If your normal home movies are about as badly put together as Pete Doherty’s tailoring, what you need is the world’s simplest and easiest camcorder. Trying to catch those beautiful one-off moments without the fuss and bother – and cost – of a heavy-duty model used to mean trading in quality footage for convenience. No longer, traveller. Enter the bad boys of mobile movie making: the Flip camera range. They’re a pair of easy-peasy digital video cameras that have already taken America by storm. Their trick is to be like Herman Munster: simple, sturdy, and with a heart of gold. TheFlip Ultra II and Flip Mino cameras are both so simple to use that anyone from 5 to 105 can be a miniature director: press the large button that says ‘on’, press the button that says ‘start’ and hocus pocus – you’re the cul-de-sac’s very own Stanley Kubrick all of a sudden.
Whether you’re shooting your dog dressed up like Yoda for a Star Wars re-enactment or simply your pal Dave falling off a fence in a priceless You’ve Been Framed moment, you’ll be amazed at how well both the Flip Ultra II and Flip Mino stand up to the scrutiny of critics. The Mino comes with 2GB of memory on board, which is enough for 60 minutes of filming at a crisp 640 x 480 pixels in MPG4 format. There’s no need to worry about the palaver of focusing – it’s automatic, and with a 2x zoom available you’ll be able to dispense with your Gaffer, Best Boy and all the rest of the crew.
