brentjcook wrote:Agreed! I gave 2 of these as gifts last time they were wooted. The recipients were very happy to get them even though it was obvious they were refurbs.

Maybe they really like them, or there might be chance they just hid their feelings in front of you? not even a slim chance? :-)

rdctali wrote:Maybe they really like them, or there might be chance they just hid their feelings in front of you? not even a slim chance? :-)

If the gifts weren't appreciated because they were "referbished", then these shallow ungrateful people shouldn't be offered a gift at all! Or, at best a substandard un-referbished item for the same price.

hroen wrote:No,

I got one the last time it was on Woot. There was a sticker on the outer box that said refurbished but no where on the inner box or item itself did it mention it.

I got the previous gen of this device (as my first woot, awww). I absolutely love it. So do my kids and anybody else who plays with it. It's dead-simple to use. Yes, you can zoom while recording. My battery has been fine. No "refurbished" mark to be seen. I plug mine into an extension cable and have it sitting on my desk for offloading vids or charging. Main difference between mine and this model is I only have analog video out, whereas this one is HDMI. No problem for me, since I'm one of those luddites who hasn't run out to buy a digital TV yet. I highly recommend this product.

rdctali wrote:Please don't sent it as a gift to other folks. Many people hate receiving refurbished gift.

Surely not even in These Hard Economic Times (tm). You'd think it'd be trendy. If it does, slap a sticker on it that says "Green" and you should be golden.

jiahn603 wrote:Does anyone have experience with this in cold weather? i.e. 20 degrees and below. I really am in the market for a video device to go snowboarding with. just wondering how bad does the battery suffer in the cold?

I got one for Christmas (thank you AMEX) and took video of the kids playing in snow. I don't know how cold it was but probably around 20°, it worked fine, very good quality video in poor lighting. I only used it for about 10 - 15 minutes and could not see any battery degradation.

I've had this exact model for two years (or more now? Jeez, time flys) doing the "Random Questions" video series on the professional poker circuit. It works very well, is super dependable, small, light and attaches to any tripod. (I recommend a portable medium stand and one of those flexigrip table stands if you plan on shooting steady.) It is a road warrior, designed in SF and wonderfully executed. As to the USB connection issue, if your wonder-puter has difficult to access USB ports, you can get their or a 3rd party female-to-male USB adaptor cable and have no issues.

The internal editing software (moves with the camera as well as being able to install "FlipShare" on a PC) is simplistic in it's delivery but robust in the number of functions it has.

Only con: It needs a mic jack for additional audio and it would be perfect.

joltdude wrote:There are still businesses that REQUIRE a cellphone that has NO Camera attachment for security reasons.. Im partially guessing this is why the users Blackberry has no camera.. So upgrading his BB for video might not be an option.

+1 Exactly! That's the whole reason Blackberry still makes versions of its phones with and without camera. Personal cell phones aren't allowed at all in certain areas of my workplace due to security issues, and work-issued phones that can be in those areas cannot have a camera.

jiahn603 wrote:Does anyone have experience with this in cold weather? i.e. 20 degrees and below. I really am in the market for a video device to go snowboarding with. just wondering how bad does the battery suffer in the cold?

Just got back from skiing in Santa Fe (with my snowboarding friend). We both were wearing one of these cameras and they worked flawlessly:

http://www.supercircuits.com/search?keywords=HMCam&btnSearch.x=0&btnSearch.y=0

I know it's a ton more expensive, but it is well worth it. Got some awesome HD POV video of me wiping out on a black slope.

I bought a new one from Bradsdeals right before christmas for $89.00. It is a blast to use. No muss, no, fuss. Just press the power button, then the record button and off you go. If you are a "features" geek you won't like it. If you are "simple minded" like me, you will love it. The quality is excellent. Easy to download and make movies but again, somewhat limited on features. I am a little concerned about it being refurbished but what the heck!

Does this model not have image stabilization? The Flip site says "now with image stabilization" which leads me to believe older models did not (such as possibly this one).

Aside from being refurbished, how is this different from the latest FlipMino HD listed on their official website?

http://www.theflip.com/en-us/products/

Is this the current generation, or an older generation missing some features? Seems too good to be true to be honeset.

rdctali wrote:Please don't sent it as a gift to other folks. Many people hate receiving refurbished gift.

I ordered these for my bridal party last time they were on woot. They only say refurbished on an exterior box. The interior is nicely packaged in an original Flip box with a lanyard and instructions.

jiahn603 wrote:Does anyone have experience with this in cold weather? i.e. 20 degrees and below. I really am in the market for a video device to go snowboarding with. just wondering how bad does the battery suffer in the cold?

My friend took his Flip on our snowboarding trip to Breckenridge back in January and it was -29 degree wind chill. It worked fine and he got some great videos!

What features is this woot refurb lacking from the current $230 one selling on theflip.com?

I have 2 of these. The HD and the non HD. Both work great. The non HD I got here on Woot. The other I got free for opening a bank account. (Deal is now gone.)

As long as they work, these a easy things to let the kids use, quickly video something as you are walking down the street, etc.

Highly recommend.

Oh YEAH! I love my first refurb'd Flip (purchased right here from Woot), I can't wait to have longer record time and HD. Wheeeeeeeee!

