Someday, everyone’s phones will be able to take beautiful high definition video which we will be able to share at the touch of a button. Some phones including the new iphone have come close to this, but lack the high definition video quality one would hope for. Until that day we must find another alternative to ultra portability in video recording.

Around a month ago we picked up a Flip Video Ultra HD. At $199 it is much cheaper than most video cameras out there. Its only purpose is to shoot video. It fulfills its duty well. The Flip Ultra HD is small enough to fit in your pocket and keep handy. It comes packed with 8GB of memory which allows for recording of up to 2 hours of video. The video records at one resolution 1280 x 720 (720p). It also has a convenient flip out USB plug which allows for simple transfer of videos to a computer via direct download or through use of the built in software. Transferring videos could not be easier. The camera also comes with rechargeable AA batteries that can be recharged by simply plugging in the USB connector.

There are some negatives about this camera. The first one which almost made me not purchase it was the fact that it does not have a photo camera built in. One would think it would be easy enough to put in a 5mp camera. This would have made it very convient to only carry around one device. If I wanted a picture I could take a picture, if I wanted a video I could do that. Lucily my phone takes decent pictures and our regular camera is pretty small as well.

While the picture quality of the recordings is fantastic, this phone does have a couple issues. The first, recording in darker lighting tends to make the picture seem a little grainy. This is typical of a lot of video cameras however. The second, image stabilization. This camera doesn’t have any. You have to keep your hand incredibly still or else the video shakes a lot.

Overall, this is a great product. The price and portability as well as the great picture easily overcome the drawbacks. Having such a small easy to use device has already prompted us to take more videos which I know we will cherish for years to come.