Flip Video MinoHD -Second Generation, Silver- One Of The Best Pocket Camcorders

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

Good 720p video quality, the provided software is very user friendly for sharing your videos, battery is not user replaceable.

Thumbs Down:

A bit expensive, no memory slot provided for expansion cards, the videos look shaky and there are issues with auto focus.

Inside the Trunk:

Software disc and charger cable.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Flip Video MinoHD is a mini camcorder which records a 720p HD quality videos. Videos are saved in H.264 format, the built in memory is 8 GB Flash which is not expandable. Lens  is  F/2.4 and minimum focus range is 31.5 inches. TFT LCD active matrix display of the camcorder is 2 inch big

Additional features include -  Back-lit buttons, USB charging, date/time stamp, auto power save, progressive scanning, built-in speaker, YouTube capture mode, in-camera movie editing, USB 2.0 compatibility.

Connection ports include 1 USB and 1 HDMI output. It has operating system support for MS Windows XP, MS Windows Vista, Apple Mac OS X.

It has rechargeable lithium ion battery which lasts for about 2 hours on a single charge.
The camcorder comes with 90 days warranty.

Razzle Dazzle:

MinoHD second generation looks just like the first generation device but the feel of the product is different. The body of this one is made of brushed metal as compared to the plastic body of the previous generation device. The unit weighs 5.8 ounces which is not that heavy. But the exterior of the camcorder is sleeker and more luxurious. If you buy this product directly from the Flip’s website then you get options for colors but otherwise there is only option of silver and black.

Inside Dope:

With the holiday season coming around manufacturers are churning new products to induce people to buy. Some of them are really worth paying for, while some are just making new products to cash in on the holiday period. We felt the latter when it comes to the Flip Video MinoHD, second generation. We don’t mean disrespect but first generation was pretty much good with the latest technology.

Now Flip takes a leaf out of the book of Apple while naming the devices, this camcorder is named second generation which is meant to be an improved version of the previous product. The main changes are the bigger memory, the LCD has got bigger and it is transreflective (antiglare) and has a 960×240 resolution and the exteriors have changed to give the unit a sleeker look.

The camcorder has touch sensitive buttons just like the previous devices but they are put in such a place that you might click on them accidentally. Also the body attracts a lot of fingerprints which ruins its beautiful look.

Though the external looks has changed the core features inside are the same which reiterates our idea that this product was made just to cash in on the holiday season. The camcorder doesn’t offer 1080p resolution of video capture like the Kodak Zi8 instead it is still at 30fps or 720p video. There is 2x digital zoom but there is no image stabilization so you will have to keep your hand really still while capturing or get a tripod. There is no macro mode for shooting close-ups. But it is very simple to use just like the first generation camcorder because it doesn’t confuse you with much settings like most camcorders. All you have to do is to hit the record button and then hit it again when you are done. But we would have liked option of dropping to lower video resolution in order to save on memory.

The battery is still not user replace able and it still provides the same two hours of life for recording your videos. Files are stored in MP4 formats at the rate of nine megabytes per second.

The manufacturers have improved video quality in the second generation of the device. The indoor shot white balance has improved and it really shows in the output of the videos which are very sharp and have vibrant colors. The camera doesn’t shoot in full HD resolution of 1080p but video quality is excellent.

The camcorder performs well both in low light and bright conditions. The quality in bright conditions is a bit higher and it drops a bit in low light conditions. You get stereo sound for recording of audio but you will have to stay a bit close to the camcorder so that the microphone can record voice easily.

You will have to hold the camera steady while taking photos because the videos seemed shaky even when held with a steady hand. For best results use a tripod because there are some issues with auto focus. The videos are recorded in 720p and video quality is not as good as full HD, we noticed a bit of jitter when we played the videos on computer. When we contacted Flip for this, they said that videos are best played on a power full computer with all the applications closed.

It is very easy to get the videos on the computer, you just press the button and the USB connector pops out. Flip recognizes OS x (10.4 or later) or Windows (2000 or later). Flip bundles in a new software with which you can stitch two clips together, get a still photo out of a video or share the clips through e-mail.

The share interface is really user friendly, you just click on the “Share Video” button on the software and you get a screen wherein you have to select a video clip and share a greeting (video card), share online or share it through e-mail. A clip of around 15-20 seconds takes about 25-30 MB of size which can be a bummer if you have a slow connection; we found that the recipients get a link to the compressed video when you send it.

You can publish you video directly on MySpace, AOL or YouTube provided you have an account there. Once again the software is very much user friendly and does all these chores for you by uploading the video for public or private viewing. You can also upload you videos on FaceBook with the application provided and there is a new feature called Movie Magic which makes a movie from your clips.

Through Flip Channel you can upload your videos and it automatically notifies the people that you have on the list, about the video that you have uploaded. The notification is done through e-mail and there is iPhone application that lets people who have iPod Touch or iPhone to remotely access these clips.

Nitty Gritty:

Flip Video MinoHD is just like the first generation along with some additional features. If you don’t have the first generation device and if you are thinking of buying this, we would advice you to go for it. However if you already own the first generation unit we would advice you not to go for an upgrade.