Customer Reviews

Flip UltraHD Video Camera 4 GB (Magenta)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

Please see Cisco's response, below. I am glad Cisco has responded.

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I almost bought one of these until I read the fine print.

The "real" Flip UltraHAD 3rd Generation has 60 fps recording speed for better action shots AND electronic stabilization - two BIG features.

I can give up the 4 gb of extra storage on the "regular" model, but his "Black Friday" model blowing out at Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon strikes me as a "come on" - it omits the two essential features that make the 3rd Generation Flips of interest - the higher frame rate (60 fps vs 30 fps on this one) and the stabilization. Read the specs and blurbs on the REAL model you need to be looking at:
Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL

 

I couldn't ask for an easier lighter more user friendly camcorder than this! This camera is so easy to use it's amazing. Just point and shoot. Then preview your videos or upload to your computer. The Flip software for your computer helps you customize and make adorable movies to be burned to a cd and saved forever! This camer is so easy, I convinced my principal to purchase three for our school. Now kids make video projects! I even video taped our SGA speeches and created a movie with music and credits. Sure, there are plenty out there that can do all this, but for the price and the ease, the Flip is the bomb!

I double checked the specs on the Flip website - although the 1 hour and 2 hour Flips have identical names, they are NOT the same quality camera. The 2 hours has image stabilization and 60 fps (frames per second), while the 1 hour camera does not have stabilization and only shoots 30 fps.

I can't stand it when companies pull stuff like this.

 

I really am impressed with this camera. It films GREAT! Very clear, many FPS, and it blocks out background noise very well. It was deffinatly worth the $99 dollars! Trust me, DONT listen to the bad reviews, it really is a great camera.

The economical Flip does what it says and despite the rumors of the parent company selling out and etc, etc. seriously who cares at this price? I remember the huge,sit on shoulder camcorders at $1800 back in the early 1990's and the $800.00 mini camcorder we bought (still a handful) just a few years ago which, with their smaller videos, could not be loaded directly onto our computer or viewed without other pieces of equipment or a pro to upload to a disc. LOL and then within a month of buying it, the digitals popped up. So from a 20 year perspective of evolution of the camcorder, we love it!

So the FLIP was a welcome little jewel. We went for the 1 hour rather then the 2 hour at a lower price and it has been great. Quality rivals our previous expensive camcorders, it is simple to use, lightweight, and uploading to the computer is as simple as popping it onto the computer.
So don't sweat over the future of the original company. By that time something else will be out and at this VERY affordable price, you can't go wrong.
We stuck with the basics and are delighted with the results. We use it not only for personal use but our business where we can easily upload a YouTube tutorial as well as use it on short clips on Facebook.
Not bad for someone who remembers when computer programmers had to read punch out cards!

Ordered it for my 8 year old for X-mas. I'm pretty confident she'll love it. I tested it. Basically, hassle-free thing - no wires, no installation disks, excellent recording quality, has a port for HDMI (allows you to watch the video on your flat screen easily). Once you plug it into your comp the first time, it installs simple interface program with the tons of functions. Should be pretty easy to drive for a kid (e.i. the programs miles easier than Photoshop or video-editing soft).

The camera itself pretty small, probably slightly longer then iPhone and think as a pack of cigarettes. The only draw down - is that it doesn't have a cord for carrying, however does have the place for it. The 4 stars from me - is a result for lacking this cord.

Length:: 8:14 Mins

Ease of use: 5 stars
Responsiveness: 5 stars
Performance in low light: 4 1/2 stars
Video quality: for the price 4 1/2 stars
Audio Quality: 3 1/2 stars
Youtube friendly when it comes to audio: 2 stars

For you musicians and public speakers, (I am both), here is how I feel about the audio. First off, it has stereo mics which pick up surprisingly good. Nice separation. But, unfortunately it records too loudly (I got two Flip UltraHD 2 3Rd Generation thinking the first was defective so I replaced it). So the audio breaks up and you can hear distortion. Even lowering the volume in an audio editor after recorded (since there are not volume controls on the unit) doesn't remove the distortion. And I believe that distortion is the main problem once Youtube gets a hold of the file. After upload, the audio depreciates to the point that you can hear a phaser type sound, pops, cracks and digital chatter. (Have had all that happen to a few singing and speaking videos and my husband's speaking videos.)

