Flip Video Flip UltraHD

Low Light Sensitivity (9.04)

The Flip UltraHD did very well with our low light sensitivity test. The camcorder needed only 7 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. The Kodak Zx1was slightly better than the two Flip models, needing only 6 lux of light to reach the same levels. The big issue to note here is that both, the Sony MHS-PM1 and the Sanyo VPC-CG10, have a horrible low light sensitivity. With 23, respectively 24 lux, they required nearly 4 times what the Flip or the Kodak camcorders needed to reach 50 IRE. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

The huge disparity between the low light sensitivities is probably a result of auto gain control settings on the camcorders. It seems the Flip models boost gain more in low light situations in order to produce a brighter image. Interestingly, however, the Flip UltraHD does not show increased low light noise levels compared to the MHS-PM1 or the CG10. The MHS-PM1 does have a Low Light scene mode. Unfortunately, we didn't notice much of an improvement to low light sensitivity—just worse colours and more noise. Since the CG10 possesses a considerably large sensor, the dim low light footage is likely a result of the camcorder's processing. With relatively low noise, it's possible that the CG10 employs less digital gain to achieve a bright image in low light. That doesn't explain how a budget cam like the the Flip UltraHD can achieve 50IRE with just 7 lux and still have lower noise levels than the CG10. In this regard, the UltraHD is simply a superior camcorder for dim lighting conditions.

Low Light Colour (7.32)

The Flip UltraHD had slightly more accurate colours 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 colour error of 4.99 with a saturation level of 110.89% in our testing. The Kodak Zx1 and the Sanyo VPC-CG10, however, did significantly better in this test. (More on how we test low light colour.)

Auto Low Light Colour Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Flip UltraHD produced a colour error of 4.99 and a saturation level of 110.89% in our low 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 that light blue colours 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 colours in low light.

Low Light Comparison
Flip UltraHD	Sony MHS-PM1
Kodak Zx1	Sanyo VPC-CG10

Notice how vivid and saturated the Kodak Zx1's colours are in the low light image above. It had a better colour accuracy and much higher saturation level than the Flip UltraHD in low light, as did the Sanyo VPC-CG10. You can easily see the difference between the camcorders by looking at the comparison images above. The Flip UltraHD continued to have its odd green-yellow hue even in our low light testing.

Low Light Colour Score Comparison

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

Low Light Noise (11.34)

The Flip UltraHD had rather low noise levels in low light. The camcorder averaged 0.8125% noise in our low light testing, which is lower than most traditional consumer camcorders measure. We're consistently surprised to see such low noise levels on cheap toy-camcorders, but low amounts of noise doesn't necessarily mean you're getting a pristine image. Check out the crops below to get a better idea of the actual low light video quality of these camcorders. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Flip UltraHD 100% Crop	Sony MHS-PM1 100% Crop	Kodak Zx1 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-CG10 100% Crop

Notice how much discolouration and artefacting is present on the Flip UltraHD's 100% crops above. All the camcorders above have these problems, but they appear to be present more on the UltraHD. The Sony Webbie has a fuzzy image, but the colours are strong and artefacting is limited. The Kodak Zx1 also captures a good amount of detail, but there is a lot of interference and artefacting. At 60 lux, the VPC-CG10 had faint patches of noise discolouration and a fine sheen of graininess.

All three comparison camcorders will get you better low light video. Except in sensitivity, the scores are pretty close.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons

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