Flip Ultra Video Camera - White, 4 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL
by Flip Video
|
List Price: Our Price: $134.99 You Save: $14.01 (9%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $50.95 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Flip Ultra Video Camera - White, 4 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Do not buy this as a substitute for your camcorder - picture quality is terrible
Summary: 2 Stars
I'll start by saying I've been using a 5 year old Sony camcorder until I bought this, which I was hoping would be a replacement. To compare the two is a joke. The Flip doesn't live up to the quality of a good camcorder at all. This is not the video recorder you want if you are trying to get high quality picture or your are not within 10 feet of your subject. The zoom is so limited as to be almost useless, plus the picture gets fuzzy when you are zoomed all the way in. With no image stabilization, the picture jumps around a lot becuase you can see every movement of your hand while you take the video. The lighting has to be perfect as well. When I recorded in dim light, the picture had a lot of snow in it. My husband joked that it looked like the video was from 1984. On top of that, the movies you do take are not easily uploaded into iMovie, so if you are a Mac user who uses iMovie, I wouldn't recommend this.
That said, I paid $89 for this and about $400 for my camcorder, so maybe I was expecting too much. This product you can use for a toy, but I certainly wouldn't count on it to capture moments like school plays, or sporting events or really anything you'd like to make a quality DVD out of later. I might recommend it only for short, simple videos you may want to post on Youtube.
To sum it up, the Flip is no substitute for a camcorder. If I knew before I bought this what I know now, I would never have purchased it -- even for $89. I think I'm just going to give it to my 5 year old to play with and keep using my camcorder for everything.
Customer Review: Just what we were expecting
Summary: 4 Stars
I wanted:
-the close focus feature for taking videos of my kids that are usually within arms reach (until the most recently model of the MinoHD, the 2nd Gen Ultra was the Flip with the closest focus).
-an upgrade from the video mode setting on our point-and-shoot digital camera (just about anything would have satisfied this category - but we aren't huge video people so we didn't need top of the line by any means)
-to stay within the budget of a gift certificate we had been gifted
Impressed by:
-the battery life - I put in the AAs that came with the camera and figured I'd only have 20 minutes before I had to switch them out, haven't switched them yet. We bought the battery pack but have yet to crack it open. (purchased end of Nov. 2009)
-ease of use
-shuts itself off relatively quickly, which is nice when it accidentally gets bumped on
-vibrant color and lighting in general purpose situations
Limitations:
-it is very difficult to take a video of a whole room, you always have to pan
-panning or movement in general by the videographer may cause motion sickness when reviewing the video
-gets faked out by bright light when you are trying to take a video of someone near a window
-zoom is basically pointless - doesn't get you much closer and makes everything that much more jumpy
Overall:
-Just what we were expecting. Easy to use, inexpensive. Fun to play with but not going to get us to Hollywood.
Customer Review: Great Camera -- Terrible Durability
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased the Flip Video and was instantly amazed by the simplicy and intuitive engineering of the device. I was an extremely happy customer until I needed support. Every once in a while I would turn on the camera and instead of getting a video image, I got a black screen. Restarting the unit usually took care of the issue.
Now after a year, I only get this black screen and nothing else, the camera will no longer function. I contacted Pure Digital Technologies for assistance and we began the troubleshooting process. I was told to take out the batteries for 2 days and put in fresh ones and try again. This did not work. Pure Digitals response? They informed me I was past my 90 day warranty and sorry for the inconvenience. Case closed and marked solved. They have chosen not to respond to any further requests for help.
A quick search on the net showed me that I am not alone with this problem... This appears to be occuring rather often with their product and they are unwilling to stand behind their quality if your purchase happened more than 90 days ago. This is by far the weakest link in Pure Didgital technologies flip video chain. My advice... Spend the extra $ and get another manufacturer's product that is built to last. As cool as this video camera was, consumer electronics should not be a crap shoot.
Customer Review: Good for some things. Bad recharging problems.
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this to use on vacation and also to convert some old 8mm home movies to digital. I would have rated this 5 stars expect for 2 issues.
It is well known that these have charging problems. Also if I remove the camcorder from the USB while powered off it will not start again until I remove the battery and put it back in. (Reboot) It is a hassle trying to get a charge on the battery. Really glad I didn't get the MinoHD now with no battery access. I wanted to be able to use alkaline AAs in a pinch.
Second the MP4 files are the only output from the camera. Most software has troubles with them. Apparently they are a little different from some other MP4 files. I could not even use Corel. Finally I used the AVS suite of software to make a .wmv file and Corel to make the DVDs I wanted from the 8mm films the family has.
As far as video quality and all it is great. All 8mm are on DVD finally. Just used the little tripod and recorded off the screen. Looks good.
I will just have to fight the battery charging issues but I guess I can live with it for now. Seems to charge a little better with the front of the case off.
This does work real well to make HD videos for YouTube!
Customer Review: Flip: Convenience at a price
Summary: 4 Stars
I was amazed at how rapidly this was delivered during the Christmas season - it came from [...] in about 2 days with regular shipping. I was debating between the new Kodak "flip" and this HD Flip. The Kodak was not stocked anywhere so I bought this as a gift for my teenage daughter. I got the version in white which she loves. Operation is very easy, interconnection with her laptop was simple, video quality is great, and audio is acceptable (this is not the device to expect quality recordings of live string quartets or other similar music - the microphone is fine for voice, but not for high fidelity music - there is no external microphone jack either). The camera comes with PC software to help file and categorize videos. The HD videos from this camera would not play on our standard PC software (Windows Media Player) - I suspect a codec is missing somewhere. However, the videos played fine in the Flip software running on the laptop. The device is very portable. Obviously this lacks the true optical zoom found on higher-end camcorders but some zooming in the device is possible. Bottom line- my daughter was pleased with the Flip, she has used it several time, it has not become her most cherished possession however.