| Reviews : Flip UltraHD Camcorder, 120 Minutes (White) |
Technical Details
- Easy-to-use, pocket-sized HD camcorder featuring one-touch recording and digital zoom
- Simple user interface lets you start capturing video just seconds after powering on
- Captures 120 minutes of HD video on 8 GB of built-in memory; no tapes or additional memory cards required
- Convenient flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your PC or Mac to launch FlipShare software
- Built-in FlipShare software lets you easily email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still photos from video, and even upload video to sharing sites likeYouTube and MySpace
Product Description
The Flip UltraHD Camcorder combines Flip Videos signature shoot-and-share simplicity with the power of vivid, vibrant HD video. Power on and press record to start capturing incredible HD video in seconds. When its time to share your video, use the flip-out USB arm to connect to any PC or Mac and launch built-in FlipShare editing and video-sharing software. Built-in FlipShare software lets you easily email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still photos from video, and even upload video to sharing sites likeYouTube and MySpaceSimilar Products
Customer Reviews
By E. Schaffer (California)
This is a fabulous little HD video camera. It is small, easy to use, and produces great video. You can also make photos from the footage you shoot using the FlipShare software, which comes with the camera. It is easy to download footage to your computer with the software. You can even create "films" using the very basic editing program in the software. The program works with both Macs and PCs.
I have also edited Flip footage from my Utra HD with Mac's Final Cut Pro.
I recommend buying an extra battery if you plan to use the Flip for extended shoots, as it takes at least three hours to fully charge the battery. I would also recommend buying the accessory USB cables, as otherwise you use the small USB arm that extends from the camera, which can lead to some precarious positioning of your Flip while charging or sharing materials between camera and computer.
Be aware that the mic picks up wind noise outdoors quite easily. That brings me to the two accessories I wish Flip would come up with: (1) a windscreen for use with the Flip that would screen out some of that wind noise, and (2) a nice little case that would fit the Flip, an extra battery, and a USB cable.
If you're thinking about this for the holidays, do it! You will love it.
By J. Yasi (Portland Maine)
I have to admit I am comparing this to my Sanyo Xacti, and I am returning the Flip and buying another sanyo xacti (this time, I'll get the 2 year additional warranty on my Xacti, which sadly broke from constant use!) Why? I use these as sort of digital notetakers. I write a song, or I train a dog, and I record myself doing it. The sanyo's screen can flip around, so I can look in the viewfinder and see what I am recording at the same time that I am recording myself. The flip viewfinder doesn't allow you to do that. If you need to record yourself, you won't be able to use the viewfinder. With the sanyo, I can take pictures as well as video, and I used it to record underwater. The flip is not waterproof, so no rainy foggy weather recording unless you buy the underwater case and it doesn't take photos, so you have to carry about another camera as well as the video camera if you ever want stills. I bought the adapter, thinking I'd do as I always do, put one battery in the charger and one in the camera, and that way, I'm always charged up and ready to go. But with the Flip, even with the adapter, you need to plug in the entire camera to recharge the battery, thus taking the entire camera out of commission while you recharge. And, it's got this handy port to plug and download directly into the computer which caused my new iMac to freeze. Took a long time to down load one 2 minute movie! In contrast, I've been downloading several long Sanyo movies in seconds with no problem. Maybe this is related to the HD, I'm not sure, but the video and sound quality seemed no different and so I'm returning the flip, and buying the HD Sanyo. The plastic casing also seemed pretty cheap, especially as it looks like I'd have to be changing the battery all the time, hard to imagine how long that would hold up. Anyway, I hate it and am returning it! This particular Flip also didn't come with the optional 2 year warranty, so it would be really annoying when it broke. I like to carry just one camera, not two.
