Flipping Brilliant (Flip Video F260N-UK Ultra Series)

Member Name: deehuff

Product:	Flip Video F260N-UK Ultra Series
Date:	29/05/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's a great little camcorder that you can carry anywhere

Disadvantages: I can't think of anything

I've had my Flip Video for almost a year. My kids bought it for my birthday last year, and it's been all over the place since then. I've used it at home and away, and have some really nice quality videos to show for it. My daughter took it with her when she cycled across China for charity, which shows how simple it is to use because she got lots of filming done at the same time as riding a bicycle.

What it looks like

It's very small and lightweight, and the casing is metal but with a rubberised skin. So it's smooth to the touch without being slippery. It's rectangular and about the size of a packet of extra long cigarettes, and easily fits in your pocket.

At the front is the lens and microphone, and at the back there is a 1.5 inch LCD screen with the controls underneath.

The controls are very straightforward. On the left is the play button and on the right is the delete button. In the middle is a red button for recording and this is surrounded by a metal plate with four markings like the points of a compass. Where North would be is a plus sign for zooming in, and at South is a minus sign for zooming out. East is an arrow pointing to the right which moves forward one recording, and West is an arrow pointing left which moves back one recording.

On one side panel is the on/off switch and an indent with a little bar for fixing the wrist strap. On the other side panel there is a hole marked 'TV' to plug in the wire to connect and play videos directly from the Flip to the TV. On the same side is the flip up USB arm, for which the Flip is named.

On the bottom is a hole so that the Flip can be screwed onto a tripod or other mount. Also on the bottom is a sliding lock which, when unlocked, allows you to slide most of the front panel off, giving you access to the two AA batteries which power this camcorder.

How it works

It's very easy to use. You just switch it on, point and press the red record button. When you want to stop, you press the red button again. If you want to play back what you've recorded, you just press the play button. If you don't like what you recorded, you press the delete button.

You can record up to one hour of video at a time, and the batteries last a long time. I use rechargeable batteries and although I've never actually timed them, they seem to last for ages before they need recharging.

To copy to your computer, you just flip up the USB arm, and insert it into a USB port in your computer. The software is built into the Flip, so apart from prompting you to make some choices, it does all the rest for you. You can also capture photos from the video.

Picture Quality

The picture quality is really good. Even playing it on my 32 inch TV, the picture was still crisp.

Where and How Much

It's on sale online and in stores, and you can get it for about £80. This time last year it cost £90, but worth every penny. We've had so much fun with it.

Summary: Everyone can be a film producer

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