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675 of 685 people found the following review helpful:
Inexpensive Alternative, May 28, 2007
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.
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132 of 145 people found the following review helpful:
THE Ultimate user-friendly "Plug-n-Play", May 14, 2007
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!
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114 of 119 people found the following review helpful:
Great for point-and-shoot, but the editing on a Mac stinks, September 29, 2007
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.
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81 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
This is the answer for video!, May 18, 2007
I love this camera. It is easy to use and easy to get the video off the camera and make fun videos. no cords or hard to use programs. We make a lot of videos on [...]and these short clips look great - I have had DVDs made and also sent videos to my TiVo and am so impressed with the video quality. I highly recommend this to anyone I meet who expresses an interesting video. Great for kids as well. We take it backpacking, traveling, anywhere.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
Pocket Video Camera, October 1, 2007
The Flip Video is great for recording up to one hour worth of video. It is perfect for families who want to share videos. I found that the sound quality is ok. The zoom is adequate but not great. And the picture quality is good for its price. The better the lighting you have, the better the quality of the video taken. It even looks good when watched on a TV screen. No sense lugging around a camcorder when you can carry this small video camera. It is so easy to use that no instruction manual is necessary and I am not electronic savvy. It comes with all you need, including TV connector cable, carrying case, wrist strap and even the batteries.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Good little camera, December 17, 2007
This little product is an amazing piece of technology. It does exactly what you want and with only a few problems.
Despite its tiny size and lens, it takes good quality video. Dim light isn't so good but normal indoor lighting and daylight shots are very good quality. The zoom is virtually nonexistent but thats not what its really for anyway. Just throw it in your pocket and carry it with you to the game or the party or wherever, whip it out, point and record movies.
I found it a bit awkward to hold but nothing serious, it is pretty impossible to 'sneak' in video of the kids because it has to be held up in such an obvious position (its easy to point in the wrong direction so you have to watch the screen a lot).
On the downside, I found the batteries (it uses 2 AA) don't last that long, essentially I have to put a new set in each trip (each hour of video). I also found that in bright daylight its hard to tell if it is recording or not. The video screen is on even when it is not recording and a red/green text in the corner is the only feedback you get (I have recorded lots of pointing at the ground). The biggest problem I have is that its quite hard to take smooth videos, the the thing is so small that its hard to keep steady and when you watch the video later you are amazed at how jumpy/jerky/bumpy it is. My next video camera will have image stabilization.
Once the video is captured, the included USB plug inserts into your computer and you can use the included (fairly lame) software or simply copy the .AVI files from the camera to your hard disk. The files are about 20mb per minute and it stores 60 minutes in the camera. There is also a red/white/yellow cable for transferring directly to a dvd/video recorder but while it works, it also puts a giant green sequence number at the beginning of each segment for several seconds (what were they thinking?)
In summary, its a great little camera for kids or for small events because it can literally be placed in a pocket and carried with you. Due to its small size and lack of image stabilization its difficult to get the video to not be jumpy, however the video quality is good.
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
Flip Video is a must have on your Christmas List, November 26, 2007
Length:: 0:18 Mins
I just ordered Flip Video last week, I take it with me everywhere, it is easy to use, great picture and sound quality, I can't say enough how satisfied I am, get it, you won't regret it
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Tough and easy, November 11, 2007
I've had this camera about three months. While the picture quality isn't as good as my 3ccd camcorder the Flip suffices for TV displays. All the software for PC and Mac resides on the camera. The USB connector is part of the camera and flips (thus the name) out to plug into a computer port. It's so easy to use that's it's sort of the iPod of the camcorder business. My four year old grandson has taken some pretty good videos on it with minimal instruction. It fell twice off a four foot table to concrete and it still runs. The second time the plastic case separated, but I easily snapped it back in place. I'm more careful now, but it's nice to know that you don't have to worry too much about damage. It uses two AA batteries and they last over an hour, or the time it takes to fill its 1GB internal memory. No zoom, but, if you've watched enough amateur home movies with zoom, you'll avoid zoom nausea.
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