Review of Flip Ultra HD Video Camera
December 18, 2010, By Buzz Bishop 0 comments
The iPad may be the most wanted item on every kid's wish list this year, but at the top of every parent’s list should be the Flip Ultra HD. Sure, you may have a great still camera that has a video mode, but then you have the hassle of flipping back and forth and sometimes being on the wrong one when you want to capture something.
I like to keep my camera for still photos and my Flip for video. The new Flip Ultra HD is a smart upgrade from the previous editions with better color and sound and smoother buttons for zoom. The two models have memory to shoot one or two hours of video, and is tiny enough to still fit in the front pocket of your jeans.
The key feature of the Flip is the flipping USB connection. My wife won a Sony Xacti in a grocery store contest, but with a battery that needs a cord to recharge and another cord to connect to the computer, it’s just not getting used as much as our smooth and easy Flip Ultra HD.
Like the iPhone, the Flip seems to have redefined the way videos are shot. And, like the iPhone, the Flip is still the one that rises above the rest for ease of use.
It’s a great Christmas morning camera to capture videos of the day, but it’s also perfect for vacation since the FlipShare software is built right into the device. You can edit, upload and share your videos (or pull stills from your clip to easily share as well) from any computer just by flipping out the USB port and plugging it in. The one click publish to YouTube which was a star of the earlier editions now lets you publish to Facbeook, Twitter or MySpace as well.
The Flip Ultra HD also has the flexibility of using traditional AAA alkaline batteries if you plan to pack it along for an extended vacation away from electricity.
The latest edition of the Flip is the third camera I’ve had from the company, each one better and easier to use. So easy, in fact, my three-year-old now likes to grab it to film videos of his one-year-old brother (which gives you your three-year-old's view of the world when you watch it – it's wild and worth the price alone). And while the Flip it’s not a rubberized Fisher Price video camera, it’s still rugged enough that I’m not leaping to snatch it from his hands when he wants to shoot.
If all I had was a Nikon D90 lying around to take my HD video, I certainly wouldn’t let my preschoolers be packing that around the backyard.
What do you use to take spontaneous video of the great moments in life with your kids?
