Last week hubby bought me a FLIP mino HD video camera. I've been "borrowing" my sons Flip mino but really wanted to try the HD version. Matthew competed at the Oregon Track Club's All comers meet at the Historic Hayward Field...(goosebumps) last Thursday and I got to try it out for the first time.
I'm VERY impressed. Which is why I want to share it here.
It's smaller than my cell phone.
You don't need any cables to download...it has it's own pop out usb and plugs right into your computer when you're ready to download. Software is in the video and downloads to your computer the first time you use it. Software is very easy to use. What I like the most is that you can isolate every single frame AND with them being HD the quality is superb. I have a Canon XT Eos Rebel and the still's from this little vid are 100% as good...not only that - with a still camera you have to try to get the best shot..with this you KNOW you got it. Comes with a jack to watch through your TV too. We tried it on our 48 inch and couldn't believe it - it was like watchng a professional movie. It holds 60 mins of video and the battery charges from your computer and lasts way longer than how much video you can take.
So here's the full length video (sorry...dumb me forgot to upload to youtube in HD so this is as bad as it gets and it's still good) (Oh and for anyone into track...that guy to the far left is decathalete Ashton Eaton who made a new PR of 16'9" (I think that's what it was!) getting ready to compete in Berlin next week and of course the guy kneeling on the grass next to the girl with the white shirt is the current WORLD record holder for 60-65 year old pole vaulters our very own "master" John Altendorf....and awesome competition for these younger kids to attend and learn)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt0CR8B1CL4
This is just one isolated shot from that video...not one hint of blurr - totally crystal clear just like you'd get from a camera. The built in software gives you a line up of all snapshots so you can pick any ones you want as stills.
and here is an isolated clip from that shot
All in all I'm VERY impressed and would recommend this to anyone.
Oh and here's a pic that I made from a still just for fun...(Matt's descended from Musashi...way, way wayyyyyyyy back lol)
Ease of use I give a 10
Quality a 10
Cost for value 10
Got it from Costco ( of course hahaha) came with a carrying case and cool little tripod all for $179.00 (with a $20 rebate) !!!! I totally recommend this little video as a cool tool for vaulters wanting to record their vaults and help (with the snapshot feature) to look back at every step you've made. Travelling around with poles and everything else is bad enough lol...so having a video/camera that fits in a pocket comes in really handy.