Pros: Small, compact and one button to press and start recording.
Cons: No optical zoom
The Bottom Line: This amazing video camera has made taking videos and keeping memories 100 percent easier for me and my family. I love how small it is and easy to use.
donnatheo's Full Review: Flip Video UltraHD (8 GB) High Definition Camcorde...
The flip video camera made by Pure Digital has definitely changed the way people capture and share their home videos. It is small and slim enough to fit in your pocket. This camera has caught the attention of electronic moguls and celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey. But I am not reviewing this camera just because Oprah said it was one of her favorite things. I have not written a review on epinions in several years, but this camera inspired me to do so. I was the beach this summer and had my (well known brand) smallish video camera at my campsite in my trailer and every day I intended to bring it down to the beach but just the thought of it made me cringe for some reason. I was thinking of the hassle of protecting it from the sand and the hassle of pulling it out of its bag, turning it on and opening the lense cover, flipping out the precarious view finder etc. You may be laughing and thinking what a lazy woman I am. But I can’t help the way I was feeling and it was manifest in not capturing any video of my cute kids and their cousins playing at the beach for the first 5 full days I was there. On the last day before we left the beach my nephew pulled out his flip ultra video camera and I was like….hey this is cool can I use it at the beach today. He said sure and gave me a run down on how easy it was and told me at the end of the day I could just push the flash drive into my lap top and be able to take the videos home with me! Wow! So I took the flip ultra and slid it into the ziplock bag that I had my paper back novel in and headed on down to the beach. Through out the day as I was reading…I would look up and see the kids do something cute, pull out the flip camera and start recording. I was totally sold on this product and bought one for myself as soon as I got back to Arizona.
The best feature about the flip video camera is how ea it is to grab and just start filming. Very simple and uncomplicated to shoot the footage you want. You don’t need to open a lens cover (how many times have you been filming and realized you left the lens closed and missed some precious moments?) There is an LCD screen on the back of the camera that is about 2.0 diagonal inches, which makes viewing really nice. The simplicity of using this camera was amazing to me. I kept it in it’s soft case in a zip lock bag while sitting on the sandy beach. Whenever I saw one of the kids doing something cute I just pulled out the flip camcorder and pointed and pressed a button and started recording. I loved how very easy it was to see thru the LCD on the back, and very easy, no nonsense turning the camera on and off. Not a lot of little places for sand to get stuck in as well. No worries – the price is affordable and you will not be out a lot of money if you do damage it somehow. Doing research later before purchasing my own camera, I found that there is a solid clear plastic casing you can buy that can cover your flip video flash recorder so that it is waterproof to up to 20 feet in depth. That is awesome! It will also protect the camera from sand and dirt.
This camera was originally developed because moms and teenagers were trying to find an easier way to upload their video footage on youtube and blogs. This camera makes it absolutely unbelievably easy to upload onto any computer you want. I was thrilled that I had no compatibility problems uploading the video onto my Mac Book and IMac. I can tell you that part of my excitement was powered by my total disappointment in the realization that my previous (top selling name brand) video camera was incompatible to my IMac. I will write an epinion on that horror story another time. The easy flip-out USB (looks like a flash drive) connector lets you transfer clips to your PC or Mac, and also recharge the camera at the same time. It is super easy to pop the flash drive out…just slide a little button and out pops the USB flash drive. The best attribute, which has since been copied by the majority of competitors, is the video management software is stored on the camera itself. That allows you to edit and share clips on any computer that has a USB port with out having to mess around with a Cd-Rom or other cords and camera docks. You can also watch your videos on television with full VGA video. You can burn your movie onto a DVD and save it forever or store it on an external hardware devise.
The flip ultra can hold up to 120 minutes of video on its internal hard drive. The hard drive/ internal memory comes in either 2, 4 or 8 giga byte. The video and audio quality is surprisingly good. The very High definition quality video is amazing. I was very pleased with the clearness and colorfulness of the video it produced. The resolution of the video is either 640x480 or 1280x720 depending on if you get the 4 or 8 gig. Even though the camera does not have an external light to video in the dark there is an automatic light sensitivity feature that will adjust to the lighting where you are videoing. There is also automatic white and black balance as well as automatic exposure control to even out the color of the videos. The video is formatted in Mpeg-4 AVI. The battery is either 2 AA batteries or two flip video AA rechargeable batteries. There is also an internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery that gives up to 4 hours of use between charges depending on the camera you buy. The batteries are charged when you plug the flash portion of the flip video into your computer. Watch out if you have a lap top that is not plugged in – the flip video will suck the power out of your lap top. It takes about 2 hours to fully charge the internal battery on the flip camera.
Some other features of the camera are: Takes less than 3 seconds to power it up when you press the red button to turn the camera on. It has a power save function that shuts the camera down if you forget to. You can play all your videos and watch them on the flip video LCD to get rid of videos you don’t want. You can fast forward rewind and pause. There is a set date/ time function so you can label your video with the date. The downside of the camera may be some of the following, but these "downsides" could also be considered positives to someone people. No onscreen menus to navigate around, no camera settings to change. This could be a negative to some, but remember the camera was developed for it’s simplicity. There is no video light, in other words, it can’t be used in the dark. There is no external optical viewfinder, but I find this a positive aspect as there is not a viewing appendage that can break off easily. There is no special effects and no headphone jack. Probably the biggest downside is there’s no optical zoom—only a 2X digital zoom.
I love the flipshare software that is included on the camera. The first time you put the flash drive of the flip video into any computer the software is automatically put onto that computer. This software does not take up much space and is very simple to use. It does not take over and control your computer LOL. It makes online sharing simple with unlimited private video emails, video greeting cards, direct upload to myspace, youtube, iphone and twitter. You can edit and trim your video, setting new start and end points. I find that very important because sometimes there is just stuff you don’t want on a video clip! You can create movies and add titles and music and text credits. You can turn a video into a still shot if there is a part of the video you think deserves to be a picture. There are automatic updates when you are online if you want. The newest feature of the flipshare video software is the online channel that you can create with your videos and add your friends in groups to receive notification of the new video. The flip channel can be instantly viewed and the viewer or recipient of the email does not have to download the content/video onto their computer.
The accessories that come with the camera are a soft carrying pouch, a wrist strap, a TV cable and a quick start quide. Optional accessories are as follows: an underwater case which is absolutely amazing, a small tripod to set up on the table to hold camera still. You can buy various pouches and carrying cases. Also available are power adapters for the car and home to recharge it with out plugging it into your computer. Optional and additional battery packs are available as well. Other specifications at a glance: Size 4.25 inches in height by 2.19 inches wide. Slim at less than 1 inch in depth. The flip video camera comes in 4 cool colors and also a customizable option to create your own colorful flip video camera. Get one of these cameras and you will find you will want to take it everywhere. No worries about a heavy bulky camera that you have to treat with kid gloves or it will get damaged. The flip ultra video camera can easily be slipped into your pocket at the amusement park and pulled out while you are on a ride. It can be kept in the glove compartment of your car to catch video should you be caught in a tornado or some other natural disaster! Buying this video camera is the best buy I have made in a long time.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 149.00 Recommended for: Home and Families - Keep Memories of Family Vacations
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