I received a Flip mino HD video camera as a gift a few months ago.
This inexpensive little camera is small at approximately 4"x2"x3/4" and is small enough to fit in a pocket or purse. It comes with an instruction manual, a fabric bag, a wrist strap and a TV cable. The software to run it comes installed on the camera and loads itself on your Mac or PC when you insert it into the USB port.
This camera is about a simple as it gets. It has an on/off button, a USB connector button (to flip out the USB connector like a switch blade), a TV jack, a tripod mount on the bottom, a big red record button, and some play/pause, forward, backward and delete buttons. The screen is a tiny 7/8" by 1 1/8" but is good enough for getting an idea of what you are recording. Looking at the screen for playback doesn't even come close to what you see when you play it back on a TV or computer. It has digital zoom that goes up to 2x but you have to be in record mode to use that feature.
I also got an after market padded case with a snap hook to protect the camera better than the fabric bag that came with it. It works!. A few drops to the ground proves it. I like this camera for what it's meant for... a camera at the ready and handy without the bulk and complexity of a top notch camera. I have even used it to record voice on the go like a mini tape recorder. Having a convenient camera like this at the ready means you can catch some events that might otherwise be missed because you didn't bring the big one in the bag with all the accessories.
Now for the bad. This camera has no shake compensation. Hand held vids require you to move slowly and carefully to look their best. In low light the vids come out grainy and dark. When you move around in low light the vids are swimmy. The battery is sealed inside so you have to have it serviced to replace it and it is recharged through the USB port. It has no removable memory so you must download the 8 gig it stores (1 hour) before you can record more (not too bad for most situations I think).
Here are some pictures of it.
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This inexpensive little camera is small at approximately 4"x2"x3/4" and is small enough to fit in a pocket or purse. It comes with an instruction manual, a fabric bag, a wrist strap and a TV cable. The software to run it comes installed on the camera and loads itself on your Mac or PC when you insert it into the USB port.
This camera is about a simple as it gets. It has an on/off button, a USB connector button (to flip out the USB connector like a switch blade), a TV jack, a tripod mount on the bottom, a big red record button, and some play/pause, forward, backward and delete buttons. The screen is a tiny 7/8" by 1 1/8" but is good enough for getting an idea of what you are recording. Looking at the screen for playback doesn't even come close to what you see when you play it back on a TV or computer. It has digital zoom that goes up to 2x but you have to be in record mode to use that feature.
I also got an after market padded case with a snap hook to protect the camera better than the fabric bag that came with it. It works!. A few drops to the ground proves it. I like this camera for what it's meant for... a camera at the ready and handy without the bulk and complexity of a top notch camera. I have even used it to record voice on the go like a mini tape recorder. Having a convenient camera like this at the ready means you can catch some events that might otherwise be missed because you didn't bring the big one in the bag with all the accessories.
Now for the bad. This camera has no shake compensation. Hand held vids require you to move slowly and carefully to look their best. In low light the vids come out grainy and dark. When you move around in low light the vids are swimmy. The battery is sealed inside so you have to have it serviced to replace it and it is recharged through the USB port. It has no removable memory so you must download the 8 gig it stores (1 hour) before you can record more (not too bad for most situations I think).
Here are some pictures of it.
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