Flip video Ultra Black 1.5" LCD Smooth multi-step 2x digital Camcorder

Impressed

Reviewed By: richope on 6/12/2008

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

Pros: I received this as a gift last Christmas. I was not happy when i opened it, as I had not heard of it and expected it to be a a low quality, worthless toy. I asked my wife if she had the receipt and where she bought it in case I wanted to return it. So I opened it and shot a few minutes of video of the kids playing indoors, and essentially low light. I expected it to look as poor as the digital photos look in that light. I took the device and hooked it up to the video inputs of the big screen TV (52") to really see (prove) the poor quaility. Boy was I wrong, for the device and the lighting, I was amazed. I now use it all the time and as a substitute for the camcorder, since yo can take it anywhere. Don't get me wrong, it is not camcorder quality, but it is definately good enough to video the kids all the time and archive the videos for memories.

Cons: Customer support blows. They state they are available 24/7 365 days. I initially plugged the unit into my Vista computer and (the software on the device self-installs) and it threw an error saying I had to have a minimum of Windows Media Player version X (don't recall, but lower than I had). Essentially the software was not written to recognize later versions. If not = x then error. I emailed tech support detailed ticket, they responded seeral days later (so much for 24/7/365) with a generic response of upgrade your media player. They did not read the message, so I replied back asking if they read it, not response.
Digital zoom is a joke, just like digital cameras, why bother.

I would have given 5 stars if the customer service would have simply replied at that time with "we do not have support for Vista yet"

Other Thoughts: A few months later, I plugged it into a XP machine and it prompted to upgrade it's software, which I did and now it works on Vista.

Set your expectations, hold it still when shooting (no image stabilizer), and enjoy

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Great

Reviewed By: the flash on 6/12/2008

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

Pros: Surprising quality, easy use, flip usb cable is nice. might buy another one or two.

Cons: this thing needs to come with a USB extension cord. fortunately, i had 6 extra sitting around. awkward without an extension cable

Other Thoughts: definitely worth the money, heck, id buy it again for twice the price.

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Reviewed By: bob on 4/27/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: very small and lightweight. already took a bunch of videos and posted up on youtube. runs on 2 aa batteries.

Cons: could hv been cheaper.

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Flip Ultra with reasonable expectations

Reviewed By: Dave on 4/22/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: It does exactly what it is supposed to do. Records good video and audio with no whistles and bells. I took it to Jamaica and recorded recipes from various restaurants and bars for a social network site. Did this very well, andn I didn't fill up an entire hour. Quality is more than enough for posting on the net, or a moderate television screen.

Cons: An hour of home movies is an hour of home movies. Something to remember when you're recording. It doesn't make toast or shine shoes, just does what its supposed to do!

Other Thoughts: Software upgraded, and was able to run on one of my 'puters, and crashed on the other. But it records in a standard MP4 format, so any software, including Windows Video Maker works fine.

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Nice & Simple

Reviewed By: on 3/17/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Simple to use, wife love's it
Sturdy, decent size, any smaller would be hard to hold for extended periods.

Cons: Limited features due to simplicity.
2-3 buttons make finding "options" difficult.

Other Thoughts: Great for travelling light. Wife and I backpacked with no checked baggage in Europe and China. Took Flip plus Sony A300 SLR -- perfect combination for decent video and killer pictures.

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