By J. Johnson (Roswell, GA)
I purchased the Flip UltraHD to document the birth of our first grandchild. My wife and I are extremely pleased with the results. It's easy to use and easy to download the videos to my laptop. The results were amazing for such a small camcorder. True, there's no image stabilization, but for the most part, it didn't matter if you're standing still while recording. If, however, you video things while walking or in a moving car, you should look at a camera with image stabilization.
The Flip has a built-in USB connector. The only issue I had was I had to place a magazine under my laptop so the port and connector would line up, reducing stress on the connection. Download was easy. Each video file is displayed on the PC while still in the camera. You can download the videos to any specified folder on your PC and rename them as you desire. The included software lets you combine individual clips to a single movie. (Every time you press the "stop" button, it saves the file to the camera. Pressing "record" starts a new file.) The software also lets you add music (as background where volume is lowered while the video sounds play [not low enough, in my opinion], or music only - eliminating any recorded sound.) The software comes with some music, but you can add your own MP3's. [careful about copyright laws!]
I have not found any problems with battery charging as reported by a few other reviewers. One selling point for me was that, if the rechargeable battery ran low, I can use AA batteries as a substitute.
We took videos in the hospital and in my daughter's home with no problems with lighting.
Overall, the size and convenience of the Flip has exceeded our expectations and has allowed us to document our daughter's day as they left for the hospital, in the hospital with our granddaughter, and returning home. Videos we will cherish for life.
Next, my oldest daughter is due today. The Flip is all charged and will be there as well.
By CompUSA (Seattle, WA)
I own a sony dvd video player and lately after buying flip video I stopped using it due to ease of use and video quality of the Flip video camera.
Flip video comes with excellent software, worth much more than any software that ever came with Sony. With this software you can edit, send email
take snapshots, build dvd etc. Battery life is fine and I own 120m HD unit. It lasts very long time and doesn't take long to recharge. In total I am
very satisfied with this excellent product and looking forward to taking a little camera anywhere I go on vacations. Thank you Flip video for putting so much into so little ;)
By Mark A. Underwood (NYC Metro)
The perfect gift for anyone? Hype? Probably. But except for recipients who already have a portable camcorder solution they like, this might be the perfect gift for most folks with access to a USB port. This might be true despite the limitations of the Pure Digital FlipHD. The FlipHD is so easy to use and produces such high quality video that you'll find yourself wishing you'd had it around to get lifelike video of departed loved ones, (select) former lovers, cars you hated to sell, and favorite pets.
The FlipHD has so few controls on it that you'd be forgiven for thinking your box is missing parts. The device installs its software via a flip-out USB connector. When it connects for the first time, it searches for its native software and will install anew if no Flip software is found. It installed perfectly on Windows XP and Vista Ultimate for me. The software provides several features to post, move and share videos. I simply used it as a USB disk and copied the standard MP4 files. Videos shot with this device have excellent color and acceptable resolution for a camera in this range.
With 8GB on board, the FlipHD can record more than 90 minutes (the manufacturer's spec calls for 120 minutes) at 1280 x 720. Battery performance, based on a few months' experience, is quite acceptable. The device recharges over USB. An HDMI port allows for direct connection to an HD display device.
A good way to use the device on a trip is to take a laptop. To ensure the safety of your shoots, you can then upload the video to a website (Flickr, YouTube, or an ftp site). Novices will be surprised by how fast video burns up disk space. An unlimited disk space web hosting plan might be a good idea.
The FlipHD doesn't have image stabilization. If this is a major concern, check online samples shot with the camera first. Software such as Virtualdub's Deshaker [...] or a plug-in to a NLE such as Sony Vegas can compensation for these flaws in post-processing to some extent.
Check out my video of the Caribbean shoreline from our Grand Cayman trip:
[...]
This flaw didn't deter Cisco from offering to buy the Company behind this product for $590M in stock (March 2009).
TIP When viewing copied videos on the computer, be sure that your display controller has full hardware acceleration enabled.
TIP Do your research. The market is changing rapidly. Some photographers may prefer to use a camera phone or DSLR to shoot video.
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