Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL
by Flip Video
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Amazing Value For Great Quality
Summary: 5 Stars
Early last year, when I started thinking about making comedy videos again, I thought to myself, "When HD camcorders get below $1,000, I just might have to get one." At that time, I didn't really do any research, or I might have discovered that those existed. And now, there are dozens of cameras below the $500 mark, which is ideal for amateur comedians like me.
After completing the last cycle of the Detroit Second City Training Center (actually located in suburb Novi from 2004 until its 2009 demise), my friends and I were itching to bring some of our semi-scripted bits to YouTube. I hadn't done any video production since some friends and I made a short series of sketch shows in early high school in the mid-1990s. I was mind-boggled by the array of affordable camcorders on Amazon, and after weighing many quality-vs-value criteria, I placed an order for the Flip UltraHD, which arrived in 2 days as ordered. With this camera and some self-taught iMovie skills, my weird comedian friends and I can do everything we want to do.
The Flip UltraHD is so small and so fun to use. You can fit 2-hours of 720p video on the built-in 8 GB card, and a battery pack that can last for the entire shoot. (May need to swap out batteries once if you're doing an hours-long start-stop type of shoot.) The video quality and color accuracy are great in most lighting, as long as you don't have a lot of bright light behind your subjects. Haven't tried much night shooting yet, but in natural and artificial light, the picture looks awesome.
The built-in microphone is good, not perfect. You can't be loud very close to it, or the audio will distort. The sound can be slightly "tinny" sometimes. Otherwise, it's a good condenser mic, and for amateur creative projects, it will definitely get the job done.
The camera's built-in USB allows you to plug it right into a laptop or PC. (The built-in battery pack charges while plugged in, and can be replaced by 2 AA batteries if need be.) The FlipShare software allows you to review and simply edit videos. I haven't extensively used FlipShare, because I prefer to edit with iMovie HD. Furthermore, I run Mac OSX 10.3.9 on a PowerPC G5, and FlipShare software requires 10.4 (Tiger) or higher, so it won't run on my machine. I can still extract the video clips using the Mac Finder. I have used FlipShare for reviewing clips on my girlfriend's Vista-based laptop, and it's pretty user-friendly. Although my understanding is that the editing features are quite limited, especially in terms of audio.
For a 720p camera under 200 dollars, this has been an amazing toy/tool. I look forward to many stupid YouTube comments as a result of having it.
Customer Review: WOW..1st. HD movie in less 5 minutes
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I don't know what I was expecting but this little Gift has already exceeded my expectations. Hands down Flip has changed the video world with this little baby.....Good Job Guys.
I timed it and no lie...... within 5 minutes of opening the box I had created a short HD Movie, uploaded it and sent both an email enclosure and the coolest Video Greeting Card .......Now that is what I call easy, and slick. I am not a novice with either digital or video cameras but this is so easy even my elderly relatives could be shooting Good video within minutes. The quality of the picture is very,very nice. I viewed it on my 1080P Samsung HDTV and it was sweet.
The camera came with a soft pouch to protect the lens and the LCD screen. This little thing will fit most any pocket or purse. It also has a non-slip , matte finish ( I have a Black one)).... I was pleased that the batteries come at least partially charged After doing my little video test run I plugged it into the USB of my laptop and away we go. Uploaded the software and VIOLA.. we are all set
Now this can't be any easier and to get this quality of video is just amazing.. If you don't have a HDMI connection between your computer and a TV invest in the HDMI adapter.. what a picture improvement you will see.Well worth the extra $25.
Can you tell I LIKE this little thing ?? YES .. your right. This will provide a lot of fun for all members of a family. Everyone will want to get their hand on it..
****** Update:
Well I have had the opportunity to try out one of the competitors sm video cameras.......well Hands down the FLIP is soooo much better. I was surprised at how hard they made their camera to use vs the simplicity of the FLIP.....Their buttons didn't response easily, the ports on the sides of the camera were so small that you need a COIN to access them and I have small hands. The sound quality was so poor.. Nothing like the great stuff I get on this little Flip. and the software was very difficult to use........ OK can I give this FLIP something higher than a 5 STARS....if so I would easily....Oh and my technophobic friend even wants one now..
What else can you say but that it is that easy to use !!!!!
Customer Review: Very small, Very compact, Great for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a Panasonic, I paid over $400.00 for, that takes mini tapes, that can be converted to DVD's in the computer. It is heavy, it is hard to use, and larger than some. When I bought it, it was on the tail end of camcorders
that were higher priced. I used it a few times,and it is in the closet.
I saw Oprah with this on one of her shows. It might not have been this model, but it was a Flip. I went to Sears, and looked at it, but really wanted it to match my white Casio digital camera, and my white Blackberry Pearl. (Nothing like having all my gadgets match.)
I began to research it, on Amazon, mostly,and decided to try it. I found a white one, like the black one pictured, at Target. It is very small. Look at the specs! It fits in the palm of my hand, and has an excellent screen. The video is sharp,and amazing,and beats my higher priced Panasonic by a long shot. I am impressed, cause the minute I placed the batteries, and set the date and time, and hit the record button, it began recording. I could easily delete it inside the camera.
The video is sharp, and near perfect quality. My model came with a small microfiber bag,and two AA batteries, and a wrist strap. The price couldn't be beat. I'm taking it to Florida next week, and intend to use it on the dolphins. Never mind the fact that it doesn't have an SD slot. When it can record 120 minutes of something, who cares? I can upload the video when I get to my hotel. I've recorded my dogs, my plants, and accidently my feet with it. I had no troubles with the software whatsoever.
It weighs ounces. It doesn't take up space, and it's not something I consider to "lug" around. I take it in my purse, with my other belongings. I'm not sure I'm going to even try to take it to rock concerts. They have too many security on every angle, here in Kansas City. It would've been awesome for an outdoor concert, though. I'm going to take it to the skate park, to the ocean, and in fact, everywhere I go. How else can I praise this product?
It has a fast forward, rewind, delete, and record button on it. The USB port pops out,and is protected at all times, until it is popped out with a button. The batteries fit in the lens side, and the cover has a lock mechanism, that I really like, on it. To get more features, one has to spend over $400.00, and risk having something much, much larger. Trust me, I speak from experience.
Customer Review: Some Technical Problems but a Great Little Cam Non the Less
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, I really like this camcorder. My wife and I had been wanting one for a while but never could get past the 'there's only an hours worth of recording to be had'. Since this came out I figured two hours was more justifiable. As such, it was a birthday present from my wife.
These were originally made for YouTube uploaders, you know, for skater kids to humiliate themselves with entertaining videos of their trick-failure pain and agony.
On the good side, this thing is tiny compared to regular camcorders, easily fitting into one's pocket. The device goes from off to ready to record in a little over a second, has an internal flash drive holding 120 minutes and looks good to boot. Everything you need it has on it including rechargable batteries(An improvement over the Mino since you can put in new ones if the ones you have run out), internal programs that run on the PC to sort and upload the videos and a handy flip up USB2.0 arm for conecting to the PC which also charges the batteries. The camera also records in 720p and, lets face it, standard definition televisions have already been all but fazed out, so buying a standard def camcorder isn't that future proof. The device also has a Mini HDMI out for connecting directly to a high def TV.
Now the bad news. It only records in 720p, that's no problem except that if you have a 'very' large TV, say over 46in, it will make a difference that this is not in full 1080p, this wouldn't be an issue except for the fact that there are cheaper Flip-like camcorders that record in this higher def. The Flip also looks grainy in darker areas but for the price of the device one shouldn't expect miricles. Also, and the biggest problem, the device has an internal flash drive. Yes I know I put that as a good point but hear me out. Once you've recorded your two hours worth the device is worthless since it can't swap out memory cards and all videos are stored on the one drive so you can't swap out for different events either. Finishing, the features are incredibly sparse, only a zoom, but you can fix this in post on your PC through other programs.
All in all, a good product well worth the price but if you need better features in higher def at the expence of quality, or if you need more than two hours worth of coverage, there are cheaper products out there.
Customer Review: Completely Impressed
Summary: 5 Stars
All I have to say about the Flip Ultra HD 120 is that I am completely impressed. I had no idea what these new cameras were all about until about 3 weeks ago and after I saw the ease of use and quality of picture I had to get one. I received mine from Amazon and was able to have it out of the box and in use within 5 minutes. The picture quality is stunning and the sound is much better than anticipated. Within 10 minutes of use, I was able to record my 15 week old daughter in a 1 min clip and then upload it to my computer and send it to the grandparents in an email as well as post the clip to facebook. The quality of the picture was solid even though the lighting was not terrific inside our home. The outdoor footage that I have seen on this camera is simply stunning and I can't wait to use this on future vacations.
The size of the camera is not much bigger than a cell phone and it takes less than 10 seconds to whip it out of a pocket turn it on and start recording. A few things to note and be aware of before you purchase. Since the quality is so good, expect the files to be very large. A 1 min file ended up being around 75 MB of memory uploaded onto our computer. If you do not have much empty disk space on your computer then you may need to think about getting an external hard drive to primarily store video files. The second thing to know is that the way this records digital files is different from a conventional video camera. Older cameras mesh all the files on after another and end up essentially recording the files one after another so that when you play it back there is not much transition time from a shot taken 3 weeks ago to a shot today. The Flip camera stores every recording as separate file. If you hit record for 30 seconds and then hit off, then do the same thing, you will watch two separate files once uploaded to your computer. The only reason I mention this is because that may be something that someone hasn't experienced when using new digital video.
I am absolutely in love with the piece of technology and the price on these really can't be beat. If there was one thing to add on this camera would be the ability to zoom however, I realize that you can't have everything in a pint sized HD camera that is priced so well. This really is an incredible by and easy to use from the start.