I have tried. I swear. But there is too much info out there, too many of them and too many differing opinions.

Are these things even worth spending money on?
If so, what are the best.

Or, should I just save the money and get a bigger one. And if so what are good ones that are not a TON of money.

I want to take vids of the dogs. Around the house and yard for the most part so I am not worried about a ton of memory.

Wadda you guys think?

'nuff said !

We just ordered a bunch for the university where I teach, but I'm not sure what kind. I can find out, though. The students love them....I'm told the pocket camcorders are WAY easier to use and upload.

I went with the Sony PRS350SC and I am VERY pleased with it. No wifi but I can live with that. I really like that it will do many formats so you are not locked in. Reading the Amazon reviews also turned me on to some free ware to help manage things. Calibre. You can use it with all readers. The 350 has a touch screen and is small and light. You can also make the font big for old eyes like mine :)

So will you post a link to your doggie videos? :)

...on my Flip Ultra HD "pocket" Camcorder!

Hi Susan...hope you and yours had a Happy Xmas day!

All of these so-called pocket camcorders have their own particular idiosyncracies and good and bad points and it seems that the Sony Bloggie is the latest greatest iteration but i'd still stick with my Flip.

I too have been thinking of "stepping up" to a larger camera like a Sony Handycam with all the bells and whistles etc but after all is said and done when i want to have access to easy video that's not a bigger bulkier camera i still keep coming back to my Flip Ultra HD because of ease of use, easy to carry, quick on, surprisingly good video in outdoors situations and indoor lower light but most of all simple to use straight-forward VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE that will really make or break your enjoyment from wanting to use or NOT use your vidcam. Some of these other propietary editing software in other vidcams can be really complicated and just basically keep you from using and enjoying your vidcam.

And Flip's editing software is very easy and fun to use. You can easily make movies by piecing together short little vids you shoot (like you i'm always shooting our dogs in the backyard and house) very simply and there's also a "magic movie" feature that basically does it for you if you select the vidclips.

Again i feel that easy software is more of a consideration than even gaining a little bit better quality and the Flip Ultra HD (mine is kinda a gray-black-silver housing with 8gig built in and 2-hours of recording time which is plenty as you're always downloading it to your computer or you can easily delete right in the camera and make sure it is the one that takes AA batteries either rechargable or regular ones which makes it very easy to always have batteries available) makes it really easy to share with friends and family as you can email it or post it on you tube it's so easy i do it all the time.

Anyway just my 2-cents worth as i've been through 3 generations of Flip vidcams since they first came out and have used them in all kind of filming conditions indoors/outdoors activities with very good results on family trips or just shooting candid video of whatever. By the way it also has the best audio of any i've tested. The only real downside i've found is that in some low light conditions because the 2x zoom is digital you can sometimes get a picture that is not as sharp as it should be but outdoors or in good light it's not an issue. I think the only other issue was finding the right USB cord with a female connector on one end and a male on the other to hook it up to my computer via USB.

Another easy option is an I-Phone4 if you have one which is comparable to the Flip but the editing software on Flip is still so easy to use i prefer the Flip.

Here's a good site where you can actually compare specs and features on different vidcams...when you hit the home page and see the listing of the top 10 vidcams make sure that you scroll down to the "more camcorder reviews" and go about 2 or 3 pages deep and you'll find the Flips listed there and again you can compare with similar other "pocket" vidcams.

+ i'd be more than happy to send you a vid sample through e-mail to give you an idea if you want to shoot me your best e-mail to do so.

Best of luck...i know it's daunting with all the choices out there but so far i've been happy with the capabilities of quick easy video with my Flip Ultra HD.

Or so it seems to me...



http://www.camcorderinfo.com/?adwords&gclid=COWTxbXjiqYCFQgHbAodvy7log

and found this review on Amazon. 4.0 out of 5 stars Great Basic Camera, somewhat lacking features for power users, November 7, 2010
By T. Simons

http://www.amazon.com/Flip-UltraHD-Video-Camera-Generation/dp/B0040702HA/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=502394&s=photo

I am concerned about what he says about resizing and how long it took to upload to Youtube. And if you will need other kinds of editing ware.... And just what is "Flip Port"? I do like the idea of a wide angle add on. And if you do use some other ware can you get a still from one frame? And um, like what other kind of ware would one get/use/buy? I am new period to vid.

