I have been a Flip camera user since they released the first gen. Flip Mino HD (not the new metallic model). I loved the camera. For what I needed it for it was everything I wanted. However like ever product not everyone is going to love it one hundred percent. I did find a few faults with the my Mino HD.
#1 - I thought the camera was a little to small and felt very flimsy in my hand. My hand shaking seemed to be amplified by the very small flimsy feeling camera in my hand.
#2 - The touch sensitive controls were not that sensitive and pressing the controls caused the camera to shake and jerk.
But for the most part loved the sound and thought the picture was great.
Soon the Flip Ultra HD came out and I had to have it. Selling points on this camera were more storage space, no touch sensitive controls, and it was bigger and felt much more durable in the hand. But just like the Mino I did have some complaints.
#1 - The rechargable batteries sucked and when I tried to recharge them my camera kept getting hot, causing it to shut down or stop charging.
#2 - The microphone on the camera I thought was not as good as the Mino. Me being a band director I find that at times it distorts when filming my drumlines and band playing, but it was only on initial loud hits and pops.
Other than that I loved this camera and I use this one most of the time. This one has a wider shot then the Mino. It doesn't have touch sensitive controls making zooming much smoother. The camera is much larger and when my hand shakes the camera (video) tends not to.
Recently Cisco came out with the Flip Slide HD and once again I had to have it. I bought it the day it came out and took it to WGI World Percussion Championships in Dayton Ohio for some testing.
At first I was a little skeptical about the touch screen since I was not a fan of the Mino HD's touch sensitive controls. I was not to worried about the size since I think the bigger the size the more control you have and the less shaky your footage will be.
I think this shoots the best footage of all Flip Cameras. It is crystal clear. I was real surprised by the touch screen. It is not as sensitive as I thought it was going to be. Actually it is like if I was using my Flip Ultra HD. I love the feel in the hand. I am not real picky about the Slide out screen. I think that it is a great idea/feature and used it a few times this past weekend. The slide bar is a little confusing at first but you do get the hang of it. Its really not that big of a deal, but some people find this frustrating and give the camera a poor rating. I don't understand that. I love that they put a headphone jack on the camera. In the past two models I felt that the video got very pixelated when the camera was zoomed. I don't see that as much with the Flip Slide Hd. The video stays pretty clear when zooming.
I have only one issue with the camera. The Flip Slide HD has an omnidirectional microphone which is great (I am pretty sure the others use a unidirectional microphone), but it is really sensitive. Being close to my drumline at World Championships caused the camera to distort big time (inaudible at times). When I moved back away from them it got better (moved back like 15 - 20 yards). I am hoping that this will get fixed maybe in a firmware update or something like this.
I do have to say that I am a little upset with Cisco. I thought the new Flip camera would at least have image stabilization and the so much talked about WiFi capabilities, but no such luck. This however will not turn me away from my beloved Flip Cameras.
I have used a number of other HD Cameras such as the Kodak Zi8, and I prefer the Flip.
In my opinion
Flip Mino HD - Best Microphone
Flip Ultra HD - Widest Angle for shooting, feels the best in the hand
Flip Slide HD - Best Video Quality
Thanks
Nick
****UPDATE**** (June 7th, 2010)
I have finally gotten around to uploading some video to youtube that showcases the Flip SlideHD and the Flip Mino HD. (click the youtube video link at the bottom of this update) You will be able to see and hear the difference in quality. The first four clips of the video were shot with the Flip Slide HD. You can see that the microphone is very active and I am standing about 10 to 15 feet away when I am video taping. The 5th, 6th, and 7th clips in the video are shot using the Flip Mino HD. I switch because it started raining and the Mino is my older camera so I really didnt care to much about getting it wet. The very last clip of the video is with the Flip slide HD. It stopped raining so I got out the new one to do more tests, since I only had the camera for about 2 days. The video was made in Final Cut Studio so there has been some compression to the video.
Hope this video helps a little.
Nick
[...] Flip SlideHD Video Camera - White, 16 GB, 4 Hours - Video - Camcorder - High Definition - Pocket Camcorder'
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