Review: Flip MinoHD

Flip MinoHD Recorder

By Mike Wheeler

Last year CyberShack was deciding if the Flip Mino should be the most underwhelming gadget of the year. It was a mini camcorder with a steep price point, and although we decided against handing out any sort of awards, it certainly would have been in consideration.

So it was with interest when we were told a new version, the Flip MinoHD recorder, was about to make its debut. Let's take a look:

As a working unit, it is very easy to operate. It's about the size of a mobile phone, and reasonably light, which is quite surprising due to the amount of storage space it has to take onboard HD content. You just click a red record button to get going, with a zoom-in and zoom out feature on the interface, which is disappointing – it doesn't zoom in or out far enough to be truly effective. When taking a couple of video clips of my son's rugby league match, the zoom function only went so far, which meant that when the play was on the opposite side of the field, it was hard to make out the different players. Other functions include skipping forward or back various clips and a the obligatory trash button.

It comes with Flipshare preloaded software, which automatically downloads to your desktop. Here is where you can have fun editing, videos, take pics from your video, share clips, as well as upload gear to Facebook, YouTube and MySpace.

The overall video content is very good, as it should be. Where this device is let down is in some of the little things, and one big thing. The little things include the aforementioned weak zoom function, the small LCD screen, which is not great at showing you footage you have just shot, and there is a lack of functionality on the interface (although, that could be a plus if you like simplicity of use). The big issue is its price – $300. This is quite a lot to pay for such a device when there are other devices out there, that may cost a little more, but have a tonne more features on them.

Pros: Portability, HD, Easy to load software

Cons: Limited functionality, small LCD screen for playback, price

RRP $299.95

3 out of 5 Shacks