Review of Flip Ultra Camcorder

Shelley Sun, 07/26/2009 - 13:14

A couple of months ago, Amazon invited me to participate in its Vine program, where customers are given books, gadgets, food, and other items, in exchange for reviews (either positive or negative). In the month that I participated, I received a couple of books, a nice laptop bag, and the second generation Flip Ultra Camcorder. I was happy to receive all the free goodies, but the Flip Ultra was an especially nice item, as I've wanted a camcorder for some time.

Flip Ultra Camcorder

The Flip Ultra, and its higher end cousin, the Flip UltraHD, is a hand held camcorder about the same size as most cellphones. It's a very simple to use gadget, and you can be taking your first videos about five minutes after you open the box.

With 4GB of memory, you can record up to two hours of videos with the Flip Ultra, which can be uploaded to your computer, and to the internet via the included software. Unlike the higher end HD device, I found the Flip Ultra worked with all of my computers, even my much older Powerbooks. You transfer videos to your computer via a pop-out USB attachment, which attaches directly to your computer, or use a USB extension, as I do (the USB extension is not included with the camcorder).

I find the camcorder to be very comfortable to hold and use. It fits into a pocket of my camera bag, so I take it with me whenever I'm out shooting photos. The Flip Ultra adjusts easily to differing light conditions, though I have found it works best in well lit indoor light, or outdoor in lightly overcast or clear days (but not in direct light or in extreme conditions of light and shadow). The LED is more than large enough to easily see what you're recording, and viewable in bright daylight.

It's an exceptional device for recording people, or anything that's approximate 5 to 15 feet from the camcorder. It would be a very good device for podcasting, or filming your daughter on the piano, or your son doing his homework. Farther out than that, though, and people become too small. There is a zoom built into the camcorder, but the resolution of the zoomed image isn't very good. I don't recommend depending on the zoom.

The camera shoots 30 frames per second, with a resolution of 640 x 480. The light sensitivity is not as good as the HD model, but sufficient in most cases. The sensor is a 1/4" VGA CMOS sensor, 5.6 µm pixels, and the bitrate is 4.0 Mbps, with an auto-adaptive algorithm. What this means is that the quality is good, but don't expect the same quality as a higher end camcorder. But then again, don't expect to shell out the same $1000.00 you'd need for higher end camcorder, either. (See the Flip Ultra camcorder spec page for more details.)

As for audio, the sound quality on the device is very good. In fact, the pickup on the device is surprisingly good, considering that the microphone is towards you, and the camcorder is such a small device.

It runs on two AA batteries, which last about 3-4 hours, filming and uploading. Included with the camera is a component cable (for connecting the camcorder directly to your TV for playback), a little carrying bag, wrist strap, batteries, and software that allows you to email videos directly, do some minor editing and store and catalog the videos, as well as upload directly to YouTube.

No, it's not an iPhone

Recently Michael Arrington wrote in Techcrunch and in The Washington Post that Flip has little chance in an iPhone World.

The new iPhone takes very good video (640 x 480). That isn't as good as the Flip, but it's still able to shoot perfectly good videos on the go (example), which is exactly what the Flip is for. And the iPhone has something that the Flip will never realistically have, cellular and wifi connectivity that lets you upload your videos immediately. No need to sync back with your base computer to edit the video and upload it. You can do basic editing right on the iPhone, and publish it to YouTube immediately. As an added bonus, that video can be geo-stamped via the phones GPS capability.

That makes it significantly more useful as a video device than the Flip, and worth the reduction in quality. You already have to make some quality tradeoffs with the Flip anyway, so if you are going to have a second video device after your iPhone, it may as well be a slightly bigger video camera that you keep in your bag. I just don't see people grabbing that Flip when they run out the door.

Actually, I do grab the Flip when I leave the house with my camera case, since it's included in a pocket of the case.

The mistake Arrington makes is that he's assuming we're all running around with high-end cellphones. Though the iPhone is popular, it is still a niche market item. What the Flip provides is a very inexpensive camcorder (I've seen prices ranging up to $128.00 US), that's extremely easy to use. It would make a great gift for new parents or old parents, alike. It would also be a nice gift for a friend or family member heading off on a long trip, or on some other new adventure.

