Mini-Camcorders to Flip For

My, how times have changed. Less than three years ago, Sony announced the first affordable high-definition camcorders, for as little as $1400. That same summer, YouTube became the fastest growing site on the internet. In 2007, an unknown company, Pure Digital, released the first mini-camcorder starting at $149. Call it timing, call it luck, or call it Google’s brilliant strategy to open the doors of video production to everyone, today YouTube is the third largest site behind parent company Google and Yahoo!, while Pure Digital’s Flip mini-camcorders outfitted with one touch upload to YouTube are the best selling cameras in their class. Coincidence? Not likely.

It’s the perfect intersection of our obsession with amateur videos and an affordable camera to produce them. Not only is it affordable under most any economic condition, it’s easy to use, impervious to being tossed around in a roomy bag, durable enough for a child, and can be customized any way you’d like. With competitors racing to catch up to Pure Digital’s Flip cameras, the shelves are crowded with colorful choices, but don’t be lured by wannabes.

We’ve tried them all, and say you can’t beat the original, so let’s take a look at the Flip and its HD cousins. What do you get with a mini-camcorder, and what do you sacrifice by choosing a mini versus a full-size camera?

The basic Flip is about the size of a juice box with one button to record, fool-proof control for a 2X zoom and one-touch uploading to video sharing sites once you’ve plugged the camcorder into your computer, no cords needed. Three steps: point, shoot and share.
There are four Flip models available, and they vary by minutes of filming, video quality and design options. The longer and better the quality, the higher the price, but no surprise there. From the bottom up:

Flip Ultra at 149.99 delivers about two hours of recording time, has a 2-inch screen and offers up to 4-1/2 hours of battery life when using the rechargeable battery pack. Like its competitors, it comes in several colors: white, black, yellow and pink.

Flip Mino at 179.99 is slimmer than the Ultra and it is customizable. There are hundreds of engaging patterns to choose from or you can submit your own photo to be used as the design. Sounds like a great Father’s Day gift. The screen is slightly smaller at 1-1/2 inches, battery life is slightly shorter at 4 hours, and it records just one hour of footage. The average YouTube video is 2.7 minutes, so you’re still good for 20 videos.

Flip Ultra HD at 199.99 films in high definition for two hours. HD drains battery life so expect to recharge after about 2-1/2 hours of filming. Black and white are your only color options.

Flip Mino HD at 229.99 is the top of the Flip line with the 1-1/2 inch screen, HD filming for up to an hour and the shortest battery life – about two hours. What are you paying for? Customization. You’ll have to decide between a one of a kind camera or twice the recording time.

If Sony, Kodak and Sanyo’s entries into the mini-camcorder market don’t pose a threat to the Flip Mino, then what does? iPhone, if and only if the rumored iPhone 3.0 coming out in July has a video camera. A YouTube app won’t be far behind. But since so many of us are locked into two year contracts or simply can’t part with our BlackBerry, our favorite mini-camcorder will survive, and hopefully, thrive.

Have a question? Email Leslie Meredith at leslie@toptenreviews.com