water is her, although it's quite clear when the movie plays back on the computer.
Also, the field of view is not always as large as I'd like it. If you are shooting people a few feet away from you, rather than across a swimming pool, you may find yourself backing up a lot. Originally I considered the Creative VadoHD also, which has a wider-angle lens, but I tend to like to be closer rather than farther from my subject. So I was surprised to find myself backing up with the MinoHD. From waist up is fine, but if you frequently want to get more than that, this will be too close.
The only thing I have to add that others might not have is that the MinoHD seems to have some electrical bugs. I have had it since March and had to hard reset it at least once. (Hard reset by sticking a paper clip into the tiny hole in the tripod recess.) The battery drained and it would not recharge or turn on. Sometimes the battery will not recharge when I have it plugged into a USB port, but if I run it down a little further by shooting more video, that seems to take care of it.
In light of that, beware also the short 90 day warranty from Mino. I contacted their customer service before ordering and confirmed that they will still accept the unit for servicing after 90 days, and they "will try to fix it". I am not sure what that comment was supposed to mean -- out of warranty I expect to pay for repairs, but I also expect them to know how to fix it. The warranty was almost a dealkiller except that I was able to get the item for "free" with my credit card miles. Knowing what I know now about reliability, if I had to pay with real money I would probably go with the Creative -- or the 2nd gen Mino.
Digital camera Review: A little overrated....
Summary: 3 Stars
I heard soo much about this video camera, and how awesome it is. It's a video camera yes but it's missing some important components that would be in a video camera...
It has good picture quality, but the lens dont auto-focus. It's weird. I tried changing the zoom level and it still doesnt focus in. My banged up, sony picture/video camera does that.
There arent any really awesome video taping effects like night vision. As a serious movie maker, i feel like night vision is a must in a video camera.
The software is good, but its limited. You get more out of Windows Movie Maker. Except for the fact that you can mute out the clip in Flip, there is no "movie making" jist in it. You have beggining titles, and credits....alright....
Lastly, its really innovative the way they have the usb thing intergrated right into the camera. It's really handy. Although i look at it, and it looks like that little guy is gonna break from the weight of the camera. It has no support, the camera is literaly hanging in midair, putting all its weight onto the usb plug.
So, it's a cool camera, its nice. But not if you're serious and really into video making. You cant take pictures, which is weird, i mean you wouldnt think it'd be that hard or costly, but i understand its a VIDEO CAMERA. This is more like a toy rather than an awesome camera.