{"id":26,"date":"2010-06-11T22:33:17","date_gmt":"2010-06-12T02:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techiteens.wordpress.com\/2010\/06\/11\/flip-minohd-2nd-gen"},"modified":"2013-07-23T16:32:47","modified_gmt":"2013-07-23T16:32:47","slug":"flip-minohd-2nd-gen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/flip-minohd-2nd-gen\/","title":{"rendered":"Flip MinoHD 2nd Gen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Flip MinoHD 2nd Gen<\/span>
\nBy:
\nPure Digital Technologies<\/a><\/div>\n


\n<\/a>\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With
\nthe growing
\npopularity of video sharing sites such as YouTube and Facebook, there is
\na
\ndesire for a more portable video camera that you can carry around with
\nyou all
\nthe time so you\u2019re ready to record the next YouTube hit at a moment\u2019s
\nnotice.\u00a0 With traditional HD Camcorders,
\nyou often don\u2019t end up using them as much as you want to because they\u2019re
\nnot
\nthat easy to carry around all the time so you only bring them when you
\nknow
\nyou\u2019ll use them.\u00a0 This is where the Flip
\nMinoHD comes in.\u00a0 Its compact size allows
\nit to fit easily in your pocket or a clutch purse and it\u2019s 8GB of
\ninternal
\nmemory (about 2 hours of video) and a 2 hour battery life should be
\nenough to
\nsatisfy the average consumer.\u00a0 Its 2 in.
\nanti-glare screen makes outdoor use easier and it\u2019s friendlier on the
\neyes than
\nthe first generation of this product who\u2019s screen was only 1.5 in.<\/p>\n

The Flip seems very
\ndurable and convenient when you use it.\u00a0 The
\nFlip\u2019s body is solid in your hand and since the body is metal instead of
\nplastic, it won\u2019t crack as easily if it\u2019s dropped, plus it still
\nmaintains its light
\nweight at only \u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad4.1 ounces. The body
\nis even customizable with different designs if you order the product off
\nthe
\nflip website.\u00a0 Its small size lets you
\ntake it anywhere and it\u2019s built in, flip out USB adapter makes it even
\neasier
\nto put your videos onto a computer.\u00a0 With
\nno cords to carry around, all you need is a computer to put them on. The buttons are touch sensitive except for the
\ncenter one and I would occasionally hit them accidentally, but that was
\nthe
\nonly major setback with the design.<\/p>\n

The video quality that
\nthe Flip takes is good for everyday shooting especially considering its
\nsize.\u00a0 Unfortunately it only has 2x digital zoom
\nand
\nno macro setting for close up shots meaning that the picture isn\u2019t going
\nto be
\nfully focused when up close and personal with what you\u2019re recording.\u00a0 Also it can\u2019t take regular still pictures,
\nwhich you should take into consideration if you\u2019re thinking about buying
\none.\u00a0 With the software that comes with it, you
\ncan
\ntake a still frame from one of the videos you\u2019ve recorded, but it still
\nwon\u2019t
\nbe as clear as a picture would be.<\/p>\n

What it gains in its
\nsmall size and portability, it has to sacrifice in its video.\u00a0 It only records in one mode 720p at 30 frames
\nper second compared to its main competition, the Kodak Zi8, which can
\nrecord at
\n1080p and 720p and has the ability to shoot at 30fps or 60fps.\u00a0 The Flip\u2019s video still comes out good and it
\nshoots better in low light than the Kodak but it is sometimes good to
\nhave the option
\nof a faster recording speed and better resolution.<\/p>\n

Another drawback to the
\nFlip is that it doesn\u2019t have external memory so once you fill up its 8GB
\nthen
\nyou\u2019re stuck until you can get to a computer.
\nMost camera users have gotten into the situation where they fill
\nup
\ntheir memory but still want to take more pictures.\u00a0 When
\nyou reach that point, the only option is
\nto start finding pictures (in the Flip\u2019s case video) to sacrifice in
\norder to
\nkeep shooting.\u00a0 The only solution to this
\nwith the Flip is to make sure you put your videos on your computer
\nwhenever you
\ncharge it since your battery will usually run out before your memory
\ndoes. As long as you start with empty memory, you
\nshould be ok with 8GB.<\/p>\n

So what do you do after
\nyou spend your day\/night recording everything you see? Well if you don\u2019t
\nfeel
\nlike watching your movies on the device, it has a mini HDMI jack so you
\ncan
\nwatch them directly from the Flip onto an HD television with the
\ncompatible
\njack.\u00a0 The HDMI cable is sold separately
\nso it will be an extra cost in order to have this option.<\/p>\n

After previewing and
\nediting your footage, the next step is usually to put it online. The software that the Flip provides called
\nFlipShare is very good at helping to upload videos to some of the major
\npicture\/video sites. FlipShare, which you need to install on your
\ncomputer when
\nyou get the Flip, makes organizing and uploading videos very easy.\u00a0 Its features let you directly upload them to
\nFacebook, YouTube, or MySpace accounts with the touch of a button.\u00a0 If you want to upload to a different site,
\nthe program will also help you with that but once you\u2019re done editing,
\nyou\u2019ll
\nstill have to go through the process of selecting the file from your
\ndesktop to
\nupload.<\/p>\n

Using the Flip was very
\nconvenient.\u00a0 The fact that
\nit\u2019s small enough to have with
\nyou all the time can be appealing to some people.\u00a0 The
\nbottom line is that if you\u2019re going to
\nuse it for what it was made for, which is taking good, convenient HD
\nvideo that
\nis easy to put online, this product will do its job well.<\/p>\n

Features:<\/strong><\/p>\n