Best of all, it doesn't come tethered to a two year cellphone contract that costs upwards of a hundred bucks a month.

Audio Slideshows

I found one other purpose for the Flip Ultra, and that's as an audio recording device.

I've long been interested in trying my hand at audio slideshows, but didn't have a voice recorder small enough to carry around with me. The Flip Utra is small enough to fit in my camera bag, and the good sound pickup works about as well as a small audio recording device. When I get home, I separate the video and audio (using Quicktime Pro), and then use the video part to help me catalog the locations associated with the sound files. A simple sound only recorder wouldn't provide that visual cue.

Frankly, I've had a gas with the little device. There may be a day when I'll want to go with a higher end camcorder, but the Flip is more than sufficient for my current needs.

You can see some of my playing around with the Flip Ultra out at my new Youtube channel (YouTube channel...my, aren't I precious). My first try at creating an audio slideshow is below, with photos and sound grabbed from the Shaw Nature Center, just outside of St. Louis. Typically you have a different sound file for each slide, but it's a start.

Watching this Week

Shelley Thu, 07/09/2009 - 12:03

Good times for science fiction fans. This week marks the return of the popular series, Eureka, on the newly named SyFy channel. No, not "see-fee", "Sci Fi".

This week also marks the debut of the new series, Warehouse 13. If you don't have the SyFy channel on cable, the pilot for the show can be found at Hulu, at the SyFy show site, and also available, for free, in HD quality, at Amazon Video on Demand, and iTunes.

I watched the show using my Roku box and via Amazon VOD. The digital quality was excellent, the streaming more than sufficient.

Warehouse 13 is about a secret government-run warehouse in the badlands of South Dakota, which contains all manner of supernatural and super science oddities. The main characters are a mysterious woman, known as Mrs. Frederick (played by C. C. H. Pounder), who recruits members for an organization to locate, and bring back, whatever dangerous oddities still exist in the wild. The crew consists of Arthur "Artie" Nielsen (played by Saul Rubinek), the long time team member, who is newly joined by two Secret Service agents: Peter Lattimer (played by Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (played by Joanne Kelly). He's loose, she's uptight, and yes, this has been done before. However, they pull it off well, especially the Bering character. And Saul Rubinek is excellent in the show, taking his character, Artie, beyond the typical mad genius who is above emotional turmoil. The man gets mad, looses his cool, worries about people, but still manages to come off quirky, and fun.

The pilot has the team hunting the jeweled comb of Lucretia Borgia, allowing for a strong female protagonist, making a nice change from the typical science fiction program, with male or monster baddies.

Will you like Warehouse 13? If you like Steampunk, Eureka at its more serious, X-Files, at its lighter and quirkier moments, you'll probably like Warehouse 13. At a minimum, you can check out the pilot for free.

Other things to watch this week:

  • Watching "Maxed Out" on Netflix Watch Now. "Maxed Out" is a documentary on the credit card business, and is both fascinating, and more than a little chilling. If you don't have access to Netflix Watch Now, it's also available as Amazon VOD, and on iTunes. Recommended.
  • Watching the Doctor Who special show, "The Next Doctor" via iTunes on my AppleTV. This show features the tenth Doctor Who, David Tennant, who will be ending his stint this year. A pity, too, as he was an excellent Doctor. Frankly, I'm not sure about the next, much younger Doctor. It's an interesting experiment on the part of the series, but could backfire. Regardless, "The Next Doctor" is prime Doctor Who, and any Doctor fan will want to view it. It's free for you folks in the UK. The rest of us will have to get it through iTunes, or via DVD or TV (BBC America).

  • Watching "The 3D Sun", on Hulu. This 30 minute documentary put out by NASA covers Stereo, positioning satellites in parallel, equidistant from the earth, in order to provide a 3D look at the Sun's activity. The show features excellent interviews, a nice overview of how the Sun's activity impacts on the us, and wonderful visuals. Of course, what we've come to expect from NASA. If you can't access Hulu, you can access the video at the STEREO Mission site. It's also been released to theaters as 3D, but I hate the stupid glasses. Watch it on your computer instead.

    3d Sun

  • For all you old Star Trek fans, You can access shows at YouTube, as well as the CBS.com site, in addition to accessing on Watch Now, and on iTunes. In other words, there's always some Star Trek to watch. It has to be better than watching the latest episode of "You Can Dance!"

