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: Convenient, Excellent Quality
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm real happy with the Flip UltraHD. My first had a dead pixel which appeared on all videos. Amazon promptly replaced it. Both units exhibit the overheating issue after charging for a long time. This big flaw can be worked around by either letting it cool down for a while before continuing to charge or by simply forgoing the Flip battery back and using your own rechargeable batteries.
The FlipShare software is basically useless. I selected "Make a DVD" and it basically had me copy the files I needed to work with and then said, "ok you'll need to either use your software now or pay (I think it was $20) for a Premium Flip DVD. Ha. As for editing, you seem to only be able to trim the start or end of videos so its very limited.
I've already plugged TMPGEnc Xpress in the forums here as an excellent editor and an encoder which works great with these files. You need to encode to mpeg-2 DVD compliant (720x480p) if you want to make standard DVDs. TMPGEnc DVD Author did a great job on authoring some DVDs. I think the software is now called TMPGEnc DVD Authoring Works which is inclusive of the other mentioned apps. I got A/V synch errors using the free DVD Flick. Here's another great (and free) tool: MP4CAM2AVI- This tool can quickly join your .mp4 files with no quality loss to .avi format.
I ordered the Gorillapod Tripod which I'm sure can have great applications but of course as a standard tripod it is very short. I got another 53 inch tripod and the Flip UltraHD easily mounts to it.
It's just amazing considering the price of this unit what it can do (2 hours of 720p HD) compared to the $599 Sony MiniDV Camcorder I bought 5 years ago. (60 minute tapes at HQ)
I have uploaded about 9 HD videos to youtube so far and it's incredible. Remember if you use Flipshare to upload it won't be HD. You won't even the see the HD icons on your videos as an option. It's strange but you have to manually browse to your files from youtube and upload them. You won't have any transcoding or at least any noticeable quality loss this way.
Of course I wish that you could swap out memory cards but so far the 2 hours has been sufficient.
I also which that I could rename the videos which the Flip names as VID00001, etc. If anything, Flipshare can be a good catalog tool but while you can title your videos in the program, it's more of a 'tag' and the file name can never change. (if you want to maintain this catalog). So you're left VID00001-VID0078. I hope you have clear thumbnails so you can identify the videos if you browse to them in Windows Explorer.
Edit to add: I'm using Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) without the issues described in the review below mine.
In summary, I'm very much enjoying the camcorder.
Customer Review: Great Device, But Two Things to Watch Out For!
Summary: 3 Stars
First a few positives (there are a lot): ridiculously easy to use, small as my regular camera, would be very hard to accidentally delete a video, great video and audio in less than ideal conditions, screws into a standard tripod.
Now the two negatives that I encountered.
First, the rechargeable battery pack worked out of the box. In case it wasn't fully charged (can anybody tell me where you can see how much battery life you have left?) I plugged it into my PC for about 8 hours. After that, the batteries never worked again. The plus is that you can use standard AA batteries. I would recommend always having a backup set: I've seen other reviews where folks had issues with the batteries.
Secondly, it appears - and I'm only guessing as I can't seem to find any reference in web searches - that while the camera can record 120 minutes, it can only record around 60 minutes in one file. When it reaches this limit (whatever it is) it will stop recording without warning. If you've set it up on a tripod to record your 7th grader starring as Horton the Elephant in the school production of Seussical Jr.(that's what I bought it for), you'd better split it into a couple of <1 hour videos or count on it arbitrarily turning off right in the middle of a scene that your son is in. You can immediately turn it back on, but you will miss precious seconds (or minutes, depending upon how quickly you figure out that it did this to you). And forget about using the flipshare software to re-attach the second file that you created: it can't handle a video of that length (reinforcing my conclusion that there is a hard limit on the length of a single movie of this format). Luckily for me, it demonstrated this "turn-off on its own" feature on two consecutive nights at slightly different points in the play. So I can cobble together a complete video from scenes from the two different nights. But due to these "features", it is a lot harder to do than one would hope. Of course, it might have arbitrarily turned off because of a power issue, but I was able to immediately turn it back on.
All that having been said, it is still the best video camera I've ever touched. I'd never have given any of the ones that I have previously owned more than 2 stars: they all had battery problems, were huge, and you needed a PhD in EE to figure out how to use them (I have a BS/EE and I struggled). The Flip works fine with the alternate batteries and I'll stop and start the camera at intermission if he hasn't already reached his theatrical peak (I'm also going to send it back to Amazon and exchange it because of the battery pack - I'll update this review with the results from that exercise).
If these two issues weren't there, they'd get 5 stars across the board.
Customer Review: Cisco Knew What They Were Buying: Perhaps the Perfect Gift for Anyone
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
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.
Customer Review: Great portable "HD" solution with decent results
Summary: 4 Stars
Originally I went in to Best Buy to pick up a Mino HD so I could record studio and location "behind the scenes" photography shoots for my business. The employee I spoke to handed this to me saying "it doesn't come out for another week, but its cheaper than the Mino that is on sale". It was a no-brainer for me to pick up.
Its a nice little unit; compact, fits in my back pocket if needed, and the controls are very basic - click da big red button to record. Click da big red button again to stop. Simplicity at its finest.
I love that the unit has a USB built right in, but I still use a USB extension because I'm using an iMac, and since it ends up hanging upside down, I don't want to add stress to the USB prong.
I haven't used the built-in editing software, as I'm importing my files into iMovie and editing from that.
Quality wise, I'd say is pretty darn good considering its about the size of a box of Necco valentine sweet-hearts candy. However, I must insist that it is to be used as a stationary "fixed" lens, and not to use the digital zoom. Once that digital zoom is used, the quality, like *any* digital zoom, suffers greatly. To circumvent this, I've super-glued a step-down ring to the front of my Ultra HD so I can screw on a wide angle and a telephoto lens. If you don't mind Frankenstein-ing your Ultra HD, then go for it.
I haven't done much low-light shooting with it, but I have a feeling that it could get somewhat noisy and grainy. I'll see more results soon when I start using this inside the studio.
I'll be mainly using my Ultra HD on a tripod to record behind-the-scenes footage of my photography sessions, so I'll have a way of keeping the camcorder static and not moving around a lot.
Overall, I feel this is greatly worth the $199 I paid. You have to remember that this is a dinky little device with a tiny sensor in it, so the quality won't be as good as a larger dedicated video camera, or one of the newer DSLR's with the built in high-def. Apples to Oranges.
With a little extra cash and some super-glue, you can get more reach and wide angle out of the unit.
[...]
Great little unit. Don't come in to this expecting a goose that lays golden eggs. For what it is, it does well.
Recommended.
:: edit - people have been asking about the wide-angle mod you can do. I picked up a Sunpak 37mm .5x video camera lens that comes with a set of step-up/step-down rings. I glued one of the rings around the lens on the Ultra, let it dry, and it allows me to screw the wide angle lens over the existing lens. I picked the wide angle lens up at Best Buy. Can't find a link here for the item.
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.