06.The Flip video ultra series
The Flip video ultra series
Price: $237
Flash memory system
Website www.edsoft.com.au or www.itmadesimple.com
It's not a HD camcorder, can't capture video in widescreen (16:9) mode and does not have an optical zoom lens.It only has a 2GB internal memory with no expansion and can't take still photos at all. It also scored worse than any of the models CHOICE tested. For full results, see the table. However, this hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the most popular video cameras worldwide.
Good points
- Excellent battery performance.
- Very good start up time.
- Very good autofocus in low light.
- Good video applications built into the model.
- Quiet operation with very little motor drive noise.
Bad points
- No optical zoom.
- No optical image stabiliser.
- No still photo mode.
- Poor image quality indoors and outdoors.
CHOICE Verdict
Proving that sometimes quality is not the most important aspect to success, the Flip ultra is tiny at only 150 grams and can easily fit in a shirt pocket. It is simple to use and with a USB plug integrated into the camera it’s easy to download video to a PC and share movies on the Internet via YouTube. At only $237 it's also the most affordable video camera in the test.