Note:

This review expects readers to understand a little about video cameras and may not go into a lot of detail.

Summery:

I bought the Flip Ultra HD video camera because my friend and I make YouTube videos. We now use it on a regular basis and it fits all of our needs. The price is great for the quality. The camera shoots 720p, which is HD on YouTube, just what we wanted. The camera is small and portable enough to fit in a pocket. We did, however, have to make sure the camera was shooting in very good lighting otherwise the quality would be grainy. The Flip Ultra HD does not handle darks very well, meaning the picture becomes grainy on the dark spots.

Quality:

            As previously stated, the Flip Ultra HD shoots a widescreen 720p video. This means that the width of the video is 720 pixels by 1280 pixels. The "p" means that the video is progressive, loads from top to bottom used for computers and the Internet, as opposed to interlaced, "i", which is used mainly for television. Widescreen is a 16:9 contrast ratio, while full screen is a 4:3 contrast ratio (widescreen is more rectangular. Shooting at 720p is considered High Definition and works great for YouTube and other Internet sites. This does not work as well for larger screens or TV's. Lighting is very important to get the best quality from this camera, speaking from experience.

Options/Compression:

            The Flip Ultra HD video camera does not give the ability to customize settings that one might see on other expensive video cameras. This camera only allows a person to record, stop the recording, watch videos recorded, and delete videos on the camera. The camera does not give the ability to shoot pictures, use filters, or adjust the white balance and other settings. This camera saves to a mpeg 4 file, which is easy to use or convert to be used in editing programs, which is wonderful considering some cameras save to weird file types.

Thoughts/Recommendations:

            In conclusion, my friend and I use this camera on a daily basis and is great for us. Shooting video with this camera is easy and portable. The quality is good enough for the Internet, but not to expensive like other camcorders. I wish it was better in low lighting, but it usually works out ok. I would recommend getting the Flip Ultra HD over any other flip camcorders. I would also recommend getting it if you are using it for the Internet or just shooting short video footage. I would NOT recommend it for a person looking to shoot High Definition footage and expect it to look great on big screens or in front of large audiences (churches, meeting, etc...). Those are what I thought about the Flip Ultra HD camcorder and some specs they normally do not tell customers. Happy Buying!