Flip Video Flip UltraHD

Colour (6.46)

For a cheap, ultra-compact camcorder, the Flip UltraHD did rather well on our bright light colour test. The camcorder registered a colour error of 5.42 and a saturation level of 114.5%. These scores are no match for a traditional HD camcorder, and mediocre compared to other ultra-compacts. Sanyo's VPC-CG10 has a much better colour accuracy and the Sony MHS-PM1 has a slightly better score. Only the Kodak Zx1 has a terrible colour error,with 14,85 onen of the worst we've seen. (More on how we test colour.)

Colour Accuracy Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Flip UltraHD produced a colour error of 5.42 and a saturation level of 114.5% in our bright light colour testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the colour error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular colour.)

In the colour error map above, you can see specifically what colours 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 discolouration is likely due to the camcorder having difficulty compensating for our bright light set-up. Below is some sample colour footage taken under the same 3000 lux light set-up as our colour test.

Flip UltraHD Colour Sample Footage
Auto	100% Crop

As you can see in the comparisons below, the Sanyo VPC-CG10 captured far more accurate colours than any of the other camcorders. The Sony MHS-PM1 has a good auto white balance. This improves the colour accuracy and the PM1 slightly edges the Flip UltraHD regarding colour accuracy, but not by much. The MinoHD has a green-yellow tint and the Zx1 has a very warm, orange tone. Both is likely a result of an inability of the camcorders to properly white balance for our testing lamps.

Flip UltraHD Colour Comparisons
Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1
Kodak Zx1	Sanyo VPC-CG10

The close-up colour comparisons below give you a better idea of the colour reproduction each camcorder is capable of. Sony MHS-PM1's colour squares are full of artefacts. Here, you can also see how much of an orange tint the Kodak Zx1 has.

	Close-Up Colour Comparisons
	Ideal	Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1	Kodak Zx1	Sanyo VPC-CG10
Red
	Ideal	Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1	Kodak Zx1	Sanyo VPC-CG10
Green
	Ideal	Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1	Kodak Zx1	Sanyo VPC-CG10
Blue
	Ideal	Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1	Kodak Zx1	Sanyo VPC-CG10
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1	Kodak Zx1	Sanyo VPC-CG10
Skin Tone 2

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

Colour Performance Scores

* Scores for these models were recalculated using the new 2009-2010 rubric.

Noise (10.86)

The Flip UltraHD measured very low noise levels in our bright light testing. The camcorder registered only 0.51% noise. This number is just a little lower than the numbers we got from the Sanyo VPC-CG10 (0,55%) and the Sony MHS-PM1 (0.765 %). Besides the noise levels of the Kodak Zx1 (1.02%), these are pretty good scores for budget camcorders. (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparisons
Flip UltraHD 100% Crop	Sony MHS-PM1 100% Crop	Kodak Zx1 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-CG10 100% Crop

Above, you get a good look at each camcorder's video quality under bright light. The Kodak Zx1 clearly hase colour issues and the warm, orange tone is especially visible in these 100% crops. This also applies to the Flip UltraHD, where you can an see some mild discoloration as well as the slight greenish tone. Sony's MHS-PM1 has a decent, detailled image.

Noise Score Comparisons