Please see Cisco's response, below. I am glad Cisco has responded.
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I almost bought one of these until I read the fine print.
The "real" Flip UltraHAD 3rd Generation has 60 fps recording speed for better action shots AND electronic stabilization - two BIG features.
I can give up the 4 gb of extra storage on the "regular" model, but his "Black Friday" model blowing out at Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon strikes me as a "come on" - it omits the two essential features that make the 3rd Generation Flips of interest - the higher frame rate (60 fps vs 30 fps on this one) and the stabilization. Read the specs and blurbs on the REAL model you need to be looking at:
Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Blue, 4 GB, 1 Hour NEWEST MODEL
I double checked the specs on the Flip website - although the 1 hour and 2 hour Flips have identical names, they are NOT the same quality camera. The 2 hours has image stabilization and 60 fps (frames per second), while the 1 hour camera does not have stabilization and only shoots 30 fps.
I can't stand it when companies pull stuff like this.
I couldn't ask for an easier lighter more user friendly camcorder than this! This camera is so easy to use it's amazing. Just point and shoot. Then preview your videos or upload to your computer. The Flip software for your computer helps you customize and make adorable movies to be burned to a cd and saved forever! This camer is so easy, I convinced my principal to purchase three for our school. Now kids make video projects! I even video taped our SGA speeches and created a movie with music and credits. Sure, there are plenty out there that can do all this, but for the price and the ease, the Flip is the bomb!
I really am impressed with this camera. It films GREAT! Very clear, many FPS, and it blocks out background noise very well. It was deffinatly worth the $99 dollars! Trust me, DONT listen to the bad reviews, it really is a great camera.
Ease of use: 5 stars
Responsiveness: 5 stars
Performance in low light: 4 1/2 stars
Video quality: for the price 4 1/2 stars
Audio Quality: 3 1/2 stars
Youtube friendly when it comes to audio: 2 stars
For you musicians and public speakers, (I am both), here is how I feel about the audio. First off, it has stereo mics which pick up surprisingly good. Nice separation. But, unfortunately it records too loudly (I got two Flip UltraHD 2 3Rd Generation thinking the first was defective so I replaced it). So the audio breaks up and you can hear distortion. Even lowering the volume in an audio editor after recorded (since there are not volume controls on the unit) doesn't remove the distortion. And I believe that distortion is the main problem once Youtube gets a hold of the file. After upload, the audio depreciates to the point that you can hear a phaser type sound, pops, cracks and digital chatter. (Have had all that happen to a few singing and speaking videos and my husband's speaking videos.)
So, if you're gonna use the camera to catch some scenery and pick up the sounds of nature, you'll probably love it. But for recording music videos or speaking videos(close up), and then uploading them to Youtube you may not.
One more thing, the 4GB camera is not the same as the 8GB one. The 8GB (which is the one most review sites review) records in 60 FPS and 30 FPS. The 4GB only 30 FPS. Also, according to the Flip Specs page, the mics are different too. The 4GB (the one I have) mentions that they are Wide-range stereo omni-directional. The 8GB is Wide-range stereo but no omni-directional. Don't know if the omni-directional causes the audio overloads because of what it picks up in the room.
P.S.
IN RESPONSE TO THE MANUFACTURES COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW:
Hey Matt. Great info for future buyers.
About the mics, I got my info about the difference between the mics from this Flip spec page. (Although the link may not show up. This is my second attempt trying to post the link here. If Amazon won't allow it, you'll just see brackets).
Ok, here is the link from Flip Knowledge base.
[[...]]
You can see that the specs for the mic on the Flip UltraHD 1hr has a different description than the rest of the models listed. And, having compared the audio with the Flip Ultra 2hr (which I had in my possession for a week) and the Flip UltraHD II 1hr, there was a definite difference. The Ultra HD let in much more sound.
Anyhow, yeah, I heard about the FlipPort feature they added to the even newer models than the one I have. Sounds like a great feature to add accessories including an external mic. Too bad I bought mine before this was available. But good for the future buyers.
All the best - Flip Ultra Hd - Flip Video'
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