Why You Can Trust CNET Flip MinoHD review: Flip MinoHD
Although ultimate image quality and features are sacrificed on the altar of price and pocketability, the MinoHD should be on casual videographers shortlists.
Design
Prising the MinoHD out of its black packaging — which, incidentally, bears more than a passing wink and nod to boxes used by a Cupertino company whose logo resembles a partially eaten malus domestica — we were struck by the camcorder's similarity to a candybar mobile phone. Suitably chic, our unit was glossy all over, had piano black smeared on its back, a dark grey finish on the front and dark chrome piping; a silver model is also available.
Flip MinoHD
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Controls have been kept to the bare minimum. A power switch lives on the unit's right edge; on the front there's a big red record button surrounded by a phalanx of rather aggressively back-lit capacitive buttons (+/-, left/right, play and delete). The capacitive buttons can, at times, require quite a firm prod, while at other times they're a little too sensitive to inadvertent finger grazes.
The interface is dead simple: left, right, play and delete let you access and remove previously recorded video, and, depending on what you're doing, the plus and minus buttons adjust either volume or the digital zoom. Accidental deletions can be prevented by holding down the delete button and locking that feature off. There's only one menu — accessible during start-up — which allows users to configure items like language, time, date and button noises.
The 1.5-inch transflective screen does the MinoHD a grave injustice. Oddly configured at 528x132, the poor vertical resolution means that using it for playback or shooting is akin to guessing at the meaning of tea leaves. Shooting during the day can also be hampered by reflections from the screen's shiny surface. Despite the screen being flanked by two grilles, the MinoHD only has a single speaker.
Features
As to be expected on an AU$299 camera, even one that's able to shoot in high definition, the feature list is barren enough to make many a desert blush. The bundled composite video cable that plugs into a 2.5mm jack on the MinoHD's left side yields predictably blocky output on an HDTV; if there's an Xbox 360 or PS3 handy use it. On the bottom there's a tripod mount that's well out of whack with the lens' centre line. There aren't any inputs, so improving the Mino's mediocre mono sound via an external mic is off the table.
Like a switchblade, the USB connector flips out of the MinoHD's top. For forgetful travellers this will be a boon as there are no cables to pack or lose; on the, uhhh, flipside, however, it does mean that the device dangles precariously from some computers. As the battery is not user replaceable and the optional power brick isn't officially available in Australia, travellers will either have to pack a laptop or spend some quality time in an internet cafe.
When connected via USB, the MinoHD functions as a removable drive with all videos easily found under the DCIM folder. Preloaded on the Flip are PC and Mac versions of the FlipShare software, which allows owners to view and manage videos, as well as capture stills from footage (the camcorder has no built-in photo-taking ability). It will also enable amateur videographers to trim and mash videos together, as well as share them with others via MySpace, YouTube or email.
Compared to direct uploads via the YouTube website, YouTube uploads via FlipShare exhibit better quality, although disappointingly they don't qualify for YouTube's HQ or HD standards. For that, users will need to engage a third-party editing tool.
Performance
Capable of recording 1280x720 H.264 MPEG videos at 30 progressive frames per second with an average data rate of 9Mbps, the 4GB of on-board flash memory storage is, in Flip's estimation, good for about 60 minutes of recording. This, incidentally, makes it the first camcorder we've used in a few years where battery life (up to two hours) outstrips recording space. Storage space cannot be expanded as there is no memory card slot.
The lens has a fixed focus (1.5m to infinity) and the only magnification present is of the digital variety (up to 2x). When using the digital zoom, the resultant sea of pixellated blobs is an excellent advertisement for the power of perambulation. Image quality is in absolute terms just passable and is, naturally, below what one would expect from a full-priced high-def camcorder. That said, given the MinoHD's price point, form factor and competition it's actually quite good indeed.
Unlike standard-def camcorders, the MinoHD's footage won't leave your high-def TV wincing in pain. Pictures aren't carving knife sharp, but a good amount of detail is captured and fast moving objects aren't reduced to juddering wrecks. On our busy street scene test, neon lights strobed annoyingly in the background, while bright sunlight can induce a bit of lens flare. We also noticed a few white balancing issues in glare-prone environs and noticeable, but not game ending, noise in low light.
Without any form of image stabilisation, the Flip requires an incredibly steady set of hands or — counter-intuitively for such a small, portable device — a tripod. In the event of someone snatching your Flip off you to do a bit of impromptu recording, please remind them not to hold the camera in landscape mode — your neck will thank you for it later.
Conclusion
For its price and size, the MinoHD offers decent quality video. Despite being pitched at too cool for school netizens, we think the MinoHD might just be the ticket for new mums and dads wanting to capture baby's first moments, Johnny's first steps, Lisa's first words or Alex's first day at school.
Those who can't live without more storage, HDMI output or a larger, higher resolution should hang out for the 8GB MinoHD that's available overseas and may or may not be coming here. Here's hoping that there's a model on the drawing board with image stabilisation.