Is going on an east coast trip and really wants her dad to buy her one of these!!!!

rdctali wrote:Please don't sent it as a gift to other folks. Many people hate receiving refurbished gift.

Then may I suggest you cross those ***holes off your gift list?

I'm calling Shenanigans on this one. After looking the specs of both, this appears to be the first gen. model, because it is 30fps and no mention of image stabilization. The Flip website shows this model with 60fps (progressive scan) and image stabilization. If Woot can prove differently, I wish they would. I was close going in, but now I'm backing off.

I have the Samsung HMX-U10 which isn't as new/good as this one, but I like it. I bought this one for my son seeing as he liked mine. As far as the USB plug goes, I'd purchase a USB cable with one male and one female end so the camcorder doesn't have to hang from the computer on the USB arm. My Samsung just has a mini-port for USB and came with a cable. No problems with is so far after almost a year of use.

Just an FYI, I got the FLIP SlideHD that was also refurbished & it didn't work. I had to spend 3 weeks contacting the manufacturer, sending it off, and waiting for a replacement that I hope will now work. So All in all the money saved was just spent on shipping having to get it replaced.

Don't know if these will be the same, but that was my experience with the last FLIP product offered.

Does anybody know if there is any kind of "still" feature when recording. I am worried about overall shaking. Thanks!

I bought one on here back in November I believe it was--the thing works wonders! I use 2 flip HD's to film my on campus TV sitcom "Organic Banana."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8XSo6cvnmw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0eqpHc0bQo

The only complaint I have is that the program that comes on the device to transfer the files (FlipShare) always crashes on me at some point or another. (Not a big deal, more just an annoyance).

Also, the device has incredible picture when it has alot of light to work with. Not so great in low light as you can see in the show.

kendo1981 wrote:Does anybody know if there is any kind of "still" feature when recording. I am worried about overall shaking. Thanks!

No image stabilization on this model

rdctali wrote:Please don't sent it as a gift to other folks. Many people hate receiving refurbished gift.

Is this a sign of the times? I'm just happy if someone gives me a gift - are some people just "too good" to get something for free? If you have a few "refurbished" ones, and don't want them - please let me know. I have a group of soldiers here with me in Afghanistan that would cherish something like this so they could send messages/video's home to their family members.

phacopida wrote:Can you zoom WHILE you are recording? I can't with my current camera and would like to upgrade.

Yes you can, but either way, it's digital zoom, nothing special.

Thank you for all of your great comments and reviews of the product. I was close to buying it but decided I don't "need" it. Just out of curiosity, is this an older generation model?

bnlfanmatt wrote:"...the USB arm doesn't fit correctly."

I have the earlier Flip (not HD) and the USB arm is tricky but not impossible to plug into the recessed slots on the front of my Dell. It's just barely long enough to connect and hang there. A USB extension cable would solve the problem. Just saying, not refuting that some users have found it a pain or detriment.

belowi wrote:YouTube comparing Mino and MinoHD Part 1 (SD)

YouTube comparing Mino and MinoHD Part 2 (HD-This camera)

Thanks for this. Will go have a look. I bought the early Mino (not HD) and am disappointed with the quality.

Live in northern lower Michigan and used one for a couple hours outside. No issues.

Here are some concert videos I took with this model (I bought from woot in November)

Christian Kane Concerts

Sound is much better when you're not right up front, but I decided to stay up front instead of getting better video ;)

jiahn603 wrote:Does anyone have experience with this in cold weather? i.e. 20 degrees and below. I really am in the market for a video device to go snowboarding with. just wondering how bad does the battery suffer in the cold?

My wife took hers (from woot natch) to Germany a month ago and used it in sub-freezing temps but it probably spent time in a warm pocket too so can't swear for it but she was pleased with the simplicity and reliability of it.

love mine. used for many purposes so far. example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To0DeQuDntI

i've had no issues with the USB, but i generally use an extender. use a tripod when you can.

Great deal, but why only 30 fps when the same model on the flip website is 60 fps?

phacopida wrote:Can you zoom WHILE you are recording? I can't with my current camera and would like to upgrade.

Yes you can, though it's not terribly smooth, and has only a small zoom range. It took me a little bit of tinkering to figure out which place to press, but once I did, it was simple.

We have one of these and love it. Very surprised at the quality, given how small the device is we expected much less. Does a pretty decent job of auto exposure, mic pics up well at least up to 6 ft away (haven't tried farther), exceptionally simple to use.

Standby battery life on these is really impressive. I've had full charge after it sits for over a month.

The built-in software is pretty easy to use--my 70-something mother uses it.

Quailmann7 wrote:Does this model not have image stabilization? The Flip site says "now with image stabilization" which leads me to believe older models did not (such as possibly this one).

No it does not, this is 2nd, you need 3rd gen for that.

kne818 wrote:does anyone know if it says "refurbished" anywhere on the actual product??

I bought a refurbished netbook on here and it does have a sticker on the bottom that says it was refurbished. I am not sure where they would put it on the flip cam, but I'm sure it will say it somewhere.

Why do people even buy these? The quality is no better than the recording feature on an average digital camera, they're the same size as a an average digital camera, they conveniently upload to your computer like an average digital camera... The only difference is that you can't take pictures with this.

Someone explain this phenomenon please.