Flip Video Ultra
If you ask my children at school, they’ll tell you that I like different technology and that I have quite a few different gadgets! Lately, I’ve been hearing lots about Flip Video camcorders, so I couldn’t resist and I ordered myself one (from Firebox, via cashback site Quidco), which arrived today.
The device is about the same size as an iPhone, but quite a bit thicker. It fits in the hand perfectly, with the small screen and controls on the back for operation.
I haven’t had very long to play with it, but it is incredibly easy to use. I don’t generally tend to read instructions (unless I have problems which I need to find an answer for!), but instructions were definitely not needed for this little video camera. There is an on switch at the side, and a big red button on the back which starts and stops recording.
The device has a 2Gb memory, which is enough for about an hour of recording time, and there are also play / delete buttons on the back which are handy. It all runs on 2 AA batteries, so replacing / recharging those is pretty easy too.
One of the major benefits of the camera is that you don’t need extra software to use it with a computer. Just flip out the USB connection (which tucks away inside the unit when not needed) and plug it in to your PC or Mac. I’ve spent a bit of time playing with the Mac version of the software and, again, it’s all very easy to use. There are options to view the video clips you have recorded, edit them (involving basic cropping of start / end points), and then share them. Sharing can be done by saving them to your computer, emailing them, creating an ‘online greeting card’, or uploading them to AOL Video / YouTube / MySpace or other websites.
The uploading options are very straightforward. You just enter your log in details (I tried Youtube) and the software does the rest. My first attempts failed (with no reason why), but the second attempt worked fine. I’ve never uploaded video to YouTube before, but I can definitely see myself using this to share video in future.
The quality of the video is good for such a small device and, whilst it’s definitely not HD quality, it’s very clear. There’s a zoom option, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. Here’s a short video which I took this afternoon… not the most exciting content, but it will do!
Overall, I’m quite impressed with this so far. It’s a great little machine which does its job well. I can certainly see myself using it to record clips of video when I’m out and about. It’s also going to be very handy to share video content with family and friends.
Could it be used in schools? Definitely. It looks very child friendly, and I can imagine my class of Year 5s getting to grips with it in no time. I’ve not really used the Digital Blue cameras myself, but this is certainly a good option to use with pupils.
In fact, if I’m feeling brave, I might ask some of my class to try it out and see what they think!
