Getting to know my Flip camera

I purchased a Flip Ultra right around Christmas.  I am just now getting to work on learning how to use it!!  So this is a step by step newbie experience report.  Mine is black, and they are actually on sale from amazon.com right now!  Mine came with a velvet drawstring bag, and I also purchased the tripod.  I have not used the tripod yet.  It uses AA batteries and does not require an SD chip.

When you record, you simply hold the camera in your hand (it is about the size of a cell phone), push the record button and start talking.  The screen on the back is quite bright and easy to view.  When you are finished recording, you press the record button again to stop.  You can certainly take multiple clips and plan to edit them to combine or trim later.

When attempting to create the movie, I began by making the mistake of just trying to use the video straight off the camera without installing the software.  This did not work because the proper driver/codec was not installed.  I think this is going to be a problem, because my students work in a computer lab and are not able to install software.

At least if you intend to use Windows Movie Maker, the proper codec (3ivx_d4_451_win.exe), is available on the Flip camera itself.  I found this blog post helpful with respect to using the Flip and Windows Movie Maker.  I elected to go ahead and install the video editing software that comes with the camera.  There is a free upgrade available from Flip.  Once you install the driver, whether you do that with the Flip editing software or simply by installing the driver itself, you are ready to edit your video files.

Here is my movie.

All in all, I found the camera easy to use and the audio volume was certainly acceptable when you are within a couple of feet of the camera.  If you were trying to record a group of students from several feet away, you might need to boost the volume in your video editing program.  I will have to experiment with that later.

There is definitely a limit to zooming in.  Once you get within a few inches of an object, the focus is poor.  From a foot away, it was acceptable.

The verdict?  I think this camera (now approximately $125 USD) would be a good choice for a classroom teacher.  It is small and simple to use.  It does not require any accessories.  It runs on AA batteries, which are easily obtained.  I would be comfortable handing this camera to a student or group of students and having them come back with a set of video clips.  Once you have installed the proper codecs (or the video editing software provided with the camera), students would be able to add titles and edit their video easily.

The device should be undocked properly each time it is used.  The teacher might want to take care of downloading the files and placing them into the student work folder.