Best Value in Flip Camcorders – A Comparative Review

Flash camcorders are an excellent choice for most consumers, as discussed in the comparative review of the best values in flash camcorders. Cisco Systems, through its strategic acquisition of Pure Digital the maker of Flip Video camcorders, clawed its way into this very competitive market earlier this year. Pure Digital deserves laurels in carving a niche in the extremely competitive camcorder market where giants like Canon, Sony, and Panasonic welded power. Flip Video camcorders hold their own with these distinct features:

• Unique design that reinvented few fundamentals: 1) The simplified hand grip design blew away the concept of requiring some sort of an operating handle, and 2) An integrated approach replaced the snap-out LCD design.
• Flip-out USB design allows connectivity to a computer without entailing a USB chord,
• Functions on just two AA batteries (Ultra models).

A few intelligent design compromises in reducing form-factor were necessary for this feature-set:

• Fixed-focus lens: This is the single-biggest design compromise that helped shape the end-product with its enviable form-factor. This decision was fairly risky as at that time, web-cams were the only products employing fixed-focus lens with success to some limit,
• Internal Flash Memory: This risky design compromise panned out only because the integrated USB design simplified connectivity. The power of this flash memory can do with tremendous improvement as otherwise it mandates having a computer handy to transfer videos whenever capacity limit is reached.

Below is a spread-sheet that compares the most popular Flip Video Camcorder models:

Product	Flip Video Ultra (120 minutes)	Flip Video UltraHD (120 minutes)	Flip Video Mino (60 minutes)	Flip Video MinoHD (60 minutes)
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List Price	$149	$199.99	$149.99	$199.99
Best Price	$109	$152	$129.99	$159.99
Date of Release	4/2009	4/2009	6/2008	11/2008
Storage Media	4GB Internal Flash Memory – 120 minutes	8GB Internal Flash Memory – 120 minutes	2GB Internal Flash Memory – 60 minutes	4GB Internal Flash Memory – 60 minutes
Video Recording Format	MPEG-4	MPEG-4	MPEG-4	MPEG-4
Lens & Focus	F/2.4 Fixed Focus	F/2.4 Fixed Focus	F/2.4 Fixed Focus	F/2.4 Fixed Focus
Optical Zoom	None	None	None	None
Digital Zoom	2 x – smooth	2 x – smooth	2 x – smooth	2 x - smooth
Image Stabilizer	None	None	None	None
Resolution	640 x 480	1280 x 720	640 x 480	1280 x 720
Battery Type	Rechargeable AA battery pack (NOT included) or regular AA	Rechargeable AA battery pack (included) or regular AA	Li-ion recharged through USB	Li-ion recharged through USB
Size & Weight	4.3 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches, 5.4 ounces	4.3 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches, 5.4 ounces	3.94 x 1.97 x 0.63, 3.3 ounces	3.94 x 1.97 x 0.63, 3.3 ounces
Screen Size	2.0”	2.0”	1.5”	1.5”
Others	NA	HDMI output	NA	NA

• * The 30 minute versions of Flip are older models
• * A 120-minute version of the Flip MinoHD was released on 10/2009 for $229.99.

The following three key attributes make it consumer friendly:

1. Diminutive form-factor. Flip Camcorders fits easily in one’s pocket. The integrated LCD and grip design causes very little delay from retrieval to the commencing of video capture.
2. Ease of use: Flip has just three main buttons for Record, Play, and Delete. Around the central bright red record button are the +/- zoom button and a Forward/Backward button. The slide-switch for on/off is on the side. This design is not intuitive at first when switching over from a conventional camcorder interface and then it becomes second nature.
3. Excellent low-light performance: The low-light performance for this low-end camcorder, achieved through a combination of a larger CCD (Charge Coupled Device, a chip that determines the quality of pictures) and a larger pixel size, is exceptional. The larger pixel works well with videos on the web.

The buying decision boils down to whether the price difference justifies the incremental value obtained for the additional feature-set. For us, the decision to choose the Flip Ultra was not complicated. Late in 2008, we skipped the HD version as we do not own an HDTV, but chose the higher priced 60-minute version instead of the 30-minute one. Six months into using the Flip Ultra, we longed for the ability to plug in SD memory cards. The 2nd generation Flip Ultra products alleviate this problem by incorporating a bigger internal flash with a capacity for 120-minutes of video. The current Flip Ultra and the Flip UltraHD (both 120 minutes) are excellent choices in this category. If portability is the primary concern, the Mino or MinoHD holds the edge because of their lower form-factor. There is a Flip MinoHD (120 minutes) released on 10/2009 that combines the small form-factor and high capacity (120 minutes) and that can be had for a slight premium ($185). It is a great option, if budget allows.

Best overall pick: Flip UltraHD (120 minutes) - $152.

Last Updated: 07/2010.


Related Posts:

1. Best Values in Shoot & Share HD Camcorders - A Comparative Review - 10/2009.
2. Best Values in Flip Camcorders - Comparative Review - 06/2009.
3. Best Values in Flash Camcorders - Comparative Review - 02/2009.