New Flip Video Camcorder

Here at GameCore, we love to write articles dealing with the video gaming industry.

But this month, to our surprise, we've received a neat little gadget and I put it through the paces to see whether or not this piece of technological wizardry gets the GameCore seal of approval.

Pure Digital Technologies has created the Flip Video Camcorder, which is a digital camcorder about the size of a deck of playing cards that is capable of taking full 30-frame-per-second video.

It has a 1.4 inch screen on the back, built-in microphone and speakers, an attached USB connector that folds into the unit when not in use, and a separate connector that you can plug into a TV (with the correct RCA ports) to watch your videos on the large screen instead of playing them back on the Flip's small screen. It also runs on 2 AA batteries, so no hunting for a proprietary, odd-shaped battery when you run low.

The included software lets you view all the videos in your library, categorize them, edit and take still photos from your videos and even add graphics and borders to your videos. All of this is made easy thanks to the intuitive software. The best part of the software is that it is included with the Flip Video unit, literally. When you plug the Flip into your computer's USB port, the video editing-management software is already on the Flip's internal drive, ready for you to use with no software installation.

The Flip Video works on Apple's OSX just as easily. Like the PC, once plugged in, it is detected as an external hard drive. While you have to install the proper software to view the video files on the Mac as well as the management and editing software on OSX, the installation software is already on the Flip Video and it walks you through setting them up quickly and easily. It's two extra minor steps, but the installed software is identical to the easy to use PC software.

There are two versions of the unit. The 1 gigabyte version takes 60 minutes of video and the 512 Megabyte takes 30 minutes. The Flip Video powers up in about 5-10 seconds and, once on, starts recording the instant you press the record button. Pressing it again stops the recording just as quickly and the Flip is ready to record the next clip within two seconds. I was really impressed by the quick ready times.

I know of one or two more expensive digital camcorders that don't respond this quickly. You also have access to four levels of incremental zoom while recording.

The videos playback on the unit easily by pressing the dedicated play button and you can move through the recorded movies easily. The built-in speaker is quite loud and does a good job of playing back the sound in the videos. If needed, you can also delete any recorded video right on the unit itself to make more room if needed, or if you just didn't like how a certain video turned out.

Pressing the USB latch releases a spring-loaded USB port that hides inside the small frame and lets you plug the unit directly into the computer. The Flip Video is now seen as a removable drive that can be accessed like any other drive on your system.

Navigating to the drive you will find the included software that can assist you with viewing, editing and even sharing your videos. The software is very straightforward and, while not the most feature laden video editing software available, it does its duties very well.

For example, you can make a video greeting card to publish your videos on the Web. You can also go straight to the folder that has the recorded videos and play them directly without the use of the software as they are recorded as standard .AVI formatted files. This means almost any computer will play them as-is without any fuss.

My usage of the 1 gigabyte Flip Video has been surprisingly enjoyable. I really wasn't expecting this little camcorder to take decent videos at all.

Shooting while walking produces very shaky videos, but if you manage to make your footing more even, it should suffice. I wouldn't recommend doing that unless you want your video to have that "Blair Witch Project" effect.

The white balance was adequate, letting less light in when shooting in bright outdoor areas and letting more light in when shooting in low light rooms. It did a decent job of switching between the two quickly if I was shooting out my room window then turned to look at my closet; it did take a second or two, but the light balance and auto-focusing did a good job of transitioning between the two scenes.

I also tested it in very low light. We had a chance to check out the advance "Halo 3" beta shindig Microsoft threw in NYC earlier in May (thanks 'Berto and Kelly!) and I put the Flip video up to the test. With no flash or internal light source, it did as poorly as I expected it to shooting in a dark lounge setting.

What surprised me was the quality of the videos it took of the TV screens playing the "Halo 3" beta. The videos of the TVs played back clear and pretty sharp and the sound quality was better than I anticipated. Even with the lounge's sound system playing at a decent "lounge volume," the Flip Video captured my friend's and my voices very clearly.

At $119 for the 30-minute version and $149 for the 60 minute version, it's pretty affordable for a digital camcorder, especially at its truly handheld size and decent video quality.

While it's not the perfect camcorder solution for every situation, if you are looking for a digital camcorder that's small, good for outdoor and well-lit indoor shots, is easy to use and wont stretch your budget like the $300-plus models, the simple to use Flip Video Camcorder from Pure Digital technologies just might be what you're looking for.

If you keep your expectations for what this handheld digital camcorder can do, you should be just as pleasantly surprised as I was by this mini-movie maker.