 A Review for Mac users |
| Review Date: November 15, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Norman R. Hart, Concord, NH USA |
The camera
The camera has a 1.5 inch screen that is vibrant but small. The camera is thin and can easily be slid into the front pocket of your jeans. It is extremely light. The buttons on the back are touch sensitive and are not typical buttons that you "press". There is a nice quality built in microphone. Operation is dead simple. Turn it on and push the large red button to start record and then press it again to stop.
The video quality:
The video quality from this camera is phenomenal considering its price tag. No its not a Canon HV30 but its not supposed to be.There is very little motion blur and the colors are nicely saturated. Due to the higher quality video shakiness is more pronounced in the videos but its not terrible. The more still you can hold this camera the better. The sound is crisp and clear. I can easily say the quality of this camera trumps all other flash based camcorders in this price bracket.
The Software
Mac users rejoice! The Mino HD's video files ( MPEG4) are natively supported by Mac OS X, Quicktime, & iMovie 8 or iMovie HD. The software (Flipshare) even allows stitching the footage together, adding music and transitions and exporting the finished result directly to Youtube or just onto your desktop. I am very impressed Pure Digital rewrote the software package so that the features for Mac Users were the same as PC users. When you first plug in the camera iPhoto will open and offer to import the video's. You can override this in iPhoto's preferences. From then on the Flipshare will open automatically.
Final Conclusion:
The Flip Mino HD billed as the worlds smallest HD camcorder (as of 11/14) is worth its weight in gold. Especially if you have a Mac! If I had to choose one con for this camera I would say that I wish they would've added an external microphone jack to it-but thats really reaching. It's a wonderful camera for the money and they say the best camera for the job is the one thats with you when you really need it. |
It is HD and does a fine job for what it is
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| Review Date: November 12, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Jay Adkins, Columbus, OH |
Amazon should really consider only allowing those who actually purchase the product to review it.
Contrary to D. Knapp's inaccurate claim of false advertising(do your research), this unit is indeed capable of High Definition video at 1280x720 and it looks quite stunning, more so than I expected. I was satisfied with the original Flip Mino's video and audio quality. This is icing on the cake.
The software seems to be improved over the original and regular Flip devices. I found it to be much snappier too.
My only gripe is low level lighting situations. It would be nice to see an add on infrared light system or a light accessory attachment. I'm sure battery issues might play a role in the decision to leave that option out though.
If you're like me and only drag your real camcorder out on the holidays, or you always seem to miss those Kodak moments with the kids, the Flip Mino HD is for you! |
Score!
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| Review Date: November 16, 2008 |
| Reviewer: M. Gerrish, |
There are no more excuses for missing the moment. This camera isn't designed for producing major motion pictures, but it does a terrific job of being available, while being ridiculously easy to use. It will be tossed into the purse for recording moments at gatherings.
I would say that the "HD" designation is mildly exagerrated, but the picture quality is better than what I get from the Sony miniDV Handicam (which does a nice job), but with far less aggravation when it comes to importing and viewing. And I have never thrown the miniDV into my purse to capture a moment at a gathering. This Flip MinoHD, I doubt if I'll ever leave home without it.
Auto-focus is first-rate. It automatically adjusts for lighting conditions and does a good job in dim light. The sound quality is not exceptional, but it isn't exceptional on any home video camera I've ever used, either. Still, it picked up my granddaughter's voice from across the yard without distortion. I haven't tried to edit the video yet, but the included software is straightforward when it comes to storing and viewing videos. The camera also comes with a cord to connect to your TV.
It is what it is and at a very reasonable price. This thing...this is truly a score. Oooo oooo, I have to get a DryPak so I can use it in the pool...!
UPDATE:
A potential customer asked a question in the discussion area. I answered, but include it here as well in case others are curious, too. The question -- how does the video compare between TV or HDTV, and a computer monitor.
I tried four different screens -- a 42" plasma flatscreen, a 42" lcd flatscreen, a regular old-style TV and an lcd computer monitor.
The old-style TV, I wasn't surprised, was "grainy," to use an old-fashioned term. The plasma was disappointing. The particular model I own didn't allow me to shrink the video to its natural size, so the picture was blown up edge to edge and that caused the picture to degrade. (DVDs on that TV are great, by the way.) Your plasma might operate differently and therefore, offer better results.
The lcd TV allowed viewing the videos at natural (large) size, best quality of all, although even full size it looked great. And the computer monitor was great, too.
If your potential gift recipient is a casual videographer as most of us are, they won't be disappointed. Fancy themselves as the next Baz Luhrmann and the Flip will promptly find itself on the return pile.
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Amazing Little HD Camera
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| Review Date: November 28, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Charles Evans, North Carolina |
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RHOOY5QZUJGVU The folks at Pure Digital have created a tiny little HD camcorder. If you watch the video you will get a full appreciation for just how small it is.
A few details-
Unlike previous versions the Flip Mino HD records as a MP4 file (instead of AVI). This is not a big deal, but it does prevent you from going straight from recording to Apple TV - you will need a program like Roxio Crunch to convert the file.
Maybe not the greatest camera if your only goal is to pot videos on YouTube. The extra resolution will not show up, but it will take the video significantly longer to upload.
Capture speed is a bit too slow - this causes the picture to blur during motion. It can also give your videos a "Blair Witch Project" feel if you film while walking.
Final Verdict - if you are want a camera that is highly portable with great quality look no further. If you would prefer a video camera that you are only going to use for posting videos on the internet ou ay want to go back a model.
5 Stars |
Absolutely cool camera, lightweight, great video, pocket sized fun!
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| Review Date: March 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Heath L. Buckmaster, Sacramento, CA USA |
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3LPJ7PO0WVSWR Within 15 minutes of the camera arriving, I had it opened up, had taken a video, and created this video review for amazon. The camera was so easy to use that I think it took me less than 3 minutes to have it up and running and taking video.
For what it is, it gets 5 stars, however, I do want to say that after a full day of exploring the camera there are a few things to consider...
First, the viewing screen is very small, as you'll see in the video review below. This isn't a big deal, and again for the type of product, you go in knowing there will be limitations of some sort. In terms of taking video, that's about the only limitation I've found so far because the camera is just that easy to use. From one touch recording to fast playback and delete functions, you really can't get much simpler.
After you've taken the video, getting it onto your computer is also a snap. Flip out the USB plug and shove it into your computer's USB port. Make sure it's a 2.0 port. The software automatically starts and runs and it allows you to save the original video file to your computer in mp4 format, save it in wmv movie format (with rudimentary title/credit slides and optional music track), and a few other basic functions like image stills. There isn't a lot of fluff, and you really don't need fluff for this.
If you want to use the native file format you're going to need a video program like Pinnacle or Ulead that can read mp4, or a conversion program (you can use the one that's included to convert to wmv if you want). Windows Movie Maker will not read native mp4, so to use that tool you'll want to convert first.
The camera records in 1280x720 at 30fps. This isn't 1080i/p but you're really not going to notice that much of a difference - though I do wish it recorded at 60fps just for a cleaner and smoother video (just a personal preference - not a downside to the camera).
For the price, the size, the ease of use, and the ease of getting video off the camera, this is a crazy cool gadget that I'll be using very frequently for some great video!
Enjoy! |
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