Instant video gratification.

 

Choosing - and then mastering - a digital video camera that sets you back over $300 is an intimidating task, even for the experienced videographer. Or you can spend less than a couple hundred bucks on the effortless Flip Video Ultra, an inexpensive, compact camcorder designed to be as easy to use as possible. The Flip is a truly shining example of a device that delivers on the promise of technology that can be used by anyone.

 

The Flip comes with 1GB or 2GB of flash memory for storing video (and it can also double as a portable hard drive for any type of file). Since the camera doesn’t waste energy on moving parts, you can get over 6 hours of recording and playback time with a pair of AA lithium batteries, or over 2 hours with alkaline batteries. The controls are sparse, with all the important functionality contained in a handful of buttons. The big red button stops and starts recording, a combo controller surrounding the record button delivers file navigation, there are 2x zoom and volume controls, and the two remaining buttons control playback and file deletion.

 

A small speaker is built in (but no headphone jack), and the camera can be hooked right into a television’s composite connectors using a bundled cable. The screen is sharp, though not as wonderful as the current iPod screens, but it does display the remaining recording time quite accurately. The Flip lacks a visual battery meter, so keep some spare batteries handy.

 

It’s incredibly easy to get up and running, and while the 640-by-480-pixel resolution, 30-frames-per-second video won’t put any HD cameras out of business, the overall quality is good enough for Web work, family outings, and letting the kids have a try at guerrilla filmmaking. We were a little less than thrilled with the audio quality - you’ll need to be close to your subjects for healthy signal levels - but it’s totally serviceable for the intended audience.

 

Getting your video out of the camera is cake: a USB plug swings out of the side, letting you plug the entire camera right into your Mac. The camera shows up in the Finder, where you’ll see the installer for loading the 3ivx MPEG-4 5.0 Decoder QuickTime codec on your Mac, which lets you edit and play the native AVI files that come off the Flip. Drag the movies onto a hard drive, load them up in iMovie or any other video editor, and chop away. There’s an application that makes it easy to preview, rename, and do basic edits on the videos when they’re still on the camera and then upload them directly to YouTube. This might be enticing for total newbies, but it’s of less interest to anyone comfortable with iMovie.

 

The reviewed Flip Video Ultra model has some significant advantages over the standard Flip Video model ($139.99 for 60 minutes), including double the video data rate (delivering noticeably better video quality) and a higher-resolution screen that works a bit better in outdoor lighting conditions. It also includes a tripod mounting thread, crucial for smooth video captures. And won’t someone please figure out how to hack the Flip into a webcam?

 

The bottom line. The Flip Video Ultra is simply perfect for folks who want the kind of immediate gratification they would normally get from watching television, making this a perfect gift for aspiring videographers and anyone seeking instant video enlightenment. It’s a seriously cool video gadget that delivers a big bang in a small, inexpensive package.

 

COMPANY: Pure Digital

CONTACT: www.theflip.com

PRICE: $149.99 (30 minutes recording time), $179.99 (60 minutes)

REQUIREMENTS: 1GHz G4 or Intel processor, Mac OS 10.3.9 or later, 512MB RAM

Low price. Absolute ease of use. Decent image quality.

No battery meter. Audio quality could be better.