it's a digital camcorder that's popular
pocketable and it just might flip you
out I'm Bryant on for cnet.com and the
product spotlight is fix and focus on
pure digital split video trap the flip
video ultra is a real simple
plug-and-play digital camcorder that's
easy to use and it's the perfect
camcorder for the YouTube generation it
captures video at 640 by 480 at 30
frames per second which is considered TV
quality and its improved video is
superior to other cameras in its class
the flip video ultra stores its video
clips on its internal memory the one
gigabyte model holds 30 minutes of video
and the 2 gigabyte model holds an hour
of footage but there's no expansion card
slot it comes in five different color
schemes and it's a narrower design from
previous models but its thickness is
still about the same you won't have a
bunch of menus and settings to mess with
because that's not what this camera is
for it's basically a point-and-shoot
camera now on the back side you'll see
the 1.5 inch LCD and its controls
there's the main record button and the
directional pad is used to zoom in or
out while recording or to change volume
and scroll through your saved movies
you'll have the power switch on this
side and over here this is where you
flip out its USB connection it's super
easy to get the video off this guy to
the flip video is PC and Mac compatible
and the software lives on the flips
internal memory so Q can connect it to
any computer and you'll be able to use
it wherever you go the software lets you
navigate and save the clips to your hard
drive and one of the cool features is
the ability to instantly publish your
Clips directly to YouTube or AOL video
now I've been able to use this for a
while and the thing that impressed me
the most is its video and audio quality
especially for its 150 dollar price tag
I use it front row at a concert and when
I turn the camera towards my friend and
me you could still hear us through all
the noise
colors are pretty vibrant and it shoots
really well in low-light conditions -
it's the best-selling camcorder at
Amazon and even Oprah uses it I don't
know if that's a selling point but where
does it need to improve it's screaming
to have an expansion card slot for
additional memory if you take this on a
trip sixty minutes just isn't good
enough I also think the unit could be a
whole lot slimmer currently it uses two
double-a batteries and that's a lot of
unnecessary bulk and weight also when I
zoomed in tight during the concert you
could see a lot more visible artifacting
when I replayed the video so you're
better off getting closer to your
subject instead of using it zoom I'm
Bryant on for cnet.com and pure digital
flip video ultra is a great on the go
pick up and shoot camcorder especially
for its price and it's the leader in the
budget digital camcorder space
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