| As a graphics artist and animator, I am usually picky | | | | want others to copy them and re-publish as their own |
| about the camcorders I can get my hands on. What | | | | creations. |
| attracted me about Ultra Flip is the lack of wires: it | | | | You can also connect your camera directly to a TV |
| records the clips onto a USB memory stick that I | | | | set: use the remote to switch to "Line In" and you're |
| simply plug out and put it in my laptop's USB slot for | | | | connected. Hit "Play" on the camera and enjoy the |
| downloading. | | | | show! |
| With other Flip models you need an extra accessory | | | | The option "Save for email" is nice but a bit tricky: your |
| to use the USB stick, which sounded kind of | | | | mail server will most likely not allow you to send |
| cumbersome: attaching something to the camera then | | | | anything larger than 10 megabytes, so you have to |
| attaching the memory stick to that something sounds | | | | make sure you have applied enough compression to |
| weird and pointless. | | | | get below this figure, otherwise you will get a nasty |
| The USB stick delivered with the camera contains a | | | | error message without a lot of explanations. |
| program that allows you to view the videos while | | | | Another feature I liked was "Save as e-card": it adds |
| copying them on your local hard drive. I also liked this | | | | cute little cheerful borders around the video and allows |
| feature, this way I can preview the videos and only | | | | you to add text and the recipient's name and email |
| transfer the ones I like - it puts more flexibility in the | | | | address. Same considerations as above apply: make |
| process. | | | | sure your video is 10 megabytes or less, otherwise it |
| This program comes with a "share video" section, | | | | won't go through. |
| where you can upload your new clip directly to | | | | To wrap it up, Flip Video Ultra is a great camera, |
| YouTube, Metacafe, AOL or other video sharing sites | | | | meant for people without much technical knowledge, |
| without even opening your browser. More sites are | | | | who want a light and ultra portable device and make |
| definable with only a bit of technical knowledge. | | | | occasional high quality videos. It's extremely |
| You can also add effects to your video, which I have | | | | straightforward to use, anyone who has ever worked |
| used extensively for watermarking my creations. I | | | | with a camera and a computer will figure everything |
| upload lots of videos to YouTube daily, and I wouldn't | | | | out within the first five minutes. |