 | Flip UltraHD Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black)
Waste of money -- 2010-03-09
Retails for $150.00. First time used, lens has horizontal cracks in it. Flip customer service: "No replacement part for it". There is NO LENS COVER to protect it. Must have hit something while in tote bag. WASTE OF MONEY. How can they sell this for that price and not allow for a replacement lens. I would pay for it, I understand lens is not under warranty. That was not the problem. Like throwing out $150.00. I can't even give it a star, but might have to, to get this posted.
good piece of wonder -- 2010-03-09
I bought this to capture my 3yr old daughter activities. Previously I had a very old sony miniDV. I was planning to buy a good flash or HD camcoder from Sony again. But I know the issues of portability with Sony and their software sucks. Hence was looking a more portable, reliable, good quality one. I came across this and read a lot of reviews about it. It lived up to my expectations in almost all aspects.
Pros: Easy potable, good HD quality, Easy to use, Simple Software solution, Easy upload to any site.
Cons: Battery and zoom.
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 | Flip Ultra Camcorder 2nd Generation, 120 Minutes (Black)
Flip Utra Camcorder -- 2010-03-08
Love this camcorder! It is so quick and easy to use. We have captured many of our kids special moments on it. Easy to transfer to the computer too. Still haven't tried to transfer videos to a disc but hope to soon. Fun item!
best camcorder i have used. so simple too -- 2010-03-07
such a great camcorder. i used it for small videos for youtube and on my vacations recently, so nice and easy to use. showed it to friends, and they all bought one too. no complaints about this camcorder at all. so much fun to use. u can search for my youtube videos on (...) and look for nday1972 on the search bar. all of my videos were made with this camera.
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 | Flip UltraHD Camcorder, 120 Minutes (White)
Waste of money -- 2010-03-09
Retails for $150.00. First time used, lens has horizontal cracks in it. Flip customer service: "No replacement part for it". There is NO LENS COVER to protect it. Must have hit something while in tote bag. WASTE OF MONEY. How can they sell this for that price and not allow for a replacement lens. I would pay for it, I understand lens is not under warranty. That was not the problem. Like throwing out $150.00. I can't even give it a star, but might have to, to get this posted.
good piece of wonder -- 2010-03-09
I bought this to capture my 3yr old daughter activities. Previously I had a very old sony miniDV. I was planning to buy a good flash or HD camcoder from Sony again. But I know the issues of portability with Sony and their software sucks. Hence was looking a more portable, reliable, good quality one. I came across this and read a lot of reviews about it. It lived up to my expectations in almost all aspects.
Pros: Easy potable, good HD quality, Easy to use, Simple Software solution, Easy upload to any site.
Cons: Battery and zoom.
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 | Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom
Great Camera - Suggestion for software -- 2010-03-03
VERY pleased with the camera but as much of virtues have been extolled elseware I will concentrate on software. The included Pixela software is rubbish and does not merit inclusion on your hard disk. After much searhing I have at last found good use for my Nero-9. It works magnificently.
1. copy your camcorder files (they have a .MTs extension)from your SD memory on to your hard disc.
2. In Nero, in 'Create and Edit' select the 'Author, Edit and Capture Video' option and from there, select 'Make Movie' option. Import your file into the 'My Media Files' box. If you want to join several of you camcorder files into ONE whole movie then select them all into 'My media files in the correct order.
3. Highlight each required in the reverse order and click the '+' button to place it into lower strip. Then click 'Next'.
4. Now select 'Export Movie' and now you can select which standard (MPEG-2, AVI etc) which you require.
5. Also click 'Configure' to select the other characteristics of the file that you require.
I wanted an MPEG-2 file so I chose the following 'Custom' Options.
a) Aspect Ratio - 16:9
b) Size - User Defined - Width 1920 Height - 1072
c) Video Quality - Maximum
d) Encoder quality fine tuning - 100
e) Audio Format - LPCM
I arrived at these values by quite a bit of experimentation but try finding your own preferences.
Now click 'OK' and then remember to click 'browse' and choose your prefered folder and file name for the resulting file. Finally click' Export.
I got a file about 1% larger than the original and as far as I could estimate, the quality
was as good as the original. I was HIGHLY delighted with Nero. I hope these suggestions help others.