Happy viewing.

Dr. Horrible and Twittering Under the Table

Shelley Sun, 07/27/2008 - 09:06

The sparkling new Tor.com site has coverage of the Dr. Horrible panel at the SDCC (Comic-Con).

All the cast members showed up, including "Penny" who spent the first part of the panel Twittering under the table—an event sure to follow her throughout her career.

Whedon has hinted that there will be more Dr. Horrible shows. Not surprising considering the popularity of the shows. Hopefully Dr. Horrible won't go the same route as the "Sanctuary" web-based series—staged to use the enthusiasm of web fans only as a means to grease the way to a "real" show on a "real" TV channel (more on Sanctuary in a later posting).

Josh Whedon Strikes Again

Shelley Fri, 07/18/2008 - 15:57

I'm predisposed to like anything from Josh Whedon, but his newest, an online webisode show, Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog, is the cat's jammies.

The 3-part show is hosted through Hulu, and can also be downloaded through iTunes. The first two shows are available, and the third goes up tomorrow. If you're a fan of Firefly, keep an eye out for "Captain Hammer", and you'll see an old friend. However, everyone in the show is exceptional, including Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Felicia Day as Penny, Dr. Horrible's secret love, and, yes, that is Nathan Fillion as an outstanding Captain Hammer.

What an absolute treat. And to add to the enjoyment, also check out the fan site. But check the show out quickly, because according to the fan site, the freebie shows will end July 20th.

(via Doug)

The Mushroom People

Shelley Thu, 12/14/2006 - 00:00

movie posterI rented Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People and I can comfortably say it is the oddest movie I have ever seen. Directed by the father of all the Godzilla movies, Ishirô Honda, the story is about a group of city people out for a yacht ride who get caught in strange weather and become stuck on an island. They find another ship, obviously abandoned from long ago, full of research equipment and covered in spores. As they look for food, they find mushrooms everywhere, but forewarned by the ship's logs, try to avoid eating them because they could be dangerous.

They camp on the ship and suddenly one night, they hear footsteps approach their door. Shining a light toward the door, a creature enters, shaped vaguely human but covered with mushroom like growths. That's the secret of the island: everything eventually consumes the mushrooms, and in doing so, becomes itself a mushroom–including the people from a previously stranded ship.

The story ostensibly focuses on the group trying to survive–trying to find enough food other than the mushrooms, trying not to be attacked by the mushroom people, and trying to find away off the island. More specifically, though, like other of Honda's movies, the movie is a fairly strong condemnation of the modernization of Japan: the bright lights, night clubs, and other adoption of decedent western ways.

In his review of the movie, Jaspar Sharp writes:

Honda portrays the way in which the rapid economic growth of Japan has resulted in a population divorced from these cultural and natural origins. The rigid mechanical efficiency of a modern society is revealed to be merely illusionary, as the hierarchy crumbles steadily the further this ship of fools is removed from it. Carried away by the forces of nature on a freak ocean tide, the film's irreversible conclusion is that of evolution turning full circle; man becomes mushroom as he reverts back to the primordial sludge.

Sharp also mentions the almost heavy handed references to the drug culture that was just beginning to take root in most modern cultures. Not only do the mushrooms turn people into creatures half-living, half-fungus, they also exert a hallucinogenic effect; making the people both fey and dangerous.

Where I may go further than Sharp in the analogy between the perils of the island and the perils of modern society on Japan is the movie's odd focus on the two women characters. One is a nightclub singer: glamorous, brave, willing to do most things; very uninhibited. The other is a student who is shy and proper; uncomfortable in unfamiliar circumstances, and dressed demurely in soft and quite safe pastels.

In the beginning, when the group was safely at sea and in no danger, the men noticed the singer and her obvious beauty and allure, admiring her boldness. However, once on the island, and as time progressed, the singer became rejected in favor of the studious, 'proper', young Japanese woman.

I would say that not only was Fonda condemning modern society, he was making a specific point of condemning society's influence on young Japanese women.

The contentiousness between the crew members, the odd mish-mash between scenes on the island and scenes of the Tokyo nightlife, and the effective background scenery–where no attempt is made to 'seem' real–make this a movie that, at a minimum, captures your attention if it doesn't capture your interest.