So, if you're gonna use the camera to catch some scenery and pick up the sounds of nature, you'll probably love it. But for recording music videos or speaking videos(close up), and then uploading them to Youtube you may not.

One more thing, the 4GB camera is not the same as the 8GB one. The 8GB (which is the one most review sites review) records in 60 FPS and 30 FPS. The 4GB only 30 FPS. Also, according to the Flip Specs page, the mics are different too. The 4GB (the one I have) mentions that they are Wide-range stereo omni-directional. The 8GB is Wide-range stereo but no omni-directional. Don't know if the omni-directional causes the audio overloads because of what it picks up in the room.

P.S.
IN RESPONSE TO THE MANUFACTURES COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW:

Hey Matt. Great info for future buyers.

About the mics, I got my info about the difference between the mics from this Flip spec page. Although the link may not show up. This is my second attempt trying to post the link here. If Amazon won't allow it, you'll just see brackets).

Ok, here is the link from Flip Knowledge base.

[[...]]

You can see that the specs for the mic on the Flip UltraHD 1hr has a different description than the rest of the models listed. And, having compared the audio with the Flip Ultra 2hr (which I had in my possession for a week) and the Flip UltraHD II 1hr, there was a definite difference. The Ultra HD let in much more sound.

Anyhow, yeah, I heard about the FlipPort feature they added to the even newer models than the one I have. Sounds like a great feature to add accessories including an external mic. Too bad I bought mine before this was available. But good for the future buyers.

All the best

 

This honestly is a great camera! I bought it for my son, and he LOVES IT! Obviously its not at the professional level, but it is a great first camera. Also, if your planning to make youtube video's this camera is great. I am really impressed, i love it! 5/5 Stars

Great videography! Lightweight, and easy to hold to get a steady film. Very attractive looking and simple to use, only a few buttons to work with. Great price for a high quality HD video camera. Takes excellent snapshot photos as well. Easy to download built in software easily allows you to edit your video on you computer fast. Also has a software option that lets you quickly upload to youtube and facebook. Amazon.com and Walmart have awesome prices for this product.

The Flip UltraHD has not performed as well as the older Flip Ultra. I purchased the non-HD model last year and though I use it sparingly it has performed OK. The Flip UltraHD has been a whole different animal. I purchased the 4GB UltraHD for a daughter for Christmas and it was unusable out of the box. My daughter told me she could not get it set up so I had her bring it over to my house. I tried several times but it would automatically start at the setup screen. I tried inputting the language but it wouldn't take any input. Finally I was forced to abandon the setup but then all I could do was use the rear LCD as a view finder. It would not record at all. So I returned that one to Amazon and exchanged it for another of the same model. The second one set up easily and worked just fine - for exactly 32 days. Then it just stopped doing anything. Powers up OK but will no longer record nor play. Nothing. It is fully charged, everything indicates that it should work fine - but nothing happens with any button pushes.

I am not certain what I can do with this POS now. It is just past the 30 day limit for another return to Amazon, and I have read scores of horror stories about using Flip's support options. From what I read the email support people try to be very helpful and seem pleasant enough, but their only solution is to reflash the firmware. And that is unsuccessful for most users based on articles all over the web. The telephone support is reminiscent of Dell-H&11, if anyone ever had the displeasure to deal with them. Flip doesn't appear to ever replace any of their cameras, claiming that the problems must be users' computers or other wild imaginations. If I cannot get any resolution then I guess I will just toss this POS and shop around for a real video cam. And I'll be sure to tell the story on whatever blogs I can.

Jim