Love it! -- 2010-03-01
It works really great, but is a little grainy in low light, so I just purchesed the bigger light. It takes really good pictures and flash works good too! Very happy with battery life, have not needed my back up battery the last 10 times I used it.
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 | Flip MinoHD Camcorder 2nd Generation, 120 Minutes (Brushed Metal) NEWEST MODEL
Very glad I bought it ! -- 2010-03-09
This item had such a massive percentage of negative reviews - including the most recent ones - that I just about didn't buy it. Most seemed to mention a problem with the usb arm not fitting their computer - when I purchased it there was no message about the "usb arm problem" being fixed - but with five at my disposal to try it with (an HP laptop, netbook, and desktop and an MSI laptop and netbook)I figured that it would probably work with at least ONE of them. In fact, it works with ALL of them, albeit with the screen facing down which I think is a little idiotic although I do understand why. However, since I'm primarily using it with a laptop on a riser - and one with a scarcity of usb ports ! - it's not actually practical to connect it to the laptop itself so I'm using a portable usb hub, which allows me to set it on the desk (coffee-table, my knee, where-ever)with the screen facing up (although then you do have to protect the lens side from getting scratched by setting it on the soft little pouch it comes with). I also have a Kodak Zx1 and Zi8 and of the three units I vastly prefer this one. Both the image and audio quality are good and the unit is MUCH smaller than the other two and so is easier to fit into a small pocket, purse, etc. A downside - of a sort - is that you can't take stills directly with it as you can with the other two, but the software lets you "capture" as many stills as you like from anywhere in the video (which you can make as brief as an instant) which is a TERRIFIC feature; you can catch images that you'd never get by taking snapshots. Granted, it's not a very big screen ...... but then, it's quite a small unit. All in all it suits my purposes extremely well. I'm not often "thrilled" by a product, but so far I am with this one !
Nice Camcorder and works great! -- 2010-03-07
We bought this camera a few weeks ago. Used it a lot and had no problems connecting and downloading video to our MacBook Pro. Soft wear works just fine. We love it! HD Images look great!
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 | Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera (Black)
Took some doing but now I'm Impressed -- 2010-03-07
At first, I wasn't so thrilled with it. I ran into a problem where my SD card apparently wasn't fast enough to handle recording in HD modes. It would record for 2-3 seconds and stop. I finally took a guess that it was indeed my card and switched to a spare SDHC card that I had around. That fixed that problem....whew!
Now for the recording. At first, it was a little disappointing. I started testing the camera around 7pm and the light was minimal. My first impressions were not so good. Low light shooting on this camera is not the best in the world. It's acceptable but certainly not impressive.
This morning I decided to give it another go. Am I glad I did! The video quality I am getting from this little Zi8 is VERY Impressive indeed! With the right amount of light you can't ask for better HD video quality from something under $200. It's quite unbelievable how much video taking power one can have in there hands for so little money these days. Colors are vivid and accurate. Sound quality is quite good from the built in mic as well.
I would suggest giving this camera a try for sure. Set your expectations accordingly. I think a lot of hype has been given to this camera since it was first released and possibly too much expectation has resulted from this hype. Keep in mind what you paid and what you're actually shooting video with and I think you'll be just as thrilled as I am with it.
Make sure you have a good quality SDHC card!
The quick video camera -- 2010-03-07
First off this thing was sold out almost everywhere for a long time. I almost opted out for the other competitor, Flip. I'm happy that I waited and it was worth it.
Don't expect this camera to be a 3k, 10k, 50k and 100k+ camera that delivers the nice HD picture when you watch a program on TV. If you do you're going to set yourself up for disappointment. The Kodak Zi8 is a good camera for 179.00 and the picture quality is great. I would suggest to shoot things in the 720p 60fps picture. It's very easy to use and is very simple. I call it "The Quick Video Camera" because that's what it is. A quick camera that is small enough to put in your pocket and quick enough to grab and start shooting. This camera does beats out a lot of the other video cams below 3k dollars. If you really want a good camera you might as well just buy something 3k and above.
