Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 2 Hours (Newest Model)

Pros: I used four of these cameras for a media class I taught this year and they were excellent for student use. The Flip picked up audio well and had a great picture and zoom.

Cons: After almost a year of use, all four cameras stopped powering on unless plugged into a computer. You could romance a little power out of the camera by plugging it in, turning it on, ejecting it from the computer, then putting in the batteries. This would turn the camera on but if you let it sit for more than a minute it would become a brick. Also the editing options on the included software were a little limited.

Pros: Small size fits easily into a shirt pocket. Decent video for what I use it for. Adequate memory to store what I need before clips need to be offloaded. USB connection is convenient, but you can't let the camera just hang from it as the weight of the camera could bend the arm if subjected to a jolt.

Cons: Had to send my first one back as the rechargeable battery pack would not take a charge. It got very hot. The replacement they sent back to me did the same thing, so I elected to throw the battery pack in the trash and use alkaline batteries. They still get hot while recording and sometimes the camera quits when the batteries get too hot. I've missed some good shots because of this. Battery life is less than two hours on my unit.

Overall Review: Hopefully Flip has the battery life problem fixed. Maybe I just got a couple of lemons. Would not buy another one without the opportunity to try one out first.

Pros: Simple, one button record, nothing fancy. Even if you grabbed the device right out of the box without touching anything, you would be able to record instantly -- it's too simple. It even acts like a USB mass storage drive, so even very obscure operating systems can retrieve data from it. 720p@60 frames a second. The FlipPort also enables the device to perform even better, such as the Blue Mikey attachment to add high quality, nearly studio-quality audio. Extended battery life can also be added via this port. It's a very nice feature.

Cons: Most systems that can't push at least 3GHz can't view the video smoothly, or even at all. If you're only looking to view the video on your computer, rather than on a disc or something to that extent -- you would need a video converter to view videos that you recorded just previously.

Overall Review: Including a miniHDMI to HDMI cable would have been nice for instant viewing on a TV.

Pros: Small, lightweight. Fast video, HD. Love the usb access, and easy functions.

Cons: None

Overall Review: Great value.

Pros: Excellent 720p picture, good color reproduction, works well in a variety of lighting including low light environments, 60fps. Sound quality is also very good. Amazing stabilization as well. Uses a standard video format

Cons: No expandable storage, mono sound. Lack of 1080p however 720p at 60fps is extremely smooth (no blur)

Overall Review: Lives up to its name of a 2 hour 720p video camera

Pros: none compared to the zi8

Cons: -Fixed memory (not expandable) -No external mic input -No Macro mode -No 1080p

Overall Review: A zi8 is almost half the price but proves to be much more flexible and has better video quality

Pros: It is a very nice camcorder. Very easy to use, 720p.

Cons: No removable storage, limited to 2 hours with 8GB of internal memory. Not true HD when a zi8 is true HD for about $110. Not very configurable. Only 2x Digital Zoom! Pathetic! It's only software and they could easily increase this. Not good in low light conditions No external microphone hookup.

Overall Review: Its a nice camcorder but way too expensive for what you get.

Pros: The device is easy to use ... nothing couple be easier. The quality is acceptable but as you can imagine there are limitations. The USB connection is attractive from a function stand point, but see below.

Cons: There was a "bad batch" of these devices manufactured and sold to a major "warehouse" club which is where I purchased mine. Even though the manufacturer knew of the defects and could trace their locations via serial numbers, they were not pulled. The retailers sold them without know of the defects. This resulted in my device having a defective USB connector. It worked find for a few weeks, then disengaged inside of the Flip camera. The retailer and their agent had the Flip shipped to a repair center. The serial number was recognized as part of a defective batch. A replacement is enroute. I have no idea if those being sold with Newegg will have this problem. I have never had to RMA Newegg, but they have a good reputation for their quality of service.

Overall Review: Hopefully this situation is history for Flip. It is a really cool device and I think fills what most people really need for a simple HD video camera.