Page 2: Features, Testing, Conclusion
Features:
The Mino is all self-contained. It charges by USB and transfers the same way. The videos themselves are Xvid (MPEG4) AVI files. I would have liked to see H.264, but Xvid is pretty good as well. The files are encoded at 30 frames per second with a bitrate of 4Mbps. With 1800MB of usuable storage, this works out to exactly 60 minutes of video. The lens itself is fixed focus, macro shots are out of the question. It focuses from 1m (about 3 feet) to infinity. The battery is internal and lasts for four hours. I never got around to verifying that fact, but I know it lasts for well over 2 hours. Everytime you run out of space, you need to copy the videos onto the computer which also charges the device.
Testing:
What better way is there to test a unit than just showing you how it works and what the quality of videos it takes. Let me summarize additional findings. The color quality is fine for the intended purpose, but is lacking as opposed to a digital camera (or quality camcorder). You can't get close to any subject due to the fixed focus on the unit, but it handles everything else very well including low light shots. It can transition between lighting situations very fast. This device is very much a pickup and go type of thing. To use it, turn it on and push the red button. After, you plug the Mino into any computer to transfer the videos which is good since the unit acts as USB mass storage and the videos are just AVI files. Once you delete the videos off the unit, the numbering reset which is pretty strange since you can't just keep dumping the videos into the same directory since the files will be overwritten.
I actually had the unit crash while attempting to see how it looks on a TV. When I plugged in the TV connections, the unit froze. The only way to fix this was to push the reset button which is hidden in the tripod mount. After that, I never had another problem. The picture on the TV looks fine as a standard TV offers about the same resolution as the Flip Mino.
I suggest you watch the video supplement featured with this review as it contains some additional footage taken with the Mino itself. You can see the quality by just watching the video.
Conclusion:
The unit costs a pretty penny coming in around $160 at the time of this review. At this price, it is really hard to justify if the Flip Video Mino is a purchasable product since there are other camcorders that do much more for the same price. Let's talk about the intended audience before making a judgment call. This product is made for the Youtube generation that wants a device to handle videos and make it easy at the same time. The Mino does just that and the videos can be directly uploaded to Youtube without transcoding them.
Whether the unit is worth it for you is a different story. You might need a camcorder for proper videos that has more features and can record on removable media with a higher resolution. There are camcorders that have the upright form factor and while bigger than the Flip, they do much more. I would love to see the Flip with removable media. It all comes down to your intended use. Do you want an easy to use device for primarily web uploads? The Flip Mino is a perfect choice. If you need anything else out of a video camera, look to buy a proper one with more features and not the boutique price.
I'd like to thank the team at Pure Digital for making this review possible.
The Mino is all self-contained. It charges by USB and transfers the same way. The videos themselves are Xvid (MPEG4) AVI files. I would have liked to see H.264, but Xvid is pretty good as well. The files are encoded at 30 frames per second with a bitrate of 4Mbps. With 1800MB of usuable storage, this works out to exactly 60 minutes of video. The lens itself is fixed focus, macro shots are out of the question. It focuses from 1m (about 3 feet) to infinity. The battery is internal and lasts for four hours. I never got around to verifying that fact, but I know it lasts for well over 2 hours. Everytime you run out of space, you need to copy the videos onto the computer which also charges the device.
Testing:
What better way is there to test a unit than just showing you how it works and what the quality of videos it takes. Let me summarize additional findings. The color quality is fine for the intended purpose, but is lacking as opposed to a digital camera (or quality camcorder). You can't get close to any subject due to the fixed focus on the unit, but it handles everything else very well including low light shots. It can transition between lighting situations very fast. This device is very much a pickup and go type of thing. To use it, turn it on and push the red button. After, you plug the Mino into any computer to transfer the videos which is good since the unit acts as USB mass storage and the videos are just AVI files. Once you delete the videos off the unit, the numbering reset which is pretty strange since you can't just keep dumping the videos into the same directory since the files will be overwritten.
I actually had the unit crash while attempting to see how it looks on a TV. When I plugged in the TV connections, the unit froze. The only way to fix this was to push the reset button which is hidden in the tripod mount. After that, I never had another problem. The picture on the TV looks fine as a standard TV offers about the same resolution as the Flip Mino.
I suggest you watch the video supplement featured with this review as it contains some additional footage taken with the Mino itself. You can see the quality by just watching the video.
Conclusion:
The unit costs a pretty penny coming in around $160 at the time of this review. At this price, it is really hard to justify if the Flip Video Mino is a purchasable product since there are other camcorders that do much more for the same price. Let's talk about the intended audience before making a judgment call. This product is made for the Youtube generation that wants a device to handle videos and make it easy at the same time. The Mino does just that and the videos can be directly uploaded to Youtube without transcoding them.
Whether the unit is worth it for you is a different story. You might need a camcorder for proper videos that has more features and can record on removable media with a higher resolution. There are camcorders that have the upright form factor and while bigger than the Flip, they do much more. I would love to see the Flip with removable media. It all comes down to your intended use. Do you want an easy to use device for primarily web uploads? The Flip Mino is a perfect choice. If you need anything else out of a video camera, look to buy a proper one with more features and not the boutique price.
I'd like to thank the team at Pure Digital for making this review possible.