Oh and for those who complain about the ZOOM function being to slow and going in sections. All you have to do is hold down that button and it will zoom smoothly.
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 | Sony HDR-CX110 High Definition Handycam Camcorder
Wow... Just WOW... -- 2010-02-20
I was looking to replace my JVC Everio, that had a 60GB hard drive in it. I loved the convenience of the hard drive, since that replaced an older unit I had that used the small tape cartridges. But the prices for the HD capable units are more than I was willing to pay for a camcorder, so looked at the units that just used memory sticks.
I have the Sony DSC-TX1 digital camera and was blown away by its optical quality, and it even took 720p movies which were just insanely clearer than my 1 year old JVC camcorder. That was when I realized I needed to lose the JVC. Almost all the movies I do are of my son, now 6 years old, so the better the quality the happier I would be. Too many artifacts with the low definition JVC, panning was just ugly ugly ugly, and while it had a great response in low light, the picture quality was just not what I wanted considering how good everything else with my TV and still camera.
I was initially going to get the 100 version of this, since it was so insanely cheap for a 1080 capable camcorder, but the bad low light capability put me off, since most of what I record is in my house. And the very low numbers for optical zoom also concerned me. But amazon conveniently puts little links under the initial product listing if there's a new version, so I saw the 110 and the price was good. I did some digging on Sony's site, somewhat confused that the cheap little 100 had 16GB built in but the higher end had none, but when I saw the rest of the specs in comparison, I felt it was a very good unit to give a test run with. My local brick and mortars didn't have it in stock, so I ordered it from Amazon and got the Saturday delivery early on Saturday, plenty of time to charge it up and try it out.
I left all settings at default except for the quality setting. That was easy to find, and the touchscreen on this unit makes it very easy to operate. As with my sony still camera, it has a "user" screen too where you can pin the six most used functions to save you from having to navigate into submenus. I love this feature, as it made my touchscreen still camera so simple and quick to use.
So I did four test movies, all of the same thing (my 6 year old playing with a huge Geotrax set), at all four of the options for 1080p resolution. The camera is smaller than I had expected, very light and fits well in the hand. The only real buttons to deal with in normal operation are the zoom and the start/stop recording, which are placed well despite the small size of the unit. If you want to grab a still as well, which you can do while recording, that button is on top right behind the zoom, so it's easy to get at. So use is great, no problems.
As I said, touch screen menu is great, so changing settings as I went was a piece of cake.
Started with the highest 24Mbps, then the next down (I think it was 17Mbps), then the "default" one they start you out at, 9Mbps, then the lowest. When I was done, I pulled the card out (nice, quick access on the bottom with a great, sturdy, hinged door). Went into my macbook pro just fine, and i started playback.
I have a 13" macbook pro, the aluminum unibody, that I got about four months ago. So new core2 duo processor, nvidia 9400 graphics... And it could not play the highest or second highest quality movies raw... Which told me that they were going to be great on my windows 7 media center. The third and fourth files played, but since the laptop is not a 1080 screen, it didn't look that good. So I went ahead and pulled the memory card out of the laptop, put it in my Dell Zino that runs my beautiful 46" Samsung HDTV, and played them all.
One thing I hadn't realized is that when it creates the files, it creates them in a native bluray playback format, the folder structure and all. So that should make it easy for people who will want to burn to Bluray.
Anyway, on the media center, i played the highest quality one first. And my jaw dropped, and I nearly had to go buy some adult diapers. WOW. That was all I could say or think. WOW. It was just outstanding, WAY better than I had expected. And it's not like I'm so unfamiliar with HD that even bad HD was impressive to me - my first HDTV was purchased back in 1999, a huge 60" Mitsubishi diamond line TV. So I've been using HD for over 10 years now. And this just knocked my socks off.
I had nearly no artifacting or blurring or anything with the movement of the camera as I've come to expect from camcorders. Even the blurring was minimal. And the shots of things were just crystal clear. I had a 1080p version of the movie BOLT running on the TV as he played with his geotrax, so I zoomed in so that filled the viewfinder, and recorded some of the movie. During playback at that scene, I couldn't even tell it wasn't the original playing back, that it was a recording of the TV from earlier, it was that clear.
