Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 636-640 of 891
 Check the System Requirements!!! September 3, 2009
Jamie Birstol (Montrose, CA United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you are considering buying the Flip HD, check your computer to make sure it meets the minimum system requirements needed to interact with the camera!!
I have a very nice Sony Vaio laptop that was purchased less than a year ago, so I just assumed there would be no problem. My Flip HD was never able to connect, and when I called the Flip help line, I was told that I needed a faster processor. None of the computers in my home or office (and I upgrade almost yearly) met these requirements (Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz processor or faster).
I am now returning the camera and getting the regular version, which will work with my computer.
Funny thing, the help desk guy I spoke with had the same problem when he bought the HD version and had to downgrade. I think they should make the requirements more obvious if even their employees miss it.
The Flip - Simple, with all the good and bad that comes with that November 17, 2009
T. Bannock (Springfield, MA United States)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Just got the Flip Ultra HD and filmed a video interview with a band after a concert, as well as some random stuff around the apartment.
The Good: This thing is dead simple to use, and the quality is really good, so you can't go wrong there. If you want to film something on the go, or use a tripod for some static shots, and then immediately combine some of the shots you take or just send them right along to YouTube or someone's email, you can't go wrong.
The Bad: The software sucks if you want to do anything other than above. Not only that, but if you play around with the videos before deciding what you want to do with them (pull them off the Flip and put 'em on your harddrive; try to edit in another program; etc.) good luck to you, because you've just screwed the pooch. The Flip stops recognizing its own videos. The software can do almost nothing in terms of editing beyond the aforementioned combining of videos. Getting the videos (.MP4 format) into other programs is often a hassle. The HD is enough to require a fairly up-to-date system in order to watch the videos smoothly and fool around with them.
Summary: The Flip's simple and fun. If you're a techy, you can probably figure out work arounds for the problems, and if you do so, then you've got a formidable portable camera. If you're not very technologically adept and you have in the whispers of a thought that you might want to do more than just combine two videos (what if a shot comes out slightly wrong, or a random sound screws up what you were going for, or any other number of issues that you want to edit out easily?), then avoid the Flip. There are other options that are more versatile than the Flip.
Helpful Tip: If you do like the Flip, download Google's Picassa. It may not be the best software ever, but it's got a leg up in some areas and is pretty easy to get the hang of, as well as being free. Personally, it's what I use currently, but I'll definitely be investing in something more robust in the near future. Picassa's a great starting point though, a hundred times better than the Flip's own software.
You have to be too far from your subject September 21, 2009
Dagan Henderson (Walnut Grove, CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
What makes this camera great is its
-portabilty
-video quality
-price
What makes it difficult to use is its
-so-so microphone
-narrow angled lens
I love this camera, so don't get me wrong, but it's missing two things. First, I have no problem having an only okay microphone built in, but I'd really like a mic. jack for a better mic. Second, the lens is too narrow. You have to e 7 or more feet away from your subject to get a decent torso shot. The two problems really combine in a public area because you're too far from your subject for their voice to drown out the ambient noise.
Bad USB connection December 16, 2009
Matthew Golub (Long Island, NY)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Flip Ultra HD will only connect to a laptop or a MAC desktop via USB. If you have a Desktop PC, and your USB ports are a foot off the floor, and you wish to use the Flip UltraHD, you will have to buy a separate USB cable in order to connect the camera to your computer, because you can't connect something as heavy as this camera and have it dangling from the front of your computer while uploading. And you're certainly not going to want to sit there and hold it.
Major Problem with Supplied Rechargable Battery January 7, 2010
M. Fitzpatrick (Maryland, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
First, I never got to put the cam through it's paces as I could not get the supplied rechargable battery to charge. I got the wall charger for quicker charging and went to charge it the first time. During charging, the record light is red and when charging is complete, it goes out. For the first 30 minutes, everything appeared to be going fine, and then I noticed the light was blinking. I turned the Flip over and on the screen was a colorful RED thermometer and the words saying "I'm too Hot ... charging paused". I felt the Flip and it was only slightly warm. I unplugged it a few minutes and waited for it to cool down for a few minutes and then tried to restart the charging process via the USB port. Almost as soon as the charging restarted, I got the same warning message again.
I Googled "battery heating problems Flip UltraHD" and found several reports of the same problem dating all the way back to this summer. The concensus from those reporting the problem was that Flip customer service had no clue what was going on and requested most return their Flips and that there was no solution ..... other than not using the rechargable battery pack that came with it and use stand alone AA batteries. Flip now has a response to this problem stating that if you see this warning, it's normal and just leave it plugged in and after it cools off, the charging will restart, but may take several hours (apparently it will start, stop, start, stop, etc.)
Well, anyone who uses electronics with built in rechargable batteries (cell phone, camera, cordless phone, iPod, etc.) knows this is not normal and also knows that during recharge, the battery packs typically get a little, to quite warm. My guess is that they built a large batch of these with either a bad (wrong value) component in the temp sense circuit, or the design trip point it just too low for normal operation.
Anyway, if you don't mind paying for a recharable battery pack that does not charge, then go ahead and order away. I felt like I paid for one that should work and it didn't, so I returned mine to Amazon for refund. According to my search on Google for this problem, there have been a very large number of returns for this exact problem. I just wanted all to know if this problem before you made your purchase.
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