GadgetRatty: Review: Little Flip Mino Clone is a Plastic Piece of Poo

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Review: Little Flip Mino Clone is a Plastic Piece of Poo

2008-07-14 11:03:53 by Danny Dumas in Gadget Lab

DXG-567V Pocket Camcorder

On paper, the DXG-567V pocket camcorder bitch-slaps the Flip Mino in every imaginable way. It shoots high-def, 720p video; the Mino tops out at (snicker) VGA. It sports a 2-inch LCD to the Mino’s tiny 1.5-incher. It’s available in four colors; the Mino comes in black or white. And while the Mino manages just 60 minutes of recording time via internal storage, the DXG pops cheap-o SD cards for virtually unlimited shooting. Even a paltry 2GB card would net you over an hour’s worth of high-def footage.

Too bad the DXG-567V sucks. Really, truly sucks. Seriously, it’s just awful. If you’re shooting anywhere but outdoors on a sunny day, expect grainy, jerky, fuzzy, and otherwise horrendous video. Images look a bit better when you’re outdoors on a sunny day, except for the oversaturated colors and blooming whites. Oh, and whatever is the opposite of image stabilization, that’s what the DXG-567V has: Unless you mount the sucker to a tripod and then bury the tripod a few feet in the ground, the video’s gonna look shaky. Not cool, NYPD Blue shaky, but nausea-inducing Cloverfield shaky.

We know it’s tough to squelch your inner cheapskate when faced with a high-def camcorder that’s 50 bucks less than the competing VGA model, but trust us: You’re better off with your snapshot camera’s video mode. Or the Mino. Or that webcam you got off Craigslist for a buck. —Rick Broida

WIRED Better specs all around than the Flip Mino, including rechargeable AA batteries you can swap for alkalines in a pinch. Onboard software ferries videos to YouTube with minimum fuss. Macro switch lets you shoot up-close and personal. Sells online for uber-cheap: around $130.

TIRED Craptacular video makes you long for your old VHS camcorder. Batteries require external charger, even though the camcorder has a perfectly cromulent USB connector. Controls not nearly as grandma-friendly as Mino’s. 5-megapixel sensor can’t take snapshots.

$180, dxgtechusa.com