My free Flip minoHD arrived yesterday and it’s been fun to play around with it a little bit. I’ll post a more thorough review later, but it’s super easy to use and the video quality seems to be really great. I’ve uploaded my first video to YouTube and it’s below.
This is really my first time working with video – and while the Flip is awesome…I don’t really know what to do with it. For those of you who have worked with video before, do you have any recommendations for what I could use this camcorder for? Any creative uses? I know there are plenty of those photography challenge sites (like ten on ten) out there where you have to take photos of certain things or take a photo each day. Are there similar sites for creative uses of video or filming? If so, please share. Thanks a lot – and Happy New Year to everyone!
Related posts:
- New Years Eve 2008 Video
- How I Got 3 FREE HD Camcorders (and you can too)
- Renew America Together Video by Youth Group
- Review of Flip minoHD
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Adam not sure about your questions. You could record concerts, speakers, etc. to upload to your blog, Vimeo or YouTube.
i’d love you to check it out in darker lighting conditions.
i see one disadvantage is that it has a fixed lens so no zooming capabilities.
Happy New Year!
EP
A couple things actually-
I do a weekly audio/video podcast for my youth and their parents. I also use my camera to record publicity features for upcoming programs and classes. I do highlight videos from things like retreats, vacation bible school, and mission trips, etc. I do mock “tv shows” as part of youth group in which I have someone be the camera person and we record it (Jr. High activity).
Hey Adam,
I got a Flip mino HD for Christmas from my wife. How’d you get one for free? That’s sweet. I’m enjoying mine. Make a couple of video blog posts so far.
Pros say, “zoom with your feet”. The only time we might use a zoom would be to fram a “locked down” interview, but rarely does anyone zoom in or out once the camera is rolling these days. Our eyes don’t zoom in or out, afterall.
@John, i totally get what you are saying about ‘zooming with your feet’, but sometimes that is just not practical. i was at a screening of the film Milk in D.C. Afterward there was a panel discussion with the filmmakers. Someone recorded it and was not up close. The place was packed out btw. Thankfully they had a camera with a zoom.
i like that it is small but as a non-techie, meaning i do not know how to use a lot of tech stuff beyond basic computing and ipod skills, i want to know more about whether it is easy to get the recorded stuff onto my computer and how exactly i do this.
Also, if there is not a lot of available light, say outside at dark, how did it record?
Looking forward to more reviews.
EP
Existential Punk ,
Flip minoHD is the wrong tool for the job of recording a panel discussion. There is no mic input to accept a feed from the audio mixer board for instance. It would be very useful as a tool for gathering video for a documentary or reality type programs. One could imagine giving it to members of a group of homeless to document their daily lives for instance. It would be cheaper than giving them each a broadcast camera that might be lost/destroyed, and compact enough to be carried around throughout the day.
I have been in situations where media wasn’t allowed into shelters to document what was going on after hurricanes, but one could easily go in with a camera like this and record what was going on without calling attention to the camera.
Best,
JP
Wow. So I guess Adam is now censoring comments that are critical of the blog’s overall tone and substance. Classy.
@John Points well taken and thanks for sharing your ideas/experiences with me. i have been wanting to get a smallish video camera for a while but perplexed on which one. i am looking forward to more thoughts from Adam on this one and the other camera he will review.
FYI, the panel discussion i attended where the person recording did not hook into a sound board. i wish i knew what kind of camera it was that was used.
Your story about the homeless shelters sounds interesting. Anywhere to view these videos?
Best,
EP
In this video, the reporter was imbedded inside the hurricane shelter. In order to illustrate his report that conditions were sub-standard and deteriorating inside the shelter, a crew had to sneak in a large broadcast camera and take the shots while officials were unaware.
I’m only brainstorming on the homeless shelter idea. I know that when a crew shows up with a full video package, it can change things. The Flip offers a way to get content without intimidating. It’s disarming in appearance, very portable, and relatively cheap. The tradeout is the lack of quality.
For recording seminars, I would go with a more expensive “prosumer” camera that has xlr inputs for audio from mics or a mixer, and a zoom lens of course.
Youth groups might like the Flip for serious applications like the shelter above, or simply fun stuff like a video scavenger hunt.
Best,
John
@ John, THANKS for sharing the video and your thoughts on video cameras. i LOVE the idea of the flip mino and it’s portability and ease of use. i wish we had ways of trying things out before buying them. Sort of like a library for electronics! :)
Warm Regards,
EP