Flip MinoHD
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)According to Pocket-Lint, an unspecified Flip camcorder slated to ship in the first half of 2010 will incorporate Wi-Fi connectivity. That's unsurprising, given the recent acquisition of Flip's parent, Pure Digital, by networking giant Cisco. The site also says a Cisco spokesperson confirmed that "the new model will feature 'a large screen that slides to reveal the record and menu buttons underneath' allowing users to see what is going on when they are recording video."
How much you wanna bet this will be announced at CES (or just before) in January? I'm also curious how much Wi-Fi will add to the price; one of the main attractions of these models is their cheapness relative to more full-featured products. Plus, adding Wi-Fi generally means a partnership with a hot-spot provider for free uploads. Just wondering...
Calibration on the cheap, fun with focal length and back-to-back black contest photos.
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EPISODE 68
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The Zoom Q3 camcorder brings quality audio to the solid-state video camera market.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)As the audiophile's answer to the Flip camcorder craze, the Zoom Q3 ($249) takes a basic pocket video camera and bestows it with a high-quality stereo microphone and advanced audio-recording options. After a weekend playing with the Q3 and testing its audio and video capabilities against the Flip Ultra HD, I have a few initial observations to share.
... Read moreOn Sale Now: $249.00
View the latest prices for Zoom Q3 Handy Video Recorder
Honing your sharpening skills, how you left your ruts in the mud, and your fall foliage photos for all.
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EPISODE 67
... Read moreFlummoxed by film scanning, finding white balance where there is none, and they only come out at night (to shoot).
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EPISODE 66
... Read moreYou think your job is hard? I had to narrow down three potential deals for today. Three!
Woot.com's refurbished 10.1-inch Acer netbook for $229.99 (plus $5 shipping) was a strong contender, but I know lots of you visit Woot already--and many more of you are sick of Netbooks. (Awesome, awesome deal, though.)
Then I considered the refurbished 2GB Sansa Clip MP3 player: $19.99 shipped at Buy.com. Mighty sweet.
Ultimately, I settled on the Creative Labs Vado pocket camcorder, which Dell has for $39.99 shipped.
Although this isn't the newer HD model, it's perfectly good for shooting YouTube-ready, VGA-quality video. And it can hold up to 60 minutes of it at the high-quality setting or 2 hours at "SP."
I love these little camcorders, which are easy to toss in a pocket, glove box, or wherever for capturing life's little moments.
CNET had mostly good things to say about the Vado, which is noteworthy for its built-in USB connector, onboard software, and one-touch uploading to YouTube.
This is a new unit, not a refurb, so it comes with a full one-year warranty. It regularly sells for at least $85, so $40 shipped is hard to beat. Great gift item!
Dell deals often expire or sell out without warning, so if this sounds good to you, act fast. (And if it does sell out, well, you've got the aforementioned runners-up. See? I'm always thinking ahead. Well, starting now, I am.)
For those waiting to see what Flip Video will have for the holiday season, the company is about to ship an upgraded, "premium" version of its MinoHD pocket camcorder for $229.99.
In a nod to Apple, the new model is called the MinoHD, second-generation, and features a brushed metal body, double the internal memory (8GB vs. 4GB), a larger, 2-inch LCD, and an HDMI connection, though no cable is included.
Flip's designers have also rounded off the corners of the unit (it does look sleeker) and tweaked the FlipShare software package to include direct uploads to Facebook (MySpace and YouTube links were already available) and a new Movie Magic mode that takes your clips and automatically arranges them into a "movie."
Other than that, nothing else has changed. Like its older sibling, this model offers 720p video capture and two hours of battery life from its integrated lithium-ion battery. Flip Video has yet to add the electronic image stabilization or macro mode found on Kodak's Zi8, which also features 1080p capture.
The new MinoHD is available in silver or you can get a custom finish at no extra charge if you order the unit from the Flip website. Meanwhile, the original MinoHD ($199.99) remains on sale along with the standard-def Mino ($149.99).
We've been playing around with the new model for a couple of days and it's definitely nicer, though we can't say it's a huge upgrade. If the difference in price was really only $30, we'd say go for this guy, but we're seeing the original MinoHD discounted to around $170 online, which may create a buying dilemma.
Read the CNET review of the Flip MinoHD (second generation).
Comments?
Back to basics about bit depth and the great whiteout contest.
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EPISODE 65
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Sony's little pain in the wallet.
(Credit: Sony Electronics)Last week I posted a review of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1, but this post is not really about my review. It's about two user reviews (written by users I doubt have actually used the camera). One calls my review flawed, while the other praises the camera and then gives it a half-star rating out of five stars. Why? Sony's use of Memory Stick media for storage.
According to the first user review, the reason my review was "flawed" was because I didn't mention the use of Memory Stick media as a con and a reason not to buy the camera. I'm sorry, but I don't see what the big freakin' deal is with buying a Memory Stick. Yeah, it would be swell if I didn't have to pay $30 for an 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo and instead could get a generic 8GB SDHC card for $18. But, honestly, Sony's use of proprietary media, I/O ports, and miscellaneous other technologies shouldn't be news to anyone--it's been doing it for forever. In the case of Memory Stick, since 1998. Get over it already.
The other review complains that there are only two manufacturers of Memory Stick media--Sony and SanDisk--and when the user used a SanDisk card, the WX1 popped up a message saying it may not record. Problem is, I did and do all my testing using the SanDisk card mentioned and never got an error or any other kind of message. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I'm willing to bet there's something else going on.
Regardless, cutting a rating down to half a star strictly because you don't like buying a proprietary memory card makes no sense. It doesn't help readers or potential buyers.
There are benefits to a closed system--just ask anyone using an Apple computer. And, well, licensing fees keep a lot of companies in business. Does it suck that you are forced to buy a Memory Stick? If you already have SD cards for other products, then yes, sure. But, frankly, no one made you buy Sony products, and hey, at least be grateful it's not an xD card.
Getting the raw end of the contest deal, looking for some Fringe-Be-Gone, and seeing geometrically.
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