I decided to post on here to help both current owners and future owners of this camera and other Flip cams.
Firstly, let me say that this camera is VERY easy to use and I haven’t had any problems mechanically with it at all. The problem arose when the camera fell (literally four inches – with the fall broken by my foot) and the lens cover (the glass or crystal – whatever it is) broke. It was just a small crack in the very bottom so I thought it was ok. It didn’t effect the lens view at all. Well, that changed when I had it in the case it comes with (which really isn’t a case at all) in my purse and somehow something caused the lens crack to move across the entire cover. Mind you, I had the camera for a week before the first fall. The Flip company won’t help you. They tell you that even though you have warranty coverage, it won’t cover an accident on your part and that they cannot fix it or send you any parts or help to do so. They said it was cheaper to get a new camera than to have them try to fix the lens.
Well, I couldn’t believe that it cost more to fix the glass covering of the lens than the $120+ camera. I did a little research online and found that this is a VERY common problem. Many people didn’t even drop the camera and just found it broken when they took it out of the case (btw, Flip still won’t fix that issue for you).
My first attempt, after I read online that a few people had success going to a jewelry store (it was essentially like a watch repair and cost anywhere from $5-$15), I took it to 5 jewelry stores in my area and even a watch repair shop to replace the lens cover and NO ONE would even touch it. They all said it couldn’t be done and didn’t know how it could be (after I told them that I read online that it could be). One even said that I could take it apart myself, then bring it to them and they could look at it and see if they could fix it – for $40!!!
So, I used this post: [...] (solution #2 – the one with the pictures!) and took it apart by myself using an Exacto knife. It was so simple. It literally took me 2 minutes. I then found a watch repair website ( [...] ) and ordered the crystal to replace it myself. The measurements are 1mm thick and about 20mm diameter. The lens itself cost .88 cents! Only problem with this site is that you need to order $10 worth of stuff for the minimum order but it ships fast and is exactly what you need to fix your lens cover. To meet the $10 I ordered extra lenses, watch glue (to glue it back into place) and a pair of watch tweezers (to meet the $10 plus it seemed like a good idea so I didn’t get fingerprints on the crystal when installing it).
If you attempt this, good luck! It’s really simple. The hardest part is taking the outer cover off of the broken camera without bending it – other than that though, it is extremely easy! I really hope this helps someone! 
Help answer the question about Camera Video
Which digital camera is affordable and has the features I list here?
I need an affordable camera. I use my cameras mostly for taking pictures of my children, Camera Video family, and friends. I need my camera to have a kids mode, a continuous mode, mild shutter lag, works well in dim and bright light, a large screen, around 7-10x zoom, and maybe one of those panoramic photos. Does anyone know a camera that may contain all these features or close to all these?
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