The Flip Camcorder allows you to take up to 60 minutes of fairly good quality video and sound (letting you delete parts of your video that you do not like as you go along, however, not letting you change a tape to increase your amount of video time because the video uploads straight onto the camera without any outside components being involved). Once you have your video, you can easily plug the flip into your computer by releasing the USB arm. It is then extremely simple to upload onto youtube, aol or save in your flip video library.

The ease with which you can transport and use this product and upload the subsequent film onto your computer is where its appeal lies. However, it does not have a very long battery life and you can only save 60 minutes of film per outing. This model is slimmer than the previous one, which may be a draw to some, however, all flip camcorders are easily placed in pockets or bags, therefore you might be better off going with the Second Generation Flip Camcorder which is still small enough for simple transport, but also has improved features (such as 120 minutes of memory for video storage).

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Features

• Simple to use, pocket-sized camcorder with one-touch recording and digital zoom
• Holds 60 minutes of full VGA-quality video on 2GB of built-in memory; no tapes or additional memory cards required
• Convenient USB arm plugs directly into your computer for easy viewing and sharing
• Built-in software lets you easily e-mail videos, upload to YouTube and AOL, and capture still photos from video
• Watch videos instantly on TV with included cable

Technical Details

• Recording time: Up to 60 minutes
• Internal memory: 2 GB
• Screen size: 1.5 inches (diagonal)
• Screen resolution: 528 x 132 pixels
• Screen type: Transflective TFT (for bright daylight)
• Resolution: 640 x 480
• Sensor: 1/4-inch VGA CMOS sensor; large (5.6 µm) pixels for maximum light sensitivity
• Low-light sensitivity: Very high sensitivity (>2.0V/lux-sec)
• Video compression: Pure Digital Video Engine 2.0
• Frame rate: 30 frames per second (constant)
• Video bitrate: 4.5Mbps (average–auto adaptive algorithm)
• Video format: Advanced Profile MPEG4 AVI
• Auto White Balance and autoexposure: Auto-adaptive white/black balance and exposure (Next generation–improving color fidelity, exposure control, and dynamic range)
• Lens type: Fixed focus (0.8 meters to infinity)
• Aperture: f2.4 (fast lens for great results in low-light environments)
• Zoom: Smooth multi-step 2x digital
• Interface: 8 buttons (Power, Play, Delete, Record, and 4-way navigation)
• Time from power-up to record: Less than 3 seconds
• Clip length: Minimum of 1 second, maximum of 60 minutes
• Power Saver (auto shut-down): Yes
• Delete All function: Yes
• Play All function: Yes
• Set date/time function: Yes
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 4.17 x 2.16 x 1.25 inches
• PC connection: Built-in flip-out USB arm (up to USB 2.0 speed)
• Speaker: Built-in speaker
• Microphone: Built-in wide range microphone (improved sensitivity and accuracy)
• TV out: NTSC (cable included)
• DVD processing: Pure Digital DVD processing (nationwide retail service)
• Supported battery types: 2 x AA batteries (1.5-volt AA alkaline, Energizer e2 Lithium, 1.2-volt NiMH rechargeable)
• Battery life: Improved battery life: up to 2.5 hours with 2 x AA Alkaline batteries; up to 6.5 hours with 2 x AA Energizer e2 batteries; battery life may vary between batteries and use pattern
• Tripod mount: Yes
• Supported operating systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OSX
• Minimum system requirements (Windows): Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz computer with at least 512MB of RAM, Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista, SVGA display monitor (1024 x 768) and video card, Windows Media Player 9.0, Microsoft DirectX 9.0
• Minimum system requirements (Mac OSX): PowerPC G4 1.0 GHz, Intel Core with at least 512 MB of RAM, Mac OS X 10.3.9, SVGA display (1024 x 768) monitor and video card, QuickTime 7 or later
• Auto start: Windows: yes; Mac OSX: no
• Online sharing (may require download of latest version of Flip Video software): Unlimited private sharing; video greeting cards; upload to YouTube (public and private); upload to AOL Video (public and private); prepare for web publishing (any other site)
• Video editing: Video truncation (set start/end points); compose a new Movie Mix (including 6 movie styles)
• Snap still photo from video: Yes (VGA still photo)
• File management: Play, Copy/Move, Delete, Rename, Archive on PC
• Software update: Check for updates online (automatic and on demand)
• What’s in the box: Flip Video Ultra 30-minute camcorder, carrying pouch, wrist strap, video out cable

Pros

• Easy to take with you anywhere in your pocket or purse
• Easy to use
• Quick to turn on and take video (when you need to tape something time-sensitive in a hurry)
• Fairly good quality video for the size and simplicity of the camcorder
• Picks up good sound
• Can be re-loaded with double A batteries
• Very easy to upload pictures (simply plug the camera into your computer and save onto your flip video library.
• Compatible with most programs

Cons

• The microphone is not as good as it is on other models
• Video can be shaky unless held perfectly still
• Battery life is still not very long
• Can only store 60 minutes of film on it

Summary

The original flip video camcorder was a good idea in some respects; easy to use, easy to travel with, easy to store in your pocket and easy to upload onto your computer. This version is not different from it’s predecessor in any practical way. It is slightly slimmer (however the other versions are small enough to fit nearly anywhere already), but it does not have enhanced features, aside from a little bump in battery life. For its size and simplicity, this camcorder also takes fairly decent video and sound. However, if you are looking to take this camera with you on a trip out and would like to store more than sixty minutes of video, this is not worth the price being asked. It would be a better idea to get a second generation flip video, which has double the video storage and can be purchased for $30 less on amazon.com.

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