Hi Susan,

I think this guy with his review is overcomplicating the issue for people just looking to have the capability to shoot simple video and getting into add-ons that you really don't need for your purposes.

Some people just like to play with gadgets kinda like "rooting" or "jailbreaking" their cell phone which works perfectly fine right out of the box for you and me but they for some unknown reason need more control over it to customize it to their liking.

All i can think by what he means by "flip port" is the little USB arm that "flips" out of the camera so you can connect your Flip vidcam to your laptop or computer.

As Occasional Geek says the upload speed depends on your own computer capabilities and is really no problem. You don't need to do any "resizing or compressing" as the Flip software does everything for you. If i have a really large file to upload to youtube or email to someone i just set it up to upload when i'm not doing anything on the computer or going to be and it will be done when you come back...never such a sense of urgency that you need to wait for it to upload when you're just sharing vids with friends and family.

YES!...the easy to use FlipShare software editing allows you to take a still picture out of any video clip you have filmed and YES you can go frame by frame until you find just the right photo that is what you want to capture... and then you can send that to anyone as a jpeg...very easy to do.

I'd like to bear you my testimony that because of the Flip Ultra HD's ease of use and software capabilities i "feel" it is exactly what you may be looking for in a simple point-and-shoot video cam for quickie videos around the house and when you travel. I know it and i know that god knows it and i can not deny it that this has been my own personal experience!!!

Or so it seems to me...

My son has a Flip. He took some videos at Christmas Time and posted them on his website. The quality of the video and the sound is good, and the unit is easy to use.

The one thing I don't like is the lack of an optical zoom. The Flip has a 2X digital zoom, but no optical zoom. I think that having a good 8X or 10X optical zoom is highly desirable.

My digital camera is a Canon Powershot S2 IS. Yes it is a medium sized camera. It has a 10X optical zoom and a 4X digital zoom, for a combined 40X zoom. Sometimes I see cats wandering loose in our back yard. They are clearly somebody's pet just out for some fresh air. I have taken photos and videos of cats that are 60 feet away and with the zoom the image fills the screen. If I only had a Flip with a 2X zoom, I would hardly even be able to see the cat.

Here is a review for that camera.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/

They are selling on e-Bay for well under $100, which is considerably less than the cost of a Flip.

Then I run it through the weak noise filter in Handbrake and compress to x264. I'd like to have a quality HD video recorder, but I know I'll never use it because it's not convenient to carry two cameras around with me.

I've been researching mini camcorders for the past couple of weeks and I'm going to go with the Kodak PlaySport Zx3. Consumer Reports gave it a better rating than the Flip Ultra HD. Amazon reviews are 4 out of 5 stars (same as Flip Ultra). The clincher for me is that it is waterproof down to 10 feet. I'll be able to film my kids at the water park with no worries.

Shot by the older Flip WITHOUT the video stabilization on the model you're looking at.

The very first video is a little rough, but Chuck seems to get the hang of it a bit later in the series.

BTW, Flip port is flip speak for the ability to plug in proprietary external microphones, battery packs, and other to be announced accessories.

Drawbacks: No SD card slot, 8gb ram equals 2 hours 720P hd video, then you have to transfer the file(s) to the computer.

Max record resolution is 720P, latest Kodak is 1080P. Honestly, I can't tell the difference on displays 32 inch and smaller, so your that might not be a problem for you.

Reviews. Take with a grain of salt. Rendering or conversion time and upload time is not dependent on the camera. It is set by the speed of your computer and your internet access upload speed.

Example. I have one 6 year old computer that takes 7 hours to create a DVD. My latest computer will do the same job in 72 minutes. The fellow "Chuck" that created the 720P videos in the link below take roughly 6 minutes in length and 90 megs in size. With my upload speed, it would take about an hour per video. Again, it's not the camera that controls the speed of conversion and upload, it's your pc.

Needed extra software. The mac should be able to create a DVD natively. The PC using Windows Moviemaker (XP and later) will likely need a helper program to convert the mp4 files into a usable format. They aren't horribly expensive, around 30 to 50 bucks. There are a couple of absolutely free DVD creator programs for Windows, but they won't edit. You plug in your file and you get a DVD, raw and uncut.

