Excellent camera but with a few buts...... (Flip F260B-UK Video Ultra Series)

Member Name: arrnoosa

Product:	Flip F260B-UK Video Ultra Series
Date:	22/06/09 (144 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple, Compact.

Disadvantages: not always good quality footage. dodgy software?

This camera is easy to summarize; EASY to use, BASIC functions, GOOD quality when close up, POOR quality when watching on TV.

I bought this from Amazon after reading other reviews and researching the market as much as possile regarding these type of camcorders. I'd probably agree with what most people say about it.....

The camera is very well packed and from unpacking to making your first video clip took me about 3mins! The camera comes with batteries (AAx2), a soft case, wrist strap and basic instuctions (thats all you need!). Unlike other more advanced cameras. it does not come with numerous cd-roms and multiple instruction leaflets!!

The camera is turned on by a slide switch at the side and the camera is instantly ready to record. The screen isn't very big but the size of the lens is great as its big enough that you don't need to be standing 5 metres away to fit people in the shot.

When you plug the camera into your PC for the first time (via its attached USB stick that flicks out from the side), it downloads its software that it needs to download, view and edit the movie clips. This takes a matter of minutes. You can then view, email or send the clips to a website (youtube etc). The email function is brilliant as it sends a link to the person that your friend would click and be taken to a webpage where they can view the movie (you can send more than 1). Great for us to keep the parents updated with clips of their grandaughter!

The quality is brilliant IF the footage has been taken fairly close up and its viewed on a computer monitor. If you are trying to take footage of someone that is further away than 5m, the image becomes a little bit more blurry on the computer screen. Also, if you use the 3x digital zoom, the image again becomes blurry. I've got a 30inch TV and the image was blurry on that. It might be better on a smaller screen but I don't think its a problem as its fine watching clips on a PC monitor.

Sound is ok but if the person in the shot is talking then they cannot be too far away from the camera if they want to be heard.

Overall its a nice compact, simple camcorder but its no substitute for a DV or DVD camcorder if you want to take perfect movies with all the functions that go with it.

For us, its perfect for taking movies of our daughter as she grows up but if we were to go travelling again, I would want a much better quality footage than this camera gives, and one that could zoom a lot more without losing quality.

* I have just sent this camera back to Amazon after failing to get the software to work properly. I got a message everytime I plugged it into my laptop to say that there was a new version of the software. After clicking it and going through the quick steps, I got an error message saying that the previous version installed was faulty and it couldn't upgrade. No matter what I did, it made no difference. I even went on the Flip website and tried to download it from there, but the 'latest' software version on their site was actually older than the original one that was on the camera!! So I ended up with an older version on my camera which required an AOL account to email clips to people. Very difficult to contact them and they were useless at getting back to me (Flip, not Amazon).

Bit of a shame really as he camera itself was fine. I have just orderd the Creative Vado to replace it so I'll be reviewing that one soon.

** My Creative Vado review is now on here.

Summary: great camera for certain uses. not for serious movie makers!

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