- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 40 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
1.5 stars
"A wolf in sheep's clothing"
Pros: Easy to operate -- even my 4 year old niece can film videos, play them back, and delete those she doesn't want; cheap; small.
Cons: Software bugs are devastating....check the blogs on this one. the only way to save videos is to go to a pure digital service provider
Summary: 3 problems, 2 big ones:
1) If you only want to have 60 minutes of video forever, this is for you. However, if you want to download videos and save them, you can't save more than 60 minutes worth. You can "save" them to your desktop, but your camcorder will still show as full. You can delete the files you've saved in the library or delete them in the camcorder, but then they are permanently gone. Really. The intended use is taking vidoes, posting them, then deleting them....hmmmmm. Customer Service is also pretty lame...of course you can't speak with anyone, you only get an email response that is unclear.
2) Software bugs....Now my videos automatically close after 1 second of play time...quick time says it's encountered a problem...this is even with the firmware update. Please don't frustrate yourself and buy this...it's deceptive...it sounds like a great product -- I was one of the first to buy one -- and you will love the videos you shoot, but you may never be able to access them or to shoot more than 60 minutes worth. I don't know about you...but I don't like some souless corporation messing with my videos...
3) Customer support is lame...but what do you expect?
- 6 replies to this review
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I got this product for Christmas, and I have not had any problems saving or deleting videos. The built-in software has a one-click option to save the videos to your computer. And once the camera is disconnected from the computer, you can delete the videos manually on the camera itself by pushing the delete button. Once all videos are deleted from the camera, I have the full allotment of recording time available. Maybe there was a bug in an earlier version of the product that has been fixed subsequent to the reviewer's problem. In any case, I would recommend this product to anyone who needs an easily accessible camcorder that takes good quality videos.
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Thanks...Your review saved me some money and lots of frustration!!! I would neve want a video camera that won't let me save my videos, what a stupid product!!!
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Wow have things changed since July! I just used my sister's two flip ultra's at her son's wedding. WHAT FUN! Yes, there are MULTIPLE ways to save the video and clear the camera. You can either manually do it by going to my computer and selecting the drive created when you plug the camera in (not recommended without some decent computer knowledge) or you can use the FLIP software. It creates a library for you. You can save (as we did) both camera's video for the whole event (3 days and nights worth totaling over 6 hours of filming) in one library file which can then be edited. This is a REALLY neat and easy to use device. The video is not the best quality ever, but is amazing good despite lighting conditions. It's white balance is very good. I have owned professional camera equipment for 20 years. I was impressed that something that inexpensive could take such good quality video and make it so simple. At the wedding, we passed one camera around to guests. THEY LOVED IT!
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This memory issue just happened to me too (deleted vids using software and camera says is is "empty," but it only shows 40 minutes free. ***?!
I also have a Mac. Can't find an answer to this question anywhere! Have emailed Pure Digital tech support but heard nothing. Argh. -
I received a black Flip Ultra as a result of being selected to participate in Video the Vote. I'd never heard of the Flip Ultra before, so I went online to read reviews. I came across CNET's review and read the customer reviews also. I was a little alarmed, so I did a test shoot to see if I would have the same problems saving video to my hard drive. I did NOT have any problems. The only "catch" was that I had to use the program that came with the Flip Ultra to save the video to my PC. The included program walks you through the steps. The only criticism I have is that people who are not very tech savvy may not be able to FIND the videos they saved to their hard drive, because the built-in program doesn't say where they were downloaded to (My Documents/My Flip Video Library). I also had no problem deleting video from the camera. The other reviewers just aren't very tech savvy, I guess.
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This is the same thing that happened to me. The camera is a pain in the neck. Don't buy it.
Where to buy
Flip Video Ultra (60 minutes, black):
$149.00
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$149.00 | Yes |
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