Corgipower85's videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2fWAE5Mme8

Awesome sound on part 32:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn5dxbYkwDg

I think the vid defaults to 360, so click on 360p in the lower right and view the same video in 720p, full screen.



If you want more power, more options, read the review on the Kodak Zi8 at Cnet.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/kodak-zi8-pocket-video/4505-6500_7-33740624.html

If the link doesn't work, Google Cnet Flip vs Kodak

Pay attention to the cons. Doesn't work well with the Mac.

And it had some horrible reviews. It seems the software is hard to use and is an odd format. There were also a lot of comments about bad customer service at Kodak. So where this one has still shots, that would be really nice, I am not sure it would be worth it. Also, by the time you add in the high speed card it is a lot more money....

WHY is the price for the white SOOO much less than the black?!?!?!?!!?!

And any opinions on the Flip Slide?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2010 03:09PM by Susan I/S.

You gotta be kidding me here...YOU of all people are asking that question???

Don't you know that the Lamanite version is so much more desirable than the "pure (white) and delightsome" version!!!

Really i haven't got a clue...maybe the white one starts looking dirty after a while while the black one doesn't...who knows...personal preference i guess...would you rather have a white cell phone or a black cell phone?

Just make sure it's the Flip Ultra HD with the ability to use AA batteries if you don't want to keep recharging the batteries.

Or so it seems to me...

On Amazon, the 2nd Generation white one is $149.99. The 3rd Generation black one is $179.99 while the 3rd Gen. white is $160.

I have no idea why the white is $20 less. I'm thinking of getting the black one, though. It would be great to use on my travels. I'll go check it out at the local Walmart :)

TG

Cool! I'm going to get one when there's a good sale on them somewhere. I'm satisfied enough with the reviews, and it sounds soooooo easy to use. I'm getting my daughter a German Shepherd puppy in March and she'll be able to use it very easily.

I remember the first camcorder we had. It was big, bulky and heavy, but we were so thrilled with the new technology and loved taking videos of our kids. Now to have a video recorder that you can literally put in your pocket is just amazing :)

TG

179.00, free shipping, and included are the two accessories I wanted, the tripod and the power adapter.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830246060

Then the extra battery from Amazon for 23.00 and free shipping.

Found this nice protective skin
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400183379703&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Looks like that's what I'll be doing. We'll have to exchange vids of our pups :)

TG

And I wanna SEE your pup not just vids!!!!

Pups are due mid-Jan. so we'll get him or her mid-March. By then the weather will be a little more reasonable :P

TG

We bought my daugter a Flip camera and she LOVES it. Takes wonderful videos of our granddaughter in Chicago. The reviews above are helpful, too.

I just bought myself a black Flip UltraHD (the 3rd generation 8gb/2hour model) and love it! I preferred the tinier size of the Flip Mino, but the one BIG con with that model is you can't change out the battery pack with a backup (or 3 regular lithium batteries) if your charge runs out while you're out and about shooting. The UltraHD serves my needs perfectly - and SIMPLY. I plan on getting an extra battery pack shortly. (Be aware that the battery pack for the 1-hour UltraHD is different than the one for the 2-hour UltraHD. I was at Best Buy and they sold me an extra 1-hour battery pack and I got to my home 175 miles away and realized it was the wrong battery pack!)

The UltraHD comes with one rechargeable battery pack, a wrist strap and a bag for carrying the camera. I purchased a Lowepro "Hipshot 20" bag separately and love it. It fits the camera perfectly and has thicker-weight material than the bag that came with the camera. It closes with a drawstring and attached is a handy carabiner. (See the reviews at Amazon.)

You probably shouldn't be videotaping that stuff. It could come back to haunt some day. :)

And dude - I am TOO OLD for that! You bad bad boy :P

I'm getting the black Flip from newegg with the free stuff. Ordered the skin from ebay and the battery pack from Amazon.

My daughter wants me to video her dancing and put it on Youtube. She's cute when she dances so maybe I will :)

TG

Now you can teach me how to use it ;)

Someone told me that it's easy enough for their 7 year old to use so I'm thinkin' you'll have no problems ;o

TG

They sell em at Costco now.