Medion Life P47350 HD review

There’s plenty of other kit in the box too. A nylon pouch prevents that big screen from getting scratched; plus there’s a lanyard to keep it safe in use. Medion must be applauded for providing an HDMI to mini HDMI cable for playing back footage on your TV; and a combined AV and USB lead is also bundled.

Surprisingly, two small Li-ion batteries are provided. Each one lasted for an acceptable 68 minutes in our continuous usage test. It’s great to have a spare battery, but they can’t be charged in the camcorder via USB. Instead a separate mains charger is provided (something else to carry on holiday). Personally, we prefer the simplicity of Flip’s mini camcorders, with their built-in storage and USB-chargeable batteries.

If showing video to others on the screen is a bigger priority than the quality of the video itself, then the P47350 HD may appeal. It’s certainly cheap at just £99, and the feeling of value is reinforced by all the extras in the box, though many of these prove to be annoyances rather than boons. It’s an interesting device, and we love the twisting display, but poor video quality, the blurry display, and ease-of-use issues mean we can’t recommend it.

Spend some extra money and you could get Flip’s excellent new Ultra HD (below). If you’re looking for a bargain, then we’d recommend the Kodak PlaySport instead, available for only £85 from www.sundigital.co.uk.