I was indoors, in Wisconsin on a winter day with snow falling, so there was no direct sunlight, just all clouds. Only one window's curtains open, and no lights turned on inside. And the clarity and lighting was excellent. Every bit I could hope for.
So I tried the next down quality, and it blew me away. As did the third and then the lowest quality. All looked stunning. When I got down to the lowest, I could see some difference between it and the highest, but for what I was, and will be, shooting (my son), I think I'll end up using the default third lowest setting because it was still jaw droppingly good on my HDTV.
I got the 16GB card since the 32GB card was still in the three digit price range, and i have a habit of transferring the files to my computer as soon as I'm done shooting anyway. And at the third quality setting, the default 9Mbps one, a 25 minute clip used just 1.9GB, so I should get about 3 1/2 hours on this card at this rate, so I'll not have to worry about running out of media for my normal use.
The display is crisp and clear, widescreen format, and not cluttered when recording. Response to touch was very good, only once when selecting something from a bottom of a menu did I have to touch it twice, since the first didn't register. Didn't take any pressure to get it to see my pressing.
The still picture while shooting video worked easily enough, but they're not great quality, so it won't replace your digital camera if you have a good one. But it may give you a decent still shot of something you would have missed otherwise...
All in all, this is waaaayyyyy better than I had expected, and more than I had even hoped for. 100% satisfied with the unit.
I can't attest to battery usage yet, since I have only had it for five hours, and only ran about 40 or 45 minutes of recording through it so far. In a few days I'll pop back in here and edit this with the results I've seen with regards to the battery life, since this is evidently the first review of this model.
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 | Sony HDR-CX100 AVCHD HD Camcorder with Smile Shutter & 10x Optical Zoom (Black)
Sony HDR-CX100 -- 2010-03-09
The Sony HDR-CX100 takes great videos outdoors, but the picture quality indoors or in low light is poor. It is my opinion that my Flip HD mino records better low light video. The sound recording and optical zoom of the camera seem like they would be good for home movie applications.
The HDR-CX100 works great with the Mac (10.6.2 Snow Leopard) using IMovie 09, but the files that get stored on your drive if you choose to keep the clips as events are huge.
I would say this camera is a good deal if you do not want to take indoor or low light footage, otherwise look at another brand or model.
A decent, but not the greatest camcorder -- 2010-03-07
I have owned and used this Sony camcorder for approximately 6 months. And I have now just gotten around to creating a consumer review. I really wanted to love this camcorder. Nevertheless, I still like it very much. But I was disappointed when filming in the dark. There is no external light to film in dark settings and all one gets is a grainy picture. However, I knew that there was no light on this cam, so I knew what I was getting for my money. The touchscreen menus are convenient and easy to use after you get accustomed to navigating them. That does take some practice. But what I absolutely love the most about this camcorder is the fact that it is so small and so light. In the 1980s I had a camcorder that you would have to lug over your shoulder. But with this camcorder, it is as light as a baseball glove. The ergonomics are good and the velcro strap that you put your hand in is adjustable. YOur hand won't be sore while holding it. The battery life is okay, but not fantastic. For new users, I would recommend investing in a second, alternate battery, and keeping it charged while you use the first battery up. Another downside to this Sony camcorder will not allow you to use another manufacturer's memory card. Hence, you will have to purchase a Sony memory card. This camcorder is also a digital camera. However, I would not recommend using this for still photography as the quality is not up to standard of what you would find in a DSLR. If using the high-definition function, the picture is absolutely beautiful and crystal clear, provided that there is full exposure to natural light during the daytime. The color of the picture is perfect. It is as good as anything I have seen professionally. The software that is to be downloaded onto the computer is easy to set up and to install. However, to a new and confused user, learning how to transfer movies and your still pictures is hard to do the first couple of times. Everybody who buys this will need to read the instruction manual and just play around with it until you get the hang of it.
Overall, I would say that if you are an amateur who just wants to casually shoot some footage of family, friends, and a vacation, then this camcorder is a good buy. But do not expect a lot of bells and whistles. It is a high-definition camcorder and as impressive as the picture is, it still does not have an external light to capture decent footage in the dark. I am modestly happy with my purchase.
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