Flip Video Flip UltraHD

Color (6.46)

For a cheap, ultra-compact camcorder, the Flip UltraHD did rather well on our bright light color test. The camcorder registered a color error of 5.42 and a saturation level of 114.5%. While these scores are no match for a traditional HD camcorder, it is roughly on par with the Sony MHS-CM1 (Webbie HD). This color error is a significant improvement over the Flip MinoHD, which measured a horrendous 15.76 color error in our test. More on how we test color.

Color Accuracy Performance
	Color Error Map
	The map on the left is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video. The Pure Digital Flip UltraHD produced a color error of 5.42 and a saturation level of 114.5% in our bright light color testing.

In the color error map above, you can see specifically what colors gave the Flip UltraHD the most trouble. The camcorder did well with greens and yellows, but had a lot of trouble blues, purples, and reds. The camcorder’s entire image in this test also appeared to have a slight greenish-yellow tint. Since there is no manual white balance on the Flip UltraHD, this discoloration is likely due to the camcorder having difficulty compensating for our bright light setup. Below is some sample color footage taken under the same 3000 lux light setup as our color test.

Auto 100% Crop

As you can see in the comparisons below, the Flip UltraHD and Sony MHS-CM1 captured far more accurate colors than both the Flip MinoHD and Kodak Zi6 in our testing. The MinoHD and Zi6 have very warm, orange tones that are likely a result of an inability of the camcorders to properly white balance for our testing lamps. The Sony MHS-CM1 slightly edges the Flip UltraHD as far as color accuracy is concerned, but it isn’t that much better.

Pure Digital Flip UltraHD Color Comparisons
Pure Digital Flip UltraHD
Sony MHS-CM1 Pure Digital Flip MinoHD Kodak Zi6 More...

The close-up color comparisons below give you a better idea of the color reproduction each camcorder is capable of. The Sony MHS-CM1 may have the best color accuracy, but its color squares are full of artifacts. Here, you can also see how much of an orange tint the Kodak Zi6 and Flip MinoHD have.

Close-Up Color Comparisons				Expand
	Ideal	Pure Digital Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-CM1	Pure Digital Flip MinoHD	Kodak Zi6
Red
Green
Blue
Light Skin
Dark Skin

Whether it’s from new processing or an enhanced auto white balance system, the Flip UltraHD represents a strong improvement in color accuracy over the Flip MinoHD. The results still aren’t great, but for a cheap, ultra-compact camcorder this is a decent color performance.

Low Light Color (7.32)

The Flip UltraHD had slightly more accurate colors in low light than it did with bright light. This is a fairly common occurrence with cheap consumer camcorders, as they have difficulty white balancing correctly under strong, bright light. The UltraHD measured a low light color error of 4.99 with a saturation level of 110.89% in our testing. The Flip MinoHD did a bit better in this test, posting a color error of only 2.9. More on how we test low light color.

Low Light Color Accuracy Performance
	Color Error Map
	The map on the left is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video. The Pure Digital Flip UltraHD produced a color error of and a saturation level of in our bright light color testing.

In the color error map above, you can see that light blue colors gave the Flip UltraHD the most trouble, as well as some purple tones. The camcorder was very accurate with reds and browns in low light. Below, you can see that each camcorder did a decent job capturing colors in low light. The Sony MHS-CM1 produced a significantly darker image than the rest of the models, but its colors were still strong in our low light testing.

Noise (10.86)

The Flip UltraHD measured very low noise levels in our bright light testing. The camcorder registered only 0.51% noise, which is lower than the numbers we got from the Sony MHS-CM1 (0.6725% noise). For this test, we don’t have hard data on the Flip MinoHD or Kodak Zi6 as they are camcorder’s we tested last year (before this test was implemented). More on how we test noise.

Pure Digital Flip UltraHD Noise Comparisons
Pure Digital Flip UltraHD 100% Crop	Sony MHS-CM1 100% Crop Pure Digital Flip MinoHD 100% Crop Kodak Zi6 100% Crop More...

Above, you get a good look at each camcorder’s video quality under bright light. The Flip MinoHD and Kodak Zi6 clearly have color issues and the warm, orange tones are especially visible in these 100% crops. The Flip UltraHD and Sony MHS-CM1 have decent images in their crops. The Sony shows a bit more detail and sharpness, although the Flip UltraHD has more contrast. You can see some mild discoloration on the Flip UltraHD as well—its image appears to have a slight greenish tone.