Flip Digital Video Camera

If your normal home movies are about as badly put together as Pete Doherty’s tailoring, what you need is the world’s simplest and easiest camcorder. Trying to catch those beautiful one-off moments without the fuss and bother – and cost – of a heavy-duty model used to mean trading in quality footage for convenience. No longer, traveller.

Enter the bad boys of mobile movie making: the Flip camera range. They’re a pair of easy-peasy digital video cameras that have already taken America by storm. Their trick is to be like Herman Munster: simple, sturdy, and with a heart of gold. The Flip Ultra II and Flip Mino cameras are both so simple to use that anyone from 5 to 105 can be a miniature director: press the large button that says ‘on’, press the button that says ‘start’ and hocus pocus – you’re the cul-de-sac’s very own Stanley Kubrick all of a sudden.

Press record		Point and film		connect USB to your PC or Mac

Whether you’re shooting your dog dressed up like Yoda for a Star Wars re-enactment or simply your pal Dave falling off a fence in a priceless You’ve Been Framed moment, you’ll be amazed at how well both the Flip Ultra II and Flip Mino stand up to the scrutiny of critics. The Mino comes with 2GB of memory on board, which is enough for 60 minutes of filming at a crisp 640 x 480 pixels in MPG4 format. There’s no need to worry about the palaver of focusing – it’s automatic, and with a 2x zoom available you’ll be able to dispense with your Gaffer, Best Boy and all the rest of the crew.

The Flip Ultra II is the next step forward for mini-vid cams. With more memory than its little brother, it lets you shoot two whole hours of footage on its 4GB-worth of storage – that’s enough for your first feature film! And while you’re shooting your new cinematic classic, reviewing your footage is even easier with the Flip Ultra II’s bigger, 2” transflective screen that lets you watch even in bright daylight.

You’ll be pleased to hear that just like Gremlins, the SAS and moths, Flip cameras excel in low light conditions – so indoors shooting and evening trips are a doddle to put down for posterity, even when you compare the results to cameras five times the price.

The tinky-winky wee Flip Mino has the added slinky bonus of a flat-panel control area on its rear side with touch-sensitive buttons – and beneath their smooth panel, it hides away a long-lasting Li-ion battery for real stamina. The larger Flip Ultra II takes two AA batteries for convenience while you’re away from power sources, but they’ll also accept a rechargeable battery pack that juices up via USB sockets. And as we all know, making it in movies is about unlimited power and the imagination to use it!

When you’re done shooting, just press stop. No clapperboards required. And here’s the really smart thing: all the Flip cameras have natty little USB plugs built into their casings, that flip out at the touch of a button and let you download your movies in a trice, with no cables to lose. There’s also no software to lose either – all the technical jiggery-pokery lives inside the Flip’s body, so as soon as it’s plugged in you’re ready to watch your creations – what the hell, even upload them directly to YouTube. This is the 21st century after all. Time to tell Beadle you’re about!

Flip Ultra II Colours:

Flip Mino Colours: