There is nothing like a cool, crisp Michigan afternoon when you find that the UPS man has come and left a new UnBox package on my front porch.
This time around, however, there were TWO packages. But today, I am only going to open one of them, saving the other FedEx package for tomorrow. Wait, what is yet another box shows up tomorrow? Ah well, I will cross that bridge when I get to it.
So, here we go!
Nice large box, and I can hear a slight rattle when I (gently) shake the box! Knife, do your thing!
Flip Video! SWEET! I have the very first generation Flip video camera, as I have talked about on our weekly Podcast. I really like it. Is this another?
Yes and no. This is a Flip Mino HD!
Nice packaging! Very designer. This is the worlds smallest HD camcorder, and it deserves well-made packaging. I wish more companies would take the time to make their packages match the quality of the product. It shows an attention to detail buys really enjoy, and expect for high-quality merchandise.
This is the back of the Flip mino HD. Nice!
Shinny! You can actually see the ceiling fan reflected in the black finish. (The plastic lens cover is still on, which is what the blue tab is.) This is smaller than the original Flip camera. I can’t wait to go shoot some footage with this!
So I had to go grab the original Flip and compare the size. While this picture makes the mino HD look like it’s about the same size, they are not. The mino HD is significantly smaller, both is size and heft.
From this side view, you can see how much thinner than the older Flip the mino HD is. But does size matter? I think so. In a world where my iPod and my cell phone has merged into a single devise, I want something small to serve as my video camera on the go. The original Flip has served that purpose for a long time now, and I think the mino HD, depending on video and audio recording quality, will take its place.
Let’s look at some specs on the Flip mino HD.
It shoots video at 720P (1280 x 720) resolution at 16:9 aspect ratio. The lens does a 2X digital zoom, although I never use a digital zoom. Ever. The screen is only 1.5″ in size, but honestly, who cares? It lets you see what you are filming just fine, which for such a small devise, that’s all I expect or need. It does record files in H.264, so that it works just fine with iTunes, iMovie, and (most important) iTunes.
Since I wrote that last paragraph, I decided to take the Flip mino HD out for a spin. After dropping my youngest child off at school, I stopped by a cemetery I pass every day and shoot some test footage, both with the new Flip mino HD and the original, and take a look at the difference. I don’t usually do this with an UnBox, but I really could not wait to put the mino HD to the test! I will share the videos in a blog post later tonight titled “Flip mino HD Test”, so look for it then!
The Flip mino HD costs $229. Check out more details at www.theflip.com
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