From a pure techie/gadget standpoint, the Flip Video product line is nothing special as similar products littered overseas shelves even before the first Flip hit the market. So what make’s the Flip so special? Well, for starters Oprah Winfrey got a hold of it and showed it to her millions of fans. But more importantly, Pure Digital, makers of the Flip, keyed in on the fact that people were starting to make use of online video services like YouTube in a big way. Despite the fact that the Flip doesn’t do HD, or heck, even the same quality as a quality compact digital camera, Pure Digital got one thing really right for the YouTube generation: Ease of use.
This month, Pure Digital released their latest product, the Flip Mino. Based on the wildly popular and totally Oprah endorsed Flip Ultra, the Flip Mino gives us a unit that is 40% smaller, a touch sensitive control pad, and a rechargeable internal battery. In addition to that, the Flip Mino gives Mac users a small gift in the form of a Codec that can be installed to allow iMovie 08 users to direct edit their videos; a feature that was missing in the previous Flip Ultra. In fact, if you own an Ultra, we’ve tested it, and that Codec will work with all the videos you shot on your Flip Ultra too. How cool is that?
What’s Inside the Box?
Inside the box, you get the Flip Mino itself, a simple instruction booklet, a case, a hand strap, and a set of AV cables for hooking the Flip up to a TV set for instant big screen gratification. There is no software CD as the Flip Mino is preloaded with all the software that you’ll need to instantly share your videos in case you lack some of your own. Unfortunately, if you format the unit by accident, The Flip website contains no trace of a download link to restore these applications so just make sure you don’t do that until someone figures that out and puts up the link, or quickly backup your software to your hard drive.
Missing is a USB extension cable which made the previous Flips impossible to insert alongside another USB device. Well, you’re going to run into the same problem with the Mino, however, you can purchase one directly from Pure Digital for only $14.99…OUCH! I’m not kidding.
The Flip Mino vs the Flip Ultra
As mentioned, the Flip Mino is a good 40% smaller than the Flip Ultra, making it that much easier to take with you. Part of the reason why the Flip Ultra was so popular was because it could be taken with you easily. The Flip Mino does this even better by being even slimmer. It’s also a lot lighter, weighing in at only 3.3 oz vs the more portly 5.2 oz of the Ultra.
Although the form factor has shrunken, Pure Digital was able to maintain the size of the 1.5 inch screen while adding in a new touch sensitive control interface. First impressions of the touch control was that it was way to easy to push the wrong buttons, but we’ll see if that becomes an issue in testing. Contributing to the shrinkage is the use of an internal lithium ion battery that gives up to 4 hrs between uses, compared to the two AA batteries that power the Flip Ultra.
Pure Digital has also relocated the USB connector to the top of the unit whereas the Flip Ultra had it on the side. The main advantage that I can see is that the Flip Mino now blocks off fewer USB ports on your computer when inserted. But of course, you can buy their USB extension cable for $14.99 which is such a rip off. Just include the cable damn it! The connector ejects with a switchblade like action allowing you to quickly download your videos to your computer. It also doubles as the charging mechanism for the Flip Mino as it will top up whenever you plug it into a USB port to download your videos.
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Does Smaller Mean Lower Performance?
One thing that I’ve learned from using all sorts of cameras is that the quality of the glass matters more than the body in many cases. The Flip Mino has a noticeably smaller lens than the Flip Ultra. Although the specs say that both lenses are f/2.4, which is merely OK for low light conditions, I’m willing to bet that low light performance won’t nearly be as good based on this observation. Otherwise, why would one spend so much on bigger lenses? On that note, the microphone does appear to be the same in both units so we suspect that sound quality should be similar.
The Flip Mino in the Real World
So the Flip Mino brings quite a few apparent improvements to the mix, but not everything is as much of an improvement as it would seem.
First off, in my day to day use, I found the touch sensitive controls frustrating. While grasping for the unit, I would seemingly hit other buttons in my quest for the big red middle button. On the Flip Ultra, I just knew where it was by feel. This is definitely a step backwards in terms of ease of use. What they could have done to improve is maybe separate the buttons a bit more compared to the Flip Ultra, which would allow a better button pushing experience, especially if you’re in a rush to get the shot. Many times I’ve ended up pulling up the delete menu by accident, but you can lock the delete button if you wish.
The size of the Flip Mino gives it a very public friendly look to it. Since it’s not pointed at you like a camera, you can get away with using it in many situations that you normally would make people feel uncomfortable in. In fact, the unit resembles that of many camera phones, which would allow you to make like you’re texting while you’re actually getting footage of someone doing something stupid for that easy $400 bucks on Break. You can even mute all the sounds if you wish, however, you can’t mute the red light when recording. Electrical tape is cheap though.
The Flip Mino’s have gone to a glossy paint job, but the one that suffers from this the most is the black color as it looks completely filthy after even minor handling. It does come with a carry case which I highly recommend you use because that glossy finish also seems quite susceptible to scratches, a lesson that Apple learned with the nanos. I know glossy looks cool, but it looks less cool when scratched to death. Since Pure Digital intends everyone to take the Flip Mino everywhere, it’ll end up in a lot of pockets with change and keys… you get the idea. Like Russell Peters says “Do the right thing!”
I have no clue why, but probably one of the nicest physical features that the Flip Mino retains from the Flip Ultra is the use of a metal insert for the tripod mount. Unfortunately, I can’t see this device being mounted to a tripod very often, but gee, thanks. Personally, I’d rather see a USB extension cable in the box which would prove to be far more useful.
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Software and Setup
As mentioned earlier, the Flip Mino comes with all the software loaded onto the unit. When you plug the Flip Mino into a PC or a Mac, it immediately gets recognized as a mass storage device, like a USB drive. Unfortunately, some people like to format their drives when they have moved all their videos or pictures off them. Don’t do that with the Flip Mino. At least not until someone figures out that there is no download software link on their site. I’d recommend that you back it up on your hard drive for an emergency.
With your Flip Mino plugged in, you’ll see seperate applications for PC and Mac. All you need to do is select one or the other for the proper OS and you’re ready to go. The Mac users get a bit of a bonus because before, with the Ultra, you could not use iMovie 08 to edit your videos. Once you click on the Mac application, you’ll get a chance to install a new Codec that will allow you to use your Flip Mino files directly with iMovie 08 and the Apple Fans rejoice.
Pure Digital includes a software application right on the Flip Mino that can be used to manage your video files and do minor editing if you don’t have any software of your own. This even includes adding music to your videos or capturing still pictures from your footage. This is also helpful in cases where you are borrowing a computer that doesn’t have any of the usual editing suites installed.
One of the things that is most convenient about this software is its direct upload feature, allowing you to direct upload your videos to sites like MySpace, YouTube and AOL just to name a few. Overall though, the software isn’t particularly quick or full featured, but it is convenient knowing that even without any of your favourite editing software, you can at least get your footage up there for the world to see.
Video Quality
If you are looking for YouTube quality, then the Flip Mino, like it’s other Flip brethren are pretty darn good at doing that. With a maximum resolution of 640×480 and some proprietary compression, it does a great job of maintaining a small file size while maintaing that YouTube quality that you know and love. However, if you’re looking for dramatic HD archival quality, you’ll be sorely disappointed. The Flip Mino does not do HD; nowhere near it. In fact, most quality compact digital cameras do a better job and even have optical zoom, whereas the Flip Mino gives you 2X of Digital Zoom.
Where it seems to perform not as well as its older brother, the Flip Ultra, is in low light conditions, and that has to do with the fact that the lens is a pin hole on the Flip Mino compared to the Flip Ultra as mentioned earlier. There is just no way a pin hole lets in the same amount of light. The Flip Mino also has a tendency to hunt for the right exposure, so if you’re in a dark room, you have to wait for it to adjust. Speaking of hunting, like the Flip Ultra, there is no optical image stabilization built into the Flip Mino, therefore, you can get footage that looks like “Cloverfield”. I guess that’s Ok if you are going for that “Cloverfield Look”.
Audio Quality
The audio quality seems similar to that of the Flip Ultra, and overall, isn’t bad at all. Voices are picked up clearly and the background noise is kept to a minimum. This is largely due to the fact that the Flip Mino has a fairly short lens, making you have to stand fairly close to your subject. As a result, it doesn’t pick up the background noise as much as when you zoom in with your regular digital camera or camcorder.
The design of the mic also places it forward, making it less likely to pick up the noises behind it. I’ve also found that it works pretty well as a voice recorder that so happens to take video at the same time. I can see this being extremely useful for lab work and other occupations where you have to take voice notes, but a video is so much better. For example, I like to take notes while doing reviews. With the Flip Mino, I can use it to make notes while working on my reviews.
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Final Thoughts
Pure Digital has taken what was already easy to take with you and made it even easier to take with you. The 40% reduction in size over the Flip Ultra has definitely made this device even more portable. The only area where the performance was impacted was in low light. The smaller lens just doesn’t seem as fast as the bigger lens found in the Flip Ultra. However, they did keep the size of the screen intact and the user interface seems just as snappy and easy to use as ever.
Speaking of user interface, the touch control seems to be more manageable once you are aware that it behaves the way it does, but it still frustrates me to have to look at it to be able to operate it. I realize that Pure Digital was trying to make the buttons usable in darkness, but having a touch control is clearly not the answer here. What they should have done is just improve on the buttons on the controls used on the Flip Ultra by separating out the directional pad a bit more so that the record button is more isolated. I know that touch sensitive controls are cool and all, but not cool when you hit every other button before you hit the right one.
Although the Flip Mino and it’s other siblings are meant for things like YouTube and MySpace, I’ve actually found it quite handy for keeping track of my notes during product reviews. I’m sure that anywhere in which a voice recorder could be used, this could be used to provide an even better record of events. The only downside I can see with this device long term is the serious lack of storage. With only 2GB of memory and a maximum recording time of 60 minutes, it kinda limits its range. Although this can limit its range, on the Flip side (pun intended), it forces people to make their shots count. But if they offered expandable storage in the future, who am I to say no to that?
The Flip Mino is not some revolutionary new technology. It’s not HD, it doesn’t take all that great video to be honest, and the feature set alone makes it somewhat overpriced. You can buy a really good quality name brand compact digital camera that can do better video and even take high quality stills, at around the same price. However, where it starts to justify its cost is in its execution. There are a lot of more advanced products out there, but thety are hard to operate, the software is cumbersome, and the manual sucks. Pure Digital has addressed all these concerns and even though it’s not cutting edge technology, it so easy to use that even this techno snob is willing to keep it around.
The Flip Mino sells for $179 at your usual suspects. It’s no replacement for your HD Camcorder or even your compact digital camera, but if you want something in your pocket at all times that is fun and easy to use, and ready to go, it’s hard to beat this product.
Pros
- Extremely easy to use and operate
- Software is also convenient and makes uploading on the fly quick and easy
- The convenient size makes carrying it with you a no brainer
Cons
- Touch sensitive controls are frustrating at times
- Low light performance not as good as its predecessor
- Where is my USB Extension Cable?
Overall Rating: 9.0 /10.0
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