Flip Video Camcorder: 30-Minutes (White)

Other products by Flip Video

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000ONDRDU
• Item model number: F130W
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (500 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,872 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Camcorders > Hard Disk Drive

• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 1, 2007

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

Capture the everyday moments that happen anywhere, and share them with family and friends everywhere. That’s idea behind the new Flip video camcorder. It’s portable, simple to use, and amazingly affordable. Shoot anything. Share everything.

Never Miss Another Moment

Flip Video’s simple, one-touch recording and compact size make it the ideal choice for capturing videos on the go. No bulky gear, charger, or memory card needed.

View, Share, and Save Videos With Built-In Software

Flip Video makes sharing videos incredibly simple. Watch your movies instantly on TV using the included cable. Or, connect Flip Video directly to your computer through the built-in USB arm. The simple on-board software makes it easy to view, edit, and share your favorite videos.

• Email videos and greeting cards with ease
• Publish directly to YouTube and Grouper
• Organize and archive your videos

Capture Still Photos and Make Custom Movies

With Flip Video’s on-board software, you can easily edit video clips, capture still photos from your videos, or create custom movies set to music.

What's in the Box

TV connector cable, soft carrying case, wrist strap, two AA batteries, and instruction booklet

Product Description

The Flip Video Camcorder is a portable, easy-to-use solution for creating and sharing high-quality home movies. Flip Video is the ideal choice for capturing everyday moments that happen anywhere, and sharing them with family and friends everywhere. The camcorder's built-in software makes saving and sharing memories simple and convenient: email videos, make custom movies, capture still photos from video clips, and upload videos directly to popular sharing sites, including YouTube and Grouper Networks. Flip Video comes with a TV connector cable, wrist strap, soft carrying case, two AA batteries, and an instruction booklet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

781 of 794 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inexpensive Alternative, May 28, 2007

By	Railgun - See all my reviews

PROS:
* Inexpensive.
* Conveniently small size (fits in a shirt pocket).
* Easy to use.
* Easy to just drag movie clip files straight over to hard drive (they are stored in the DCIM folder sequentially).
* Movie files in the AVI format (but see Con comment about codec below).
* Easy enough to delete clips you don't want to keep.
* Play straight to TV.
* Seems durable though no protection for lens or playback screen.
* Uses ordinary AA batteries.

CONS:
* Menu buttons a little hard to press (zoom & volume control)
* USB connector arm bad idea. Should have just been a USB socket. Never matches up with the USB socket on any computer or laptop so you have to get an extension cable anyway which can be difficult to connect without breaking the arm off.
* Uses DivX codec (technically 3ivx, Wiki the difference if you really want to know) which means having to install one of a variety of 3rd party plug-ins. Would have been nice if they could have used H.264 but using 3ivx probably helps keep the cost down by using a less powerful chip.
* Included software was a hack job, UI is terrible.
* Silly proprietary interface at the top to burn contents to DVD at participating stores. Just a way for water to get in, should have been a memory card slot.
* Included carrying bag just gets lint all over it - don't use it.
* Sound playback level is lost once the unit turns off which means having to turn the sound down every time you turn it on.

CONCLUSION:
If you really want to record some video to edit on your computer but don't want to shell out hundreds for a digital video camera, this is a worthy alternative. Go ahead and get the 1 GB version (1 hour) since there is no memory card slot or upgrade path. After installing a DivX plugin on your computer, you should have no problem editing the clips in your favorite movie editing program like iMovie. I had to install a plugin on both my Intel MacBookPro and Dell 8600 Windows XP (SP2).

Accept that you are going to have to purchase a short USB extension cable unless your USB ports are on the side and the extension arm lines-up perfectly (i.e. the computer doesn't put any weight on the arm). Even a short 3 ft cable like Cables To Go 19003 3-Feet USB A/A Extension Cable will do. The kind you need is a USB A socket on one end and USB A plug on the other (if you can connect the cable ends to themselves and make a hoop you probably have the correct one).

This is a great first try but there is lots of room for improvement like replacing the connector arm with a USB socket, ditching the DVD burning interface for a memory card slot and making the menu UI buttons easier to push.

160 of 167 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for point-and-shoot, but the editing on a Mac stinks, September 29, 2007

By	Debra Hamel (TwitterLit.com) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In order to promote their new video reviews (which I think are a great idea), Amazon sent me (for free! I love Amazon) a brand spankin' new Flip video camcorder. It came today and my daughter and I had some fun with it on the way home. I haven't gotten a lot of use out of the thing yet, but I have some initial thoughts:

1. It couldn't be easier to take videos. You insert the batteries and press a button and you're filming.

2. You connect it to the computer by plugging it into the USB port. Software downloads to your computer, all very smoothly. The connection to the USB port is problematic. A USB connector pops out of the side of the camera, which is very elegant but doesn't work well in practice. I had to unplug another device to fit it into the available slot next door. It's kind of like having one of those big plugs taking up so much room on a power strip. I've already ordered an extension for it.

3. The editing software is very basic. This is to be expected. This is supposed to be a quick, point-and-shoot device that takes basic video that can quickly be shared on the web. Which is a great idea. But here's the thing: you can edit a video from either end, ending it earlier or starting it later. But you can't crop out a part in the center. Is that insane? Now, you can make copies of a movie and then take the beginning part of one and the ending part of another. It's inelegant but possible, right? And there is a "movie-making" feature that allows you to mesh these two movies together...except that you can only save the product if you're in Windows. With Mac you can't save it, so it's useless for posting the amalgam on the web. As far as I can see, at least.

4. Quality seems okay for the purpose. Looks good on my computer, at least.

So in short if you're going to take very short videos that you don't intend to edit and post them on YouTube, this works well. Though I have to say, it isn't super speedy. While I've been writing this my computer has been processinga three-minute video for posting online, and it's only gotten through about 5% of it so far.

144 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Ultimate user-friendly "Plug-n-Play", May 14, 2007

By	L. Friloux "Looie" (Mt. Washington, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If using and enjoying this little gem were any easier, well, someone else would be operating it for you! Superlative "User friendly" camcorder.
With no pretense of being an SVGA professional camcorder, the Flip Video is built for immediate out-of-the-box FUN! The videos looks great via Windows XP Media Player and I had to smile as I enjoyed watching it play on my TV.
The sound is remarable when you consider the built-in mic's size!
I love it! I will enjoy it! I will also enjoy getting a couple for my siblings (GREAT gift idea!)
PS: I found it to be very "battery-friendly" as well! That, alone, is worth the cost!