Pure Digital Flip Ultra Easy Camcorder Review
By David Kender
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
October 03, 2007
Pure Digital turned the camcorder industry on its head with the release of the Flip camcorder earlier this year. The concept was simple: a cheap camcorder, dead-simple to operate, that simplifies the process for uploading video to YouTube and other video sharing sites. The response was overwhelmingly positive, which is likely to continue with the upgraded Flip Ultra (1GB version $149 / 2GB version $179). The Flip Ultra keeps the bare bones approach, but improves on the upload process with built-in editing software. For those frustrated with the complexity of modern electronics, this may finally be the ticket.
Before discussing the soft and cuddly aspects of the Flip Ultra, we must address the seriously deficient quality of the video. Everything about this camcorder, from the design to the price, should scream a warning to the savvy consumer. The Flip Ultra is outfitted with low quality parts, then squeezes out what little quality was there through compression. To put it simply, imagine what most YouTube videos look like: grainy, distorted, and pixilated. Most of those videos probably looked good in their original format, but were compressed for the limited bandwidth of online video. The Flip Ultra cuts out the middleman and performs most of the compression in-camera. This is fine for YouTube, but will look very poor on your television.
Part of the Flip Ultra’s simplicity stems from its complete lack of standard camcorder features. There are virtually no manual controls – no focus, no exposure, no Scene modes. There are four clearly-labeled buttons on the back. The big red button in the center starts and stops recording. The play button plays clips. The trashcan button deletes them. The directional arrows skip through the clips, and the plus and minus buttons operate the 2x digital zoom. Navigation does not get simpler than this.
The camcorder gets its name from the flipping action of its USB arm, which plugs directly into the computer. Unfortunately, the millions of people with awkward or inaccessible ports on their computers will have to purchase a USB extension cord. Pure Digital plans to offer these soon through its online store, but they do not ship with the camcorder.
Built-in editing software is the major upgrade from the Flip to the Flip Ultra. Upon first connection, the camcorder installs a portion of the software onto the computer. After that, any time the Flip Ultra is connected, video clips can be transferred to the hard drive, edited, burned to DVD, e-mailed, or uploaded to online video share sites. Like the camcorder, the software’s interface is extraordinarily basic. It also works quite well, and really does simplify the YouTube upload process. It should come as no surprise that the editing tools themselves are rudimentary. More advanced users can find dozens of inexpensive editing programs online or in stores. The camcorder comes equipped with an A/V port to watch playback footage on a TV.
The Flip Ultra records to internal, non-removable flash memory. There are two versions of the camcorder. The 1GB version stores about 30 minutes of video, and the 2GB version holds 60 minutes. Flash memory is shock resistant and stable, but unfit for long-term storage. Be sure to archive the footage on a DVD or storage drive.
The Flip camcorder has succeeded because it taps into a large niche of budget-conscious technophobes who want to be part of the online video community. By stripping away all but the essential act of recording video, it managed to produce the cheapest, easiest camcorder to date. True, it lacks many commonly found features, adequate video quality being chief among them. Yet it makes no argument to the contrary, which is refreshing. The Flip Ultra delivers on its promise— easily uploaded videos at a budget price.
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