Flip Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (Black) OLD MODEL
by Flip Video
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List Price: Our Price: $79.99 You Save: $70.00 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $53.88 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Flip Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (Black) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Known Issues for Mac Users
Summary: 3 Stars
My MAC Updater downloaded the new QT 7.4.5 on 5 Apr 2008. I have been making movies in iMovie, and then posting them to YouTube. In the beginning I uploaded the movies as MOV files but soon discovered AVI files (larger file and longer time to upload) had more clarity when viewed on YouTube. Once the new QT 7.4.5 downloaded all my AVI files had picture, but no sound! I downloaded the Perian component as posted in QT discussions. The sound returned to the AVI files. However, when I Exported an AVI movie from iMovie the picture quality was worse than the MOV movie. There is something wrong with the new QT 7.4.5 when working with AVI, my AVI movies look terrible. These AVI files were all downloaded from my Ultra Flip Video camera with Flip's codec 3vix. Flip is aware of this problem and acknowledged it last Friday. Flip says Apple is aware of the problem.
My MAC PowerPc G4 has performed well in the past two months when working with the Flip Video camera. So, at Flip Video's suggestion I upgraded the operating system to OS 10.5 from OS 10.4.11. Flip Video says their camera works with OS 10.5. Once OS 10.5 was uploaded I soon discovered that iMovie 08 would not operate on my PowerPc G4, 1.86 MHz. The speed requirement for iMovie 08 is 1.9 GHz.
At this point of "spinning my wheels for nearly a month" with this Flip Video camera, I decided to purchase a new iMac. On May 2, 2008, I walked out of the Apple Store in Walnut Creek with the new iMac 20-inch: 2.66GHz. Now the Flip video camera should work and all my video problems solved. However, this was not to be.
When I attempted to Import Flip Video AVI and MOV files into iMovie 08 the files were "grayed out" and would not Import. None of my previous Flip Video files would Import. I tried making new Flip Video movies, they also would not Import into iMovie 08.
At another Apple Store, the tech suggested I download the previous version of iMovie HD. I did this and with hours of working through the different Export options I was able to create movies to post again on youTube. However, the picture quality of the newer iMovies has never approached the quality of my last post before QT 7.4.5 downloaded. Remember my problems started with QT 7.4.5. Well, my new iMac came with QT 7.4.1, I have not Uploaded QT 7.4.5 and won't until Flip Video fixes this problem.
Examples of my Flip Video movies can be viewed on youTube at: sffoggydays. The last video with excellent picture quality was posted 6 Apr 2008 titled "A Day at the San Francisco Zoo, Chapter Nine, L-Taravel Ride to BART." This video was made in iMovie and Exported before QT 7.4.5 downloaded. All the youTube Flip Videos made after 6 Apr 2008 have poor picture quality.
It is time for Flip Video camera to stop "passing the buck" to Apple. When manufactures of operating system such as Apple and Microsoft create newer and upgraded systems, it is the responsibility of the manufactures of applications to redo the programs for operating on the new systems. Here is where Flip Video is not accepting this responsibility to Mac users of their camera. The Flip Video application/codex/drivers need to be updated in order to fix the following problems:
- No sound on AVI files in QT 7.4.5
- No Import of AVI and MOV files in iMovie 08
- Poor picture quality for youTube in Export of iMovie HD
I like my Flip Video camera, want to continue making movies for youTube, and recommending the camera to others. The Flip Video camera people need to fix these problems for Mac users.
Customer Review: Great Value for Your 1st Camcorder!
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband's wanted a camcorder for YEARS...literally. I've never been really interested in them...but when I saw this one at a special price, I started investigating it to possibly give it to him for a Christmas gift this year.
It had pretty good reviews...sounded fun to use...& easy! The software sounded VERY easy...as did the shareware.
When he rec'd it, he was pretty surprised at its small size! I saw it as a benefit, as it's very simple to tuck away in a pocket or purse. I got it set up on my computer and made sure to download the latest software update. It took a while to do, but other reviewers had insisted this was the crucial step to avoiding problems in the first place.
