We cannot argue with the claim that the Flip is  “The simplest camcorder in the world”.  You simply use the on/off button on the side, as shown in at the upper portion of the Flip in Figure 2, to turn it on. This is not a button that you press, but rather one that you slide slightly downward to engage. This is an excellent feature because it eliminates the possibility of the camera being turned on inadvertently when it is in a purse or pocket.

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Figure 2: The on/off button.

The Flip has only three other controls, as shown in Figure 3. You press the red button in the center of the navigation wheel to start recording the video. The camcorder is very responsive and will start the video in less than three seconds. When you want to stop, you simply press the red button again.

Use the up and down arrows on the navigation wheel to zoom in and out.  The Flip has no optical zoom. The 2X digital zoom blows the picture up, but as with all digital zooms, it also degrades the picture.

The play button on the left lets you review the videos that you have taken on the small, but clear 1.5” color screen. Pressing the left and right arrows lets you scroll through the video clips.

The button with the trash can on the right lets you delete the videos. Each time you start and stop the video you create a clip. Each clip can be deleted individually.

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Figure 3: The back of the Flip.

The Flip weights only 5.2 ounces (150 grams), so a steady hand is necessary to make it perform at its best. The bottom of the Flip has a standard tripod mount, as shown in Figure 4. This can be very useful for stabilizing the videos. In Figure 4, you can also see the battery compartment door.

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Figure 4: The bottom of the Flip.

The  Flip videos are the resolution of a standard televisions (640 x 480 at 30 frames per second). It takes MPEG-4 AVI clips in the Advanced Profile MPEG4 format. While this doesn’t come close to the resolution offered by many other camcorders, the videos are amazingly clear.

We got good results in both bright and low light. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the videos. The 2 GB of built-in flash memory holds up to 60 minutes of video.

The Flip uses two AA batteries, which are included.  Regular batteries last about 2 hours. rechargeables  and higher quality batteries last about twice that long.