We've been playing around with the Flip Video Ultra for a couple of weeks now, so it's time to start the comprehensive review of what we've learned so far.

First of all, thanks to Miranda McCurlie at The iPR Group - the Canadian communications company that represents Flip video camera makers, Pure Digital Solutions - for providing the camera.

What we have is the 5.2 ounce Flip Ultra - the mid-range version that retails for $149.99. There's also the Flip Video - now called 'The Original' for $129.99 and the new Flip Mino (sounds faintly Apple-ish to me, too...) that tops the trio at $179.99 and comes with

The easiest way to compare the three units is to pay a visit to the specs page on the Flip.com web site:

http://flipvideo.com/products_flip_ultra_specs.II.shtml">http://flipvideo.com/products_flip_ultra_specs.II.shtml

The basic layout

The video screen - while relatively tiny at 1.5 inches - is also surprisingly rich. A power button is prominent on one side, and the pop-out USB connector is on the other. On the bottom is the release for the battery compartment - it runs on a pair of AA's - and a standard female camera mount.

There's a four-way button plate (about 1 inch square) centered beneath the screen and there's a big red button right smack on the middle of the plate. You don't need a manual to figure out what that's for. There are two other smaller buttons - one beneath each corner of the screen. On the left, an arrow. On the right, a trash can. One's for navigating, and the other's for eliminating. The lens is on the front - it's about the size of a large bottle cap. Next to it is a grid of holes in front of the microphone. Besides the USB 2 connector, there's a single socket: TV out.

It's slick. It's lightweight. It's easy to use. You turn it on, point it, push the red button, and start recording.

First Pros and Cons

The camera is light. Fits into a pocket or a purse, so it's not a chore to pack up and carry along, unlike our large camera kit with wireless mic/transmitter, tripod, tapes, cables, batteries. But the light weight also makes it difficult to keep steady. Mounted on a tripod, the image quality is more than acceptable. We even mounted it on our large fluid head tripod for a test. (You'll see that one later.)

The microphone is unidirectional. If you're using it to record someone speaking, and point the camera away from the speaker, the sound level drops noticeably. Sound is one of those things that a I'd trade that TV-out link for an audio input in a second. To be fair, the audio is surprisingly good. We've taken and posted acceptable videos of a professional string quartet and individual musicians.

We realize this camera wasn't built for professional use, but it doesn't have to stay that way.

The biggest plus with this camera is the speed at which you can go from shooting to editing to posting, whether that's to your own web site, blog or personal social network page. This sucker is fast. On a Mac.

We have both Mac and PC computers available, so tend to take the path of least resistance. Five minutes of frustration on the PC led directly to a MacBook. With the USB port popped out of its hiding place and plugged into the computer, the Flip appears on the desktop as a portable drive. Software installed. Opened the Flip folder,  find the folder labelled 'DCIM' (Digical Camera IMages folder). Inside that, you'll see one or more .avi files. You can play them as is, or drag them into iMovie.

The image quality is good - certainly better than most of what you'll find on YouTube.

Next, we'll tell you about how we took it down to the railway tracks with some tape...

Cheers,

George

justFRED.ca