Christmas Day, I took a very short trial video of my son. The camcorder was VERY EASY to use and figure out, even without reading the QuickStart Guide! The video was good, and the sound was good, also, especially considering that there was Christmas music playing, kids being noisy, etc. That night, I tried emailing the video to some relatives, and I could NOT get it to work!
I finally gave up after a number of tries, and uploaded the video to PhotoBucket, and sent it out that way.
3 days later, the video was rec'd by those I'd sent it to! I finally figured out that the Flip.com server was overloaded with everyone trying to send their newly-recorded videos!
Pros: +Small, compact shape, but not small enough to get lost easily. +Black surface is not slippery at all! +Very simple to use and initially figure out. +Software is very easy to use. I especially like the attractive ecards it allows you to place your video in! +Price is very reasonable for what you get! +Video quality is very good. +USB connection is great in theory. +I like not having a view screen that flips out, as I've always thought there could be the chance it could get broken during use, especially around rowdy kids!
Cons: -Zoom could be better. Of course, a digital zoom would be ideal. -Accessories for the Flip Ultra are of poor quality (USB cords are too tight & too expensive; Flip Ultra case is extremely tight and not worth $1). -Storage pouch that comes with it is not padded. -I'd love a slightly larger view screen, but it's adequate. -Due to all the cords plugged into my computer, it was difficult to plug the flip out USB into my computer. I finally made it work, but I think I'll get a USB cable to help with this situation. -The 60 minute limit on recording is kind of a bummer, even though I knew about it before I bought it. A SD card slot would be extremely useful! We would like to record our kids' sports games...and more than 60 minutes would be awesome! -It took longer than I expected to upload this very short (20 second) video to the website.
Recommendations: *If you want an inexpensive, good-quality camcorder, this is the one for you! *Buy a non-Flip USB cable to make video sharing easier. *Buy some kind of padded electronics case (non-Flip). *Make sure you download the latest software release from Flip.com before using the camcorder.
Customer Review: Simple and effective
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Flip Video Ultra mainly to take videos of our family gatherings both for keepsakes and to send them to our family members that live too far from us. The expectation was to be able to make videos that we could edit in OS X 10.5, upload to youtube, make DVDs or add to our two AppleTVs.
The good
This is as simple as it gets. It is held more or less the same way that you hold a cell phone while taking pictures/videos, and it is very light. It only has the bare minimum controls to get the job done.
Importing into OS X is easier if you just plug the camera and drag the movies into wherever you want them stored at.
Processing is simple: I just import the clips as iMovie events, and in minutes I can edit the whole thing with transitions, titles and music. Export to Youtube from iMovie is painless, while sending to AppleTV is a bit more involved (this is an iMovie concern, it has nothing to do with the Flip Video).
As a rough estimate, I can take a five-minute clip, edit it and export it to youtube in less than half an hour, and most of that time is wasted in conversions and uploads.
Picture quality: The raw videos look a little bit washed out, but it was easy to fix by changing the white balance in iMovie, so I am suspecting part of the problem was my indoor lighting. The youtube exports look so-so, but this is either an issue with iMovie's output or with whatever conversion youtube does. The iPhone versions of the youtube videos look fantastic, so I am sure this has something to do with youtube's internal conversions. The AppleTV versions look ok, but to me the iPhone versions look much better (even better than the youtube videos seen through AppleTV, instead of videos specifically exported for direct use in AppleTV).
Sound: Sound is great, I have no complaints about it.
The not-so-good
Because I am so damn smart, I did not read the very short instruction sheet and did not notice that big, obvious, lock button for the battery compartment. For the first couple of days I kept pulling the door out while trying to pull the camera out of the carrying pouch. Big obnoxious button, and to me it was completely invisible. Grrr.
The carry pouch sucks, it attracts dirt very easily.
The record button could use a more positive click action, sometimes you don't push it hard enough to trigger it.
The delete function doesn't tell you what to do on screen, you have to guess which button to hit to confirm what you want to do.
That's about it, except for those really tiny nags, it is perfect. This should be one hell of an affordable gift for anyone that has small children, and all you have to do is feed it batteries. I was worried about storage space, but so far I have not been able to fill it up in one session.
Customer Review: Simple, convenient, fun
Summary: 5 Stars
Let's say you want to keep video memories that you can share with friends and family or watch on the TV. Let's say that you want to be able to edit your videos easily, add a bit of background music, and make them look a little cooler without going into some huge production. Let's also say that you want to be able to take this device with you everywhere and don't want a huge manual to carry along with you to remember what all those buttons do. And let's say you're just a casual budding director and so don't want to spend too much on your new hobby. OK, so buy the Flip, then.
It's so easy, your Mum could operate it. Turns on at the side, hit the big red button to record, hit it again to stop. The + & - buttons slide the zoom in and out in record mode, and control the volume in playback. The side arrows sweep you through your recorded clips. The play button.. well, you can figure it out. Then there's the pull down switch to activate the sticky-out bit to plug into your computer wotsit, and that's it.
The first time you connect your Flip to your computer, it will upload software to edit your clips. Editing is easy on the Muvee software, allowing you to choose your clips, cut out the bad bits, join them together and add your own background music. There's a choice on styles which you can use to jazz your movie up a bit if you wish, and the option to upgrade the software for a fee. Editing is also available through Windows Movie Maker, I'm led to believe, tho I haven't tried that yet.
The Flip comes with a cable allowing you to view your videos on TV. The quality of the video when blown up to TV size is surprisingly good, I thought, and it's again simplicity itself to set up.
Movies sent via email takes time as it compresses the file somewhat and the end effect isn't as good as your original work, but it seems to work OK if you upload to a public site (YouTube, for example).
A downside is that you only have 60 minutes to use before you have to upload your creations to computer, which may be an issue on long vacations where you weren't planning on bringing your laptop. But you can (they say) get your videos burned onto DVD at certain retailers (CVS pharmacies, for example) and I'm sure there's a website out there somewhere explaining how you can save your Flip films onto other handheld devices, if it's particularly important to you.
If you want something that's no hassle, that you can slip into your pocket and whip out when the mood strikes you, that produces clips that can look pretty damn good with minimal editing and can be sent to all your mates in minutes, you should get this.
Customer Review: Quick & easy but disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
Well I don't think anyone should be "flipping" over this video camera. Yes, the Flip Ultra powers on quickly, has an easy software installation and use and is convenient in size/functionality...but that's it. This camera will soon disappoint even most moderate camera or computer savvy person. First off, the 640x480 resolution I think is the worst thing about this camera. This pixel ratio translates roughly into a 4x3 inch size on your computer monitor for good resolution, go smaller size on your screen and the picture is really good but how small of a image do you really want to view your video at? Go bigger than this size and the picture instantly degrades to a very poor image, i.e.: you will never view a quality video from the Flip even at a size of a standard monitor (e.g. 17 inches or bigger).
As for the TV Out viewing (via Composite video), it too is ok, reasonable at best but the image will black letter box (left & right) to fit a television. I tested this capability on my sister in law's brand new 46 inch Toshiba plasma - it looked ok, but no where near the resolution of the 4x3 inch picture this camera is intended for. I also tested it on my home theater set up. This did not work at all because as for most folks who have an aged but properly set up system - you can only use one single video cable type if run through your receiver. In my case, I have s-video so in order to view the Flip video on my system I would need to disconnect everything - not worth my time on that. I did manage to get the cable to work on my projector, again the resolution was the same as plasma TV - nothing to rave about.
I wanted to rate this lower but the camera does what it is supposed to at it's price point. I just wish I knew more, or if the company Pure Digital who makes the Flip was a bit more upfront about its limited resolution capability...I would of not made this purchase.
If you are a stickler for quality in general (albeit enjoy higher resolution) and/or do not want to have to watch all your videos on a computer screen at a really small size - I suggest you chub up and buy a better camcorder from a reputable company.
Oh, BTW their customer service is mediocre, prefers to handle everything via email even though there is 1-888 number, and is not quick in response.
The best use I see for the Flip is to (as Amazon has already caught on) use it for video reviews from now on. So with that, my next review will be visual. Hmmm...if that's the case maybe Amazon can sell a cheaper camcorder even marketed just for this purpose